Alice-Miranda At School (14 page)

Alice-Miranda spent the afternoon with Charlie. She unrolled and pitched a tent, then he showed her how to take it down and refold it to fit neatly back into the bag. He was amazed when she gathered kindling for a fire, set the fireplace with rocks and even managed to get some sparks to start it.

He showed her pictures of plants she could eat if she lost her own food supplies and, more importantly, he showed her all the things that she shouldn't touch lest they make her sick or give her
hives. Alice-Miranda asked loads of questions and made sure that she understood everything he told her. Going camping with her father was one thing, but being alone in the forest for five days was another entirely.

As Alice-Miranda knelt beside the fireplace, carefully smothering the last sparks with a handful of sand, Charlie knelt down opposite her. He knew she was more than capable of completing Miss Grimm's challenge, but there was something troubling him. It had started with the broken orchid and the crumpled blanket in the greenhouse. He didn't make much of it at the time; probably some of the girls sneaking about after dark, he'd thought. Even the next day when he found cake crumbs and an empty bottle of ginger beer in the rowing shed it hadn't worried him greatly. But then last night there was a shadow outside the greenhouse. Too big to be one of the girls and too late to be any of the staff. It was a man for sure, a hobo perhaps. Probably not dangerous, just hungry and tired, he had told himself.

Alice-Miranda's big brown eyes met Charlie's blue gaze. ‘Is there something the matter, Mr Charles?' she asked, puzzled. ‘You look awfully serious. Did I do something wrong?'

‘No, no, child. You've done everything just right,' he sighed.

‘I'm excited, you know. And just a little bit nervous,' she admitted. ‘It's quite a challenge Miss Grimm has set for me. But I know I can do it.'

Charlie thought for a moment. He didn't want to frighten her, but he did want her to be extra careful.

‘Well, lass, you take good care of yourself out there and if there's any trouble, you just come straight back to school.'

Alice-Miranda reached across and squeezed Charlie's hand.

‘Oh Mr Charles, don't you worry about me. I will be just fine. There's nothing out there to hurt me. Goodness, there are no lions or elephants at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale, I'm sure.'

Charlie stood up and dusted himself off. For some reason he felt better. If there was a hobo, he'd likely have his hands full if he came across Miss Alice-Miranda.

‘Now,' he said, ‘Mrs Oliver said that she has some special food she wants you to try out.'

Alice-Miranda brushed the sand from her hands. ‘Oh, I know what that will be! Did you know that under our house she has her own laboratory? She
experiments with all sorts of foods. I think she must have made some progress on her freeze-dried lamb roast with spring vegetables.' Alice-Miranda licked her lips at the thought of Dolly's roast.

‘She said she could give you enough food for a month and that it wouldn't weigh any more than what you would usually take for a couple of days. The woman must be a genius,' said Charlie, in a very admiring tone.

Alice-Miranda said goodbye to Charlie and headed for the kitchen. Dolly had a range of foods for her to sample – except they didn't look like food at all to begin with.

‘Hello Mrs Oliver.' Alice-Miranda bounded into the kitchen, straight into Dolly's arms.

‘Hello my darling girl,' she said, hugging her gently. ‘Did you enjoy your tea this morning?'

‘Delish. I loved the devil's food cake – one of your best ever, I'd say.'

‘Yes, pity about the cream buns,' Dolly muttered under her breath.

‘Cream buns?' Alice-Miranda replied.

‘Never mind, dear. There are some days I think I might be losing my marbles.' Mrs Oliver shook her head.

Alice-Miranda smiled. ‘That's silly,' she said. ‘You're the sanest person I've ever met. Now, what is it that you want me to taste?'

Dolly moved to the long stainless steel bench where she had several small mounds of what looked to be dried beans laid out on a series of plates.

‘You know I've been working on freeze-dried recipes, so that people who go off on camps, or adventurers like my dear Dougal, God rest his soul, will have enough nutritious food to survive for extended periods?' She moved towards the stove where several shallow pans of water hissed and boiled.

‘Yes, I thought you were making some great progress last time I was in the lab,' Alice-Miranda enthused.

‘Well, my dear girl, I've done it. I have managed to take a whole roast dinner and freeze-dry it into these few beans.' Dolly scooped up one of the piles and held them in her hand for Alice-Miranda to see.

‘That, there, will turn into a roast?' Alice-Miranda looked at her in disbelief.

‘Just watch this.' Dolly dropped the beans into one of the boiling pans. Within a minute the water had evaporated and there in the pan for all to see was
a roast lamb dinner, complete with baked potatoes, pumpkin, peas, carrots and brussels sprouts.

‘That's incredible!' Alice-Miranda gasped.

‘Go on.' Dolly pushed her forward and handed her a fork. ‘Taste it.'

Alice-Miranda took the fork from Dolly and gently pierced one of the small potatoes. She held up the steaming vegetable and blew on it before biting through the crisp outer skin.

Alice-Miranda chewed and swallowed. ‘That's fantastic. I can't believe it. You'll be famous the world over.'

‘I don't care about the fame, my love. It's about looking after people and making sure that they have enough food to eat. Your father told me it has all sorts of possibilities for people in needy places, as long as they don't mind a roast,' Dolly wiped a small splodge of gravy from the corner of Alice-Miranda's lip.

‘I'm sure that you could freeze-dry other dinners too, things people from other countries would prefer to eat,' Alice-Miranda said, before she cut a small piece of lamb and pushed it onto her fork with a bright orange carrot.

‘I'll show you the next one.' Mrs Oliver dropped another pile of beans into a pan. ‘This one's roast pork.'

It seemed that there was quite a range in Dolly's collection. She had roast lamb, roast pork and roast beef, but the most amazing of all was yet to come. She had also developed a range of puddings to go with the dinners. When she produced a chocolate pudding, followed by a ginger pudding, followed by a plum pudding (for adventurers who might be out at Christmas time), Alice-Miranda was truly astounded. Not only did they look great, they tasted even better. Alice-Miranda had a spoonful of each and decided she had better not have any more or she would spoil her dinner.

‘So there you have it, my dear girl. You can have a roast dinner every night that you have to be out on that wretched hike.' Mrs Oliver began clearing away the pots.

‘Thank you, that's marvellous. Although I should like to try cooking some rice for myself as well,' said Alice-Miranda, looking up at the huge canisters of ingredients.

‘I can pack some for you. I just want to make sure you don't have too much to carry. You are only small, sweetheart, and you already have to take the tent and a sleeping bag and clothes. At least the freeze-dried dinners don't weigh much.' By now
Mrs Oliver was up to her elbows scrubbing pots in the sink.

Alice-Miranda grabbed a tea towel and began drying a saucepan.

‘Get off with you, girl.' Mrs Oliver wiped her brow with the back of her pink-gloved hand. ‘I've plenty of help in here. You go and spend some time with Millie and your friends. You've worked far too hard today already.'

Alice-Miranda did as she was told. She finished wiping the saucepan and sat it on the bench. Just as she was about to head out, Charlie appeared at the door.

‘Oh, hello Mr Charles, you should see what Mrs Oliver has invented. It's incredible. I'll be able to eat like a princess while I'm on my hike,' she chattered as he kicked off his boots before entering the kitchen.

‘That's wonderful, lass. I just thought I'd pay a visit and see if there might be any more of that chocolate cake from this morning.'

Alice-Miranda could have sworn she saw Mr Charles wink at Mrs Oliver. Mrs Oliver was suddenly bright red – and not just from the steaming kitchen sink, it would seem.

The next few days passed quickly. Alice-Miranda spent more time with Charlie learning camp craft and preparing for her hike. Fortunately, she would be able to stay on the school grounds the whole time, as it occupied an enormous piece of land with varied terrain. There was a forest and some mountains, open countryside and a stream.

On Thursday, Miss Reedy met Alice-Miranda just after breakfast and introduced her to the school Sports teacher, Miss Benitha Wall. Miss Wall was
impossibly tall and equally square. Alice-Miranda had to lay her head back as far as she could to see Miss Wall's face. Apparently she had competed most successfully in wrestling, shot-put and discus at the Olympics. That wasn't a surprise in the least.

‘Alice-Miranda, Miss Wall will help you prepare for your sporting match. Have you given any thought to what you would like to compete in?' Miss Reedy asked.

‘Well, Miss Reedy, I know a few sports that I won't be trying. Gymnastics for example – no one could beat Jacinta. And it won't be running because I'm not very fast and I can't run for a long time either, so cross country is off the list. I'm all right at tennis but I don't think my forehand would stand up to Millie's ground strokes.'

‘Are you a swimmer?' Miss Wall bent down so that she could meet Alice-Miranda's eyes.

‘I'm afraid not. I like swimming but I haven't trained enough to be competitive. And no offence, Miss Wall, but I don't think I have quite the right frame to be attempting any field sports.' Alice-Miranda sighed. This was harder than she had expected.

‘Do you ride?' Miss Reedy enquired.

‘Oh yes, I have a lovely pony called Bonaparte. Daddy calls him Bony Pony but I can tell you he eats so much there is no possibility of spying any bones on that boy. I decided that when I came to school he could have a good spell so he's at home being thoroughly spoiled. It wouldn't be fair to bring him in – I told him he could have at least three months off playing.'

Alice-Miranda thought for a few moments longer and then her eyes lit up. ‘I know! I love sailing and Daddy bought me a little skiff. I called her
Emerald
because she is the most beautiful green. Could we have a sailing regatta on the lake?'

‘That's a wonderful idea,' Miss Reedy agreed. ‘We must phone your parents and see if they can have your sailboat sent up at once. You need to have some days to practice.'

‘But do any of the other girls sail?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘We had a regatta on the lake last year. The winner was named the school champion and given a trophy. Funny thing was, all the girls were fairly terrible at sailing and this girl only won because everyone else ended up in the reeds or sunk,' Miss Wall laughed.

‘That means I should at least have a chance,'
Alice-Miranda smiled. ‘I mean, I'm not brilliant but I have had a few lessons.'

Miss Reedy seemed lost in her thoughts. She said that she would have to consult the school records to see who won the regatta. Suddenly she seemed to remember.

‘Are you sure about this, Alice-Miranda?' Miss Reedy asked ominously.

‘Yes, Miss Reedy. Really, I can't think of anything else. Why? Do you remember who the school champion is?' Alice-Miranda was wide-eyed.

‘Yes I do. And I'm afraid that it's someone who would do anything to beat you,' her teacher replied.

‘Alethea?' Alice-Miranda asked.

Miss Reedy nodded slowly.

Miss Wall nodded too. ‘I remember now. She had her father buy her a brand new boat and he had it shipped here just before the race. It was a real beauty, but by the end of the weekend she had made a right mess of it. She said that she didn't want to sail ever again.'

‘That could work in your favour, Alice-Miranda. The fact that she's not actually a skilled sailor and she doesn't particularly like sailing may give you a small advantage,' said Miss Reedy. ‘Although we all know
that Miss Goldsworthy will go to extraordinary lengths to win,' she finished in a whisper.

‘Well, I'll just have to beat her fair and square. I'll call Daddy now and see if he can send my boat straight away. Then I might have a few days to get out on the lake before I have to go on camp.'

Alice-Miranda marched off to phone her parents. Miss Reedy and Miss Wall shook their heads and smiled.

‘There's never been one like her before,' Miss Wall laughed.

‘Yes, and that's why we absolutely can't let her fail.'