The Naughtiest Girl in the School (4 page)

“I shan’t,” said Elizabeth.

“Just as you please,” said Nora. “Now come on, everybody, and let’s take the eatables down to the play room.”

“I don’t want to bring mine,” said Elizabeth, “I want to leave them here.”

“Well, if you do, they’ll go into that box along with the photographs,” said Nora firmly. “The rule is that all eatables go downstairs.”

Elizabeth stood sulking, looking at her cake, her jam sandwich, her chocolate, toffee, and shortbread. Then she picked up her tuck-box and followed the others. She did not want them to go into that box! She had seen enough of Nora to know that that young lady was very determined! They clattered down the oak staircase. At one side of the hall was an open door, leading into a very large room lined with cupboards and bookcases. It was full of boys and girls. Some were talking, some were playing games, some were putting away cakes into tins. They were all busy and happy, and called out greetings to Nora as she came into the room. There was a gramophone going in one corner. Elizabeth stopped to listen to it, for she loved music. It was playing a tune that her mother played at home, and suddenly the little girl felt as if she wanted her mother badly.

“But, never mind!” she thought to herself. “I shan’t be here long! I don’t expect they’ll keep me more than a week if I go on being awfully naughty.”

“Here are some empty tins,” said Nora, handing some down from a shelf. “Catch, Helen. Catch, Elizabeth. Here’s a big one for you, Belinda, to take in that enormous cake!”

Soon they were all putting away their things. Nora took slips of paper from a pile and wrote their names on. “Stick your name on your tin,” she said, licking hers and sticking it to the side of her tin.

“I’d like to see the classrooms,” said Belinda. Ruth said she would show her round the whole school, and off she went with Belinda and Helen. Elizabeth followed a little way behind, curious to see what a school was like, for she had never seen inside one before. The dining hall she had already seen-a great high room, with big windows. Tables ran down the middle of it. It was only used for meals. Then there were the classrooms, big, sunny rooms all over the place, with neat desks and chairs, and a bigger desk for the teacher. There were blackboards everywhere, just like the one that Miss Scott had used for Elizabeth.

“This is our classroom,” said Ruth to the new girls, “I expect we’ll al be in Miss Ranger’s class. She’s pretty strict, I can tell you! Nora’s in a higher class, of course. She’s older, she’s a jolly good sort, don’t you think so?”

“Yes,” agreed Helen and Belinda at once. But Elizabeth thought differently. She pursed up her mouth and said nothing.

“This is the gym,” said Ruth, and the three new girls looked in wonder at the great room, with its ropes and climbing-ladders, and bars and poles. Elizabeth suddenly felt excited. She loved climbing and swinging and jumping. She hoped she could do some gym before she left.

            There were many other bedrooms like her own, and then there was the part of the house put aside for Miss Belle and Miss Best and the other teachers.

“You’ll each have to go and see the heads after tea,” said Ruth. “They’re good sorts.” By the time the four girls had gone over the lovely grounds and had seen the cricket-fields, the tennis courts, and the flower-filled gardens, it was time for tea, a bell rang loudly, and the girls looked cheerful.

 “Good! Tea!” said Ruth.

“Come on. Wash first, all of you, and do your hairs. Yours looks awful, Elizabeth.” Elizabeth did not like her dark curls being called “awful.” She went up to her bedroom and did her hair neatly, and washed her hands. She was very hungry, and thought with pleasure of her currant cake and jam sandwich.

“I’ve got the most gorgeous chocolate cake you ever saw!” said Belinda to the others. “It just melts in your mouth! You must all have a piece.”

“And I’ve got some home-made shrimp-paste that’s too delicious for words,” said Ruth. “You wait till you taste it.” Chocolate cake and home-made shrimp-paste seemed even more delicious to Elizabeth than currant cake and jam sandwich, which suddenly seemed rather ordinary.

She ran downstairs wondering if she would have two pieces of Belinda’s gorgeous chocolate cake, Tea was laid in the dining-room. The long tables were spread with white cloths, and plates with big slices of brown bread and butter were set all the way down. There were also some large plain cakes here and there, and some big pots of plum jam. The children put their tuck-boxes on a bare table, and placed on some empty plates there the cake or sandwich, jam or paste they meant to share at tea.  These plates they took to their own table. Once again they were allowed to sit where they liked. Elizabeth put out her sandwich and her currant cake and took her place too. Grace was sat and then the boys and girls began to chatter quietly. Suddenly Nora banged on the table. She was at the head of it. Everyone at her table stopped speaking.

“I nearly forgot to say something,” said Nora. “Elizabeth Allen does not wish to share her things with anyone, so don’t ask her for a piece of her cake, will you? She wants it all herself.”

“All right!” said the other children and they stared at Elizabeth in surprise. Elizabeth went on eating her bread and butter. Next to her was Ruth, opening a large pot of shrimp-paste that smelt simply delicious. She passed it round the table-but did not offer Elizabeth any.

Nobody offered her anything at all. Belinda counted how many there were at the table-eleven-and then cut her cake into ten big pieces. Ten was enough, because she missed Elizabeth out! Elizabeth watched the others munching the chocolate cake, which looked and smelt marvelous and longed for a piece.

She cut her currant cake. It looked quite nice. She suddenly felt that she really couldn’t eat it all by herself; she must offer it to the others too. She didn’t mind being thought naughty, but being thought mean was different.

“Will you have a piece of my cake?” she asked Ruth.

Ruth stared at her in surprise, “How you do change your mind!” she said, “No thanks. I’ve bad enough.”

Elizabeth offered her cake to Belinda. Belinda shook her head. “No, thank you,” she said.

Elizabeth held out her plate to Helen, but Helen simply made a face at her and turned away, nobody would have any of Elizabeth’s cake or of her sandwich either. Everyone else had either cut up half or all their cakes, and had finished up their pots of jam or paste. Only Elizabeth’s cake and sandwich stood almost untouched on their plates.

A bell rang. Miss Thomas stood up and spoke to the girls and boys, “You may go out to play,” she said, “but the new children must stay behind in the play room, and see the headmistresses.”

So Helen, Elizabeth, and Belinda went to the play room, and also two boys named Kenneth and Ronald. They set the gramophone going. Belinda did a funny dance and made them all laugh.

Then someone poked her head in at the door and called to the children. “Miss Belle and Miss Best are waiting to see you. Go and line up outside the drawing-room door- -and mind you each say you’re going to do your best for Whyteleafe School, and will work and play hard!” The girl disappeared.

The new children went to line up outside the drawing-room door. It opened and Miss Best appeared. “Come in,” she said to Belinda, and in Belinda went. The door shut.

“Well, I’m not going to say I shall work hard and play hard,” said Elizabeth to herself. “I’m going just to warn them that I won’t stay here and I’ll be so bad they’ll have to send me away. I won’t stay at this horrid school!”

The door opened and Belinda came out, smiling. “You’re to go in next, Elizabeth,” she said. “And for goodness’ sake behave yourself!”

 CHAPTER 5

Elizabeth is Naughty

Elizabeth pushed open the door and went into the big drawing-room. It was a lovely room, with a few beautiful pictures on the walls, and glowing cushions on the chairs and the couches. The two mistresses were sitting on chairs near the window.  They looked up as Elizabeth came in.

“Well, Elizabeth! We are very glad to see you at Whyteleafe School,” said Miss Belle, She was young and pretty, but Miss Best was older, and, except when she smiled, she had rather a stern face.

“Sit down, Elizabeth,” said Miss Best, smiling her lovely smile. “I hope you have made a few friends already.”

“No, I haven’t,” said Elizabeth. She sat down on a chair; Miss Best looked at her in surprise, when she answered so shortly.

“Well, I expect you will soon make plenty,” said the headmistress. “I hope you will be very happy with us, Elizabeth.”

“I shan’t be,” said Elizabeth in a rude voice.

“What a funny little girl!” said Miss Belle, and she laughed. “Cheer up, dear-you’ll soon find things are very jolly here, and I am sure you will do your best to work hard, and make us proud of you.”

“I’m not going to,” said Elizabeth, going red, “I’m going to be as bad and naughty and horrid as I can possibly be, so there! I don’t want to go to school. I hate Whyteleafe School! I’ll be so bad that you’ll send me home next week!”

The little girl glared at the two mistresses as she said all this, expecting them to jump up in anger. Instead they both threw back their heads and laughed and laughed!

“Oh, Elizabeth, what an extraordinary child you are!” said Miss Belle, wiping away the tears of laughter that had come into her eyes. “You look such a good, pretty little girl too-no one would think you wanted to be so bad and naughty and horrid!”

“I don’t care how you punish me,” said Elizabeth, tears coming into her own eyes-but tears of anger, not of laughter. “You can do all you like-I just shan’t care!”

“We never punish anyone, Elizabeth,” said Miss Best, suddenly looking stern again. “Didn’t you know that?”

“No, I didn’t,” said Elizabeth in astonishment. “What do you do when people are naughty, then?”

 “Oh, we leave any naughty person to the rest of the children to deal with,” said Miss Best. “Every week the school holds a meeting. You know, and the children themselves decide what is to be done with boys and girls who don’t behave themselves, it won’t bother us if you are naughty-but you may perhaps find that you make the children angry.”

“That seems funny to me,” said Elizabeth, “I thought it was always the teachers that did the punishing.”

“Not at Whyteleafe School,” said Miss Belle.

“Well, Elizabeth, my dear, perhaps you’d go now and tell the next child to come in, will you? Maybe one day Whyteleafe School will be proud of you, even though you are quite sure it won’t!”

Elizabeth went out without another word. She couldn’t help liking the two headmistresses, though she didn’t want to at all. She wished she had been ruder to them. What a funny school this was!

She spoke to Helen outside the door, “You’re to go in now,” she said. “The Beauty and the Beast are waiting for you!”

“Oh, you naughty girl!” said Helen, with a giggle. “Miss Belle and Miss Best—the Beauty and the Beast! That’s rather clever of you to think of that, Elizabeth!”

Elizabeth had meant it to be very rude. She did not know enough of other children to know that they always loved nicknames for their masters and mistresses. She was surprised that Helen thought her clever-and secretly she was pleased.

But she stuck her nose in the air and marched off. She wasn’t going to be pleased with anything or anybody at Whyteleafe School! She wandered round by herself until the supper-bell went at seven o’clock.

She felt hungry and went into the dining-hall. The children were once more opening their tins of cakes, and a lively chatter was going on. It all looked very jolly.

There were big mugs on the table and big jugs of steaming hot cocoa here and there. There were piles of bread again, butter, cheese, and dishes of stewed fruit. The children sat down and helped themselves.

Nobody took any notice of Elizabeth at all, till suddenly Helen remembered what she had called Miss Belle and Miss Best. With a giggle she repeated it to her neighbor, and soon there was laughter all around the table.

“The Beauty and the Beast,” went the whisper, and chuckles echoed round. Elizabeth heard the whispers and went red.