"Blyton, Enid - St Clare's 06 - Fifth Formers at St Clare's" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

Matron appeared at the door of the classroom with a tall, slender, dark-eyed girl, whose pale blonde hair made her eyes seem very black indeed.
' Hallo, fifth formers !' she said, her cheerful smile beaming at every one. ' All back ? Good girls. Now don't any of you dare to go down with mumps or measles, chicken pox or anything else! I've brought you the only new girl for your formЧAnne-Marie Longden.'
Anne-Marie smiled nervously. She was not pretty, but her golden hair and dark eyes made her rather striking. ' Hallo,' she said, awkwardly,' are you all fifth formers ? What are your names ? '
Hilary, who was head of the form, introduced every one quickly.
' These are the O'Sullivan twins, Pat and Isabel. You'll probably know t'other from which in a few terms! This is Janet, and this is Roberta, commonly called Bobby. You'll always know her by her freckles! Look out for these two, for they know more tricks than any one else.'
Anne-Marie smiled politely. Hilary went on, dragging first one girl forward and then another.
' This is DorisЧshe can mimic any one under the sun. She'll be mimicking you before long, Anne-Marie!'
Anne-Marie did not look as if this thrilled her very much. She thought Doris looked a rather clumsy, stupid girl. She did not see the intelligent eyes and humorous mouth of the born actress that Doris was.
' Here's Carlotta, dark as a gypsy !' went on Hilary. Carlotta gave her usual cheeky grin.
' And please let me tell you, Anne-Marie, that I was once a circus-girl, and rode horses in a circus-ring,' said Carlotta. ' Angela is sure to tell you that sooner or later, so I may as well tell you now !'
The golden-haired beautiful girl called Angela flushed with annoyance. It was quite true that she looked down on Carlotta and always hadЧbut she had hoped that Carlotta had not thought of it the last term or two. Carlotta had a very sharp tongue, and lashed out unmercifully at any one she disliked.
Hilary hurried on, hoping to avert a quarrel between the hot-tempered Carlotta and the annoyed Angela. ' This is Angela,' she said. ' Our dream of beauty !'
'You've forgotten the Honourable,' said a malicious voiceЧCarlotta's. ' The Honourable Angela Favorleigh! Angela must have her label.'
'Shut up, Carlotta,' said Hilary. Angela scowled, making her lovely face quite ugly for a moment. Then she tossed her head and went out of the room. She had learnt by now that beauty and wealth were no match for
a sharp wit like Carlotta's. Angela might be the most beautiful girl in the school and the richest, but Carlotta could always defeat her in a squabble.
'This is Pam, the brains of the form,' said Hilary, pulling a plain, undergrown girl forward, with great big glasses on her short-sighted eyes. ' She works much too hard, but nobody can stop her !'
Some one peeped in at the door. It was Claudine, come to see if her aunt was still there.
' It's all right. Mam'zelle is still looking for you, but not here,' said Carlotta. ' Anne-Marie, this is Claudine, the Bad Girl of the formЧshe only works at what she likes, she always gets what she wantsЧand she doesn't care how she does it. She has been here quite a long time already, trying to learn what she calls " the English sense of honour "Чbut she hasn't even smelt it yet !'
'Ah, you bad Carlotta,' said the good-humoured Claudine. ' Always you make fun of me. I am not so bad, and not so good.'
Mirabel and Gladys were pulled forward, and the plain, quiet Pauline, who had once been as big a boaster as Angela, but had learnt a bitter lesson, and was now a much nicer girl.
' There you areЧthat's the lot,' said Hilary, ' except Felicity, our musical genius, who is coming up from the fourth form, and hasn't arrived yetЧand Alma Pudden who comes down from the sixth. I haven't seen her about yet, either.'
' I hope you don't do anything wonderful!' said Bobby, to Anne-Marie. ' What with Pam's brilliant brains, and Angela's film-star beauty, and Felicity's musical genius, the fifth form has got enough wonderful people in it! I hope you're a nice ordinary person, Anne-Marie.'
WellЧI'm not,' said Anne-Marie, flushing red. ' I'm ЧI'm a poet.'
There was a deep silence after this. A poet ! What exactly did Anne-Marie mean by that ?
' What do you meanЧyou write poetry, or something ? ' said Bobby. ' Oh, help !'
' You can't help being a poet, if you are one,' said Anne-Marie. ' You're born a poet. My grandfather was a famous poet, and my great-aunt was a great writer. It's in the familyЧand it's come out in me, I suppose. I'm always writing poetry. Mostly in the middle of the night.'
' Help!' said Bobby, again. ' We've had many queer things at St. Clare'sЧbut not a poet, as far as I remember. You and Felicity will make a pair! She gets up in the middle of the night to write a tuneЧyou get up to write poems! WellЧyou'll be able to keep each other company !'
Another girl put her head in at the door and the twins yelled to her. ' Alison! Where have you been ? Come and be introduced to our poet.'
A pretty, dainty girl came into the room, smiling. It was the twins' cousin, Alison.
' This is Alison,' said Pat. ' Our little featherhead. Thinks of nothing but her hair and her complexion and whether she has a shiny nose, and . . .'
Alison would have scowled, or burst into tears a few terms before, at this candid introduction, but she was thicker-skinned now. She merely lunged out at Pat, and nodded amiably at Anne-Marie.
' You'd better look out, Claudine,' she said,' your aunt is coming along the passage.'
' You can't escape now,' said Hilary. ' You've got to go through with itЧgo on, it pleases old Mam'zelle. She really is fond of you, goodness knows why !'
Mam'zelle swept into the room, saw Claudine and flung herself on her. ' Ma petite Claudine! How are you ? How are your dear father and mother, and all the family ? I have seen the little AntoinetteЧah, how lonely and shy the poor child looked. I have cakes and biscuits for you both in my roomЧyou will come now, this very minute, and eat them with me !'
Claudine let herself be taken off. The others laughed. ' Funny to think of Claudine being a fifth-former! Perhaps she will turn over a new leaf now she's so high up in the school.'
But that was the last thing Claudine meant to do. She went her own way, saying what she pleased, doing what she pleased, and always would. It was surprising that so many people liked her !


2 STUDIES OF THEIR OWN

IT was the rule at St. Clare's that as soon as any girl had been in the fifth form for two terms she should be allowed to have a small study of her own, which she shared with one other girl. These studies were tiny places, and the girls could, if they wished, furnish them themselves, though the school provided such things as a table, chairs and a carpet and shelves.
Most girls contented themselves with putting up a picture or two, bringing their own vases for flowers, a tablecloth or so, and a clock. A few were more ambitious and got a carpet from home, and maybe even an armchair.
The girls themselves chose the companion with whom they wanted to share a study. This was not usually difficult, because by the time they reached the top forms the girls had all more or less made their own friends, and, when they were in the fourth form, had planned with whom they were going to share the study.
It was fun arranging about the studies. The pairs had to go to Matron and tell her they were going to share a study, and then Matron would allot one to them.
' Fancy you having a study !' she would say. ' Dear
meЧit seems no time at all since you were in the first form and I nearly gave you a spanking for not reporting your sore throats to me!'
Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan were to share a study, of course. Mirabel and Gladys wanted to as well. Angela had asked Alison to share with herЧboth girls had the same dainty tastes.
' I bet there will be nothing but mirrors all the way round the walls of your study !' said Bobby to Alison. It was a standing joke that Alison always looked into any mirror she passed, or even in the glass of pictures, to see if her hair was all right.
Bobby and Janet were to share a study. Both were tomboys, with a love for practical jokes. What tricks would be hatched out, in their study !
One odd pair was Pam Boardman, the brainy one of the form, and Doris Edward, who was always near the bottom. For all her brilliance at mimicry and acting, Doris could not do ordinary lessons well, and admired Pam's brains deeply. Pam had tried to help the bigger girl at times, and a warm friendship had sprung up between them, which made Doris suggest sharing a study. Pam had left St. Clare's once, but had missed it so much that her parents had sent her back again some time later,