Naughtiest Girl 9: Naughtiest Girl Wants To Win Page 4

  ‘Hello, Jenny!’ she said, as she reached the table. ‘You promised to introduce me to some of the second formers. So here I am!’

  There was a moment’s awestruck silence. The radiant, golden-haired ‘Zara’ was in their midst! For a split second, Elizabeth herself was affected by it. Even without make-up, and wearing just an ordinary Whyteleafe uniform, Kerry Dane had a mesmerizing presence. She really did have star quality.

  ‘What a lovely spread!’ she said as she gazed round at the open tuck-boxes. ‘Nobody told me that we could bring things in. I haven’t got a tuck-box!’ she added, screwing up her eyes and pretending to sob. ‘Why didn’t anybody tell me?’

  The children laughed. The young star certainly knew how to put them at their ease! Soon they were all talking at once, introducing themselves. Jenny, flushed with pride at the unexpected visit, offered Kerry some shortbread.

  ‘Do you like popcorn?’ Patrick was asking eagerly.

  But now Kerry had turned and walked over to Elizabeth.

  Elizabeth froze, her head lowered as she pretended to divide up the cake, though in fact the task was complete. She drew in a sharp breath.

  The moment had come. Would Kerry Dane recognize her?

  ‘Hello!’ Kerry was saying. ‘Nora tells me you’re Elizabeth, otherwise known as the Naughtiest Girl in the school.’ She gave a friendly little laugh. ‘But that you’re really one of our best pupils. A completely reformed character!’

  Steeling herself, Elizabeth looked up and met Kerry’s gaze full on. But she need not have worried. Julian’s surmise had been correct.

  There was not a flicker of recognition.

  Kerry had no idea that the two of them had met that morning, in such very different circumstances! Already her gaze was falling from Elizabeth’s face to her real interest – the lovely big chocolate cake. And her mouth was watering.

  ‘How do you do,’ said Elizabeth politely.

  ‘I would do very well with a piece of that gorgeous cake. I’m afraid chocolate is my great weakness!’ replied the star, sweetly. ‘Can you spare a piece?’

  She was looking full into Elizabeth’s eyes again, willing her to agree. In the electric silence between them, Elizabeth could feel the invisible force of that will. Kerry Dane wanted a piece of the chocolate cake. And whatever Kerry Dane wanted, must be given to her.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Elizabeth replied, meeting that fierce gaze. ‘I’m afraid it’s all spoken for.’

  For a fraction of a second, a cold hardness crossed Kerry’s face, the exact look that Elizabeth had seen before. For that brief moment, the mask slipped and the real Kerry Dane showed through.

  ‘Oh, Elizabeth, how mean!’ Arabella was exclaiming. ‘You can have my piece, Kerry—’

  ‘No, have mine,’ Patrick added.

  ‘No, mine!’ said Martin.

  As some of the boys and girls clamoured for the privilege of giving up their slice of chocolate cake, Kerry turned and faced them, at her most charming once again.

  ‘I wouldn’t dream of letting any of you give me your cake!’ she smiled. ‘How silly of me to ask! Really greedy of me. Nora will take me over to our own table and we’ll see what’s on offer there! But before we go—’

  She looked directly at Jenny.

  ‘There’s something Nora wants to say to you, Jenny. I think you’re going to be pleased.’

  Elizabeth, Joan and Julian exchanged surprised looks. For the first time they realized that Nora, usually a calm, sensible person, had a rather silly, over-excited expression on her face.

  ‘If you really think I would make a good head girl, Jenny,’ said Nora, her cheeks flushed, ‘then I will let my name go forward, after all. I might as well.’

  ‘Oh, good!’ exclaimed Jenny, although she was rather taken aback. Less than ten minutes earlier, Nora had been so definite about not standing. ‘I’m so pleased, Nora. I’ll go and put your name up after tea. Oh, what fun! We’ll be able to have a proper election now.’

  ‘Always the fairest way,’ smiled Kerry Dane. ‘I do think Nora’s made the right decision. She’s told me how important the post is. The more candidates the better! May the best girl win!’ she added lightly.

  Elizabeth ground her teeth.

  ‘I hate her!’ she said to Julian and Joan, later. ‘What does she know about our school? It’s not a bit fair of her to flatter poor Nora like that.’

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Joan. ‘I think you’re right and that’s what’s happened. She must have talked Nora into standing. Against her better judgement.’

  ‘And she’s bound to get beaten,’ nodded Elizabeth. ‘If any of the seniors really wanted Nora, they would have put her name up themselves. It’s obvious they’ve decided they want Emma.’

  ‘But it’s not just the seniors who vote,’ Julian pointed out. ‘I think we should run an election campaign for Emma, don’t you? Just to help her on her way!’

  ‘Oh, Julian, what an excellent idea!’ exclaimed Elizabeth. ‘We can make a banner. And we can get Belinda to do some posters. She’s good at art!’

  ‘I think your idea’s a very good one, Julian,’ said Joan, after due thought. ‘The whole school is so taken in by Kerry Dane, the very fact that she approves of there being an election will tend to bring Nora a few votes. We must do all we can to help Emma.’

  ‘The whole school won’t be taken in much longer!’ declared Elizabeth, confidently. She was feeling cheerful again. ‘Kerry Dane won’t be able to keep up her act of being like Zara in the film for ever! Did you see the way the mask slipped when I wouldn’t give her any chocolate cake? Greedy pig! Did you see the look she gave me?’

  ‘Well, no, she had her back to the rest of us,’ said Julian, looking amused. ‘I can imagine it, though! But I was right about her not recognizing you, wasn’t I, Elizabeth?’

  ‘Yes, Julian!’ laughed Elizabeth. ‘You were right as usual!’

  The three friends set off for the art and crafts room, eager to start the preparations for Emma’s election campaign.

  As they walked along, Julian dug his hands in his pockets, deep in thought. He was frowning slightly.

  ‘There’s something that puzzles me about Kerry Dane.’

  ‘You mean, why she’s come to a little school like ours?’ asked Elizabeth. ‘Yes, it is puzzling.’

  ‘Well, that, of course. But something else. Why should she work on Nora and get her to stand for head girl?’

  ‘Well, she’s probably jealous of Emma for being so nice,’ volunteered Joan.

  ‘But if you ask me,’ said Julian, darkly. ‘What she’d really like is to be head girl herself.’

  The two girls looked at Julian in surprise.

  ‘She’s new. She can’t be!’ exclaimed Elizabeth. ‘Oh, Julian, what a ridiculous idea!’

  CHAPTER SIX

  The Naughtiest Girl wants to win

  ‘GOOD MORNING, children,’ said Mr Leslie, the next day, ‘and welcome to the second form all of you who have come up this term. Please find yourselves a desk and get settled down. Then I’ll give out the new timetable.’

  Elizabeth stared round her new form room with pleasure. It was large and airy with windows on two sides. Those pupils already in the second form, like Joan and Jake and Howard, were seated back at their old desks. The rest of them, from the first form, had to find their own.

  ‘Can we really sit anywhere we like, Joan?’ whispered Elizabeth, making straight for the empty desk next to her friend’s. ‘When I first arrived in the first form we had to remain standing until Miss Ranger told us where to go.’

  ‘You’re a second former now, Elizabeth!’ laughed Joan.

  Elizabeth felt very pleased as she settled down next to Joan. Carefully she stacked her books in her desk. It was true. She really was in the second form at last.
And very soon now – after this week’s Meeting – she would be a second form monitor!

  She was going to enjoy having Mr Leslie as her class teacher, although she would miss Miss Ranger, of course. She was also going to enjoy having a new timetable and learning new things. But most of all she was going to enjoy the Meetings and being a monitor with Joan. They would sit on the platform each week, as second form representatives, with all the other monitors. They would sit in a row, just behind the new head boy and girl.

  Whyteleafe was a very unusual school. It was largely governed by the children themselves. The weekly Meetings were like a school parliament, where problems were discussed and grievances aired. When any cases of wrong­ doing were reported to the Meeting it then became more like a court, with the monitors as the Jury and the head boy and girl as the Judges. Miss Belle and Miss Best, the joint head­mistresses, sat in on the Meetings, together with Mr Johns, the senior master, but they were mere observers. It was left to the pupils themselves to decide how things should be dealt with.

  And Thomas was going to make an excellent head boy, Elizabeth felt. He could be relied upon to be totally fair, as William had been. Emma would be just the same, as head girl; she was truly worthy to step into Rita’s shoes. Oh, they must make absolutely certain that it was Emma who became head girl, now there was to be an election!

  ‘You are not to lose your new timetables,’ said Mr Leslie, as Joan handed them round the class. ‘There’s just one each and none left over!’

  Elizabeth stuck hers down inside the front cover of her rough book. She studied it carefully. They were going to have more science lessons this year, with Mr Leslie. And more French with Mam’zelle. There were to be more games lessons, too. And they would still have Miss Ranger for English. Good! She would be able to choose between various outdoor sports this term. And on rainy days they’d be allowed, during games lessons, to play either chess or table tennis.

  ‘Table tennis. Hurray!’ thought Elizabeth. ‘I do hope I get in a team!’

  After school today Emma would be holding the first coaching session. Elizabeth was looking forward to it eagerly.

  But, before that, there was something else to look forward to.

  The three friends had been very busy in the craft room last night. They had made a beautiful banner. Julian had fixed it to a light wooden frame, so that someone could hold it aloft and march along with it.

  At dinner-time, the election campaign could begin in earnest. And so it did.

  ‘Roll up, roll up!’ shouted Julian, his hands cupped to his mouth. ‘Join on the end if you support us. Roll up! Roll up!’

  Julian stood by the open doors as boys and girls emerged from dinner. He was shouting encouragement.

  It was a merry sight, as the Naughtiest Girl came marching on to the scene.

  Elizabeth was striding this way, holding aloft a bright banner. It said:

  VOTE FOR EMMA

  EMMA FOR HEAD GIRL!

  With Harry banging a toy drum beside her and Joan just behind, they began to parade round the big sunny lawn. From the second form, Belinda and Kathleen quickly joined on. Then a gaggle of excited juniors, who all adored Emma, tagged on behind. They started singing at the tops of their voices: ‘Roll up! Roll up for Emma . . . !’

  Each time Elizabeth circled the lawn, the procession grew longer. Soon there were more than twenty pupils in the parade, while others stood round applauding. Some of them were seniors, like John Terry and Philippa Dearing. It was beneath their dignity to join the parade but they were happy to clap and cheer.

  ‘Well done, Elizabeth!’ John Terry called out, each time she marched past him.

  When the bell went for afternoon lessons, Elizabeth and Julian returned the banner to a cupboard in the craft room.

  ‘Wasn’t that good, Julian!’ said Elizabeth, her face flushed with excitement.

  ‘Very!’ His eyes glinted with amusement. ‘Pity some of them aren’t old enough to vote. But we’ve made a grand start!’

  ‘We must do it every day until the election,’ vowed Elizabeth. ‘I’ll ask Sophie to play the flute tomorrow! We’ll remind people every day who they should vote for! And Belinda’s promised to make posters later today.’

  After school, Elizabeth collected her table-tennis bat and hurried to the coaching session. She was the first to arrive.

  ‘I saw your parade at dinner-time,’ confessed Emma. She looked very pleased, if slightly embarrassed. ‘Elizabeth, I was very touched.’

  ‘Nora hasn’t got a chance!’ replied Elizabeth, in her usual forthright way. ‘We respect her but most of us think she’s a bit too bossy to be head girl!’

  Emma quickly turned to hide a smile. And just at that moment, several other children arrived – including Julian’s cousin, Patrick.

  ‘Hello, Elizabeth,’ he said, in surprise. ‘I didn’t know you’d put your name down for coaching.’

  ‘Emma suggested it,’ replied Elizabeth, sweetly.

  Patrick frowned. He couldn’t help liking Elizabeth but he was very competitive. It would be rather annoying if a girl – and especially the Naughtiest Girl – managed to bag a place in the table-tennis team ahead of him. Emma clapped her hands.

  ‘Right, everyone. First of all, I’m going to go through Elizabeth’s service action with her. She needs some help with it. I want you all to gather round the table and watch, in case there are some tips for the rest of you.’

  By the end of the session, Elizabeth’s service action had already improved. In spite of the fact that Emma had helped him with his forehand smash, Patrick was annoyed when Elizabeth managed to beat him 21–18 in a practice game.

  ‘No wonder you want Emma to be head girl,’ he said, as they went off to tea.

  ‘Patrick! How dare you? She helped us all equally!’

  ‘Sorry! Sorry!’ he said quickly, seeing the tempestuous look in Elizabeth’s eye. ‘Only joking.’

  ‘I should think so,’ replied Elizabeth. ‘But honestly, Patrick, who else could be head girl? Aren’t you going to vote for her yourself?’

  ‘I don’t know yet. I’m not sure that she’s got enough presence. But then I don’t think Nora’s quite right, either.’

  ‘She’s quite wrong!’ replied Elizabeth witheringly.

  After tea, Elizabeth helped Belinda put up her little posters round the school. She thought they were very effective. Written in large letters, in brightly-coloured crayons, were some simple slogans.

  X

  VOTE ON SATURDAY

  X EMMA X

  DON’T FORGET

  XX EMMA XX

  EMMA FOR HEAD

  USE YOUR VOTE

  X

  ‘They’re really eye-catching, Belinda,’ said Elizabeth admiringly, as they fixed one to the door of the third form common room. ‘Everybody’s going to notice them!’ She gave a little sigh. ‘But I do wish Jenny hadn’t put Nora’s name forward. It’s unsettling, somehow, though she can’t possibly win.’

  ‘I agree,’ replied Belinda. She surveyed her handiwork, feeling quite pleased with it. ‘None of the boys wants to stand against Thomas. It’s just taken for granted that he’s going to be head boy. But now Nora’s standing against Emma, it’s sort of raised doubts in people’s minds. It’s started lots of discussion and made them worry whether Emma will be forceful enough, even though they don’t think Nora’s right.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Elizabeth, ‘it would have been better if Emma could have been elected unopposed. But as Jenny told me last night, nobody’s got an exclusive right to be head girl and they shouldn’t be frightened of an election. It’s a fair point. We’ve just got to make sure that Emma gets a huge vote on Saturday. On her merits! I’m sure she will! As a matter of fact, Belinda, I’m quite enjoying this election campaign.’

  ‘Yes, it’s fun!’

&
nbsp; Going upstairs, at bedtime, Elizabeth smiled as she saw some tiny notices on doors. They were written in Jenny’s handwriting. They said simply VOTE FOR NORA. She thought they looked rather feeble, compared with Belinda’s efforts.

  And when she got to Room 14, she found Jenny in a chastened mood.

  ‘I’m not getting a lot of support for Nora,’ she confessed, as the girls sipped their bedtime cocoa. ‘I’m sure Kerry will vote for her and one or two other seniors. But I think she may only get about twenty votes altogether.’

  ‘Serves you right, Jenny!’ laughed Elizabeth.

  Joan was gentler about it.

  ‘Poor Jenny,’ she said to Elizabeth, when they went with Kathleen to clean their teeth.

  ‘And poor Nora!’ added Kathleen.

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Elizabeth. And it’s all Kerry Dane’s fault for interfering. What does she know about Whyteleafe School?

  Elizabeth was longing for Kerry’s mask to crack, for the rest of the school to see the young actress in her true colours. Only then could she tell her classmates about the adventure that she, Joan and Julian had had in London. And how the three of them had known all along that she was not nearly as nice as she seemed. That she was, in fact, perfectly horrid.

  But three whole days passed by.

  And, by Friday evening, Elizabeth was getting impatient.

  ‘I don’t know how Kerry Dane’s managing to keep it up!’ she complained to Julian, as they came indoors together after a ride on the ponies. ‘She’s so nice to everybody all the time, especially the older forms. Everybody thinks they’re getting to know her properly. They keep saying she’s even nicer than the part she played in the film. Really!’

  ‘Yes. I hear she’s offered to do something for the Earthquake Bazaar!’ observed Julian. ‘You know, the sale that the seniors are going to hold, to raise money for the earthquake victims. She’s running the sweet stall, or something. Arabella’s been making some fudge for it.’

  ‘I know,’ said Elizabeth, grinding her teeth. ‘And she’s offered to get someone important from the film world to come and open it. Everybody thinks she’s marvellous! How does she keep it up? It must be a terrible strain for her. I simply can’t think why she bothers.’