Alice-Miranda Shines Bright 8 (13 page)

 

M
illie and Alice-Miranda knocked on the back door of Wisteria Cottage before letting themselves inside.

‘Hello Jacinta?' Alice-Miranda called.

The house was silent apart from the noise of a television in another room.

The girls made their way through the gleaming white kitchen and down the hallway to the front sitting room. Jacinta was lying on the white leather couch stuffing her face with crisps while
Winners Are Grinners
blared from the television.

‘Hello.' Alice-Miranda walked around and stood in front of her.

Jacinta didn't reply. She craned her neck to see past her visitor.

‘We heard about what happened today. Are you all right?' Alice-Miranda asked. But she already knew the answer to that question.

‘Would you mind moving? I'm watching that,' Jacinta snapped and shovelled another handful of crisps into her mouth.

Something was terribly wrong, thought Alice-Miranda. Jacinta didn't eat junk food. Of all the girls at school, she was by far the most health conscious.

Millie was observing Alice-Miranda's attempts to talk to Jacinta from behind the couch.

Alice-Miranda decided on a different approach. ‘We've come to walk back to school with you.'

Jacinta shook her head.

‘Miss Reedy said that you should come back with us,' Alice-Miranda explained.

‘I'm not going,' said Jacinta tersely.

‘But you have to be back for lessons in the morning, and your mother and Mrs Parker have gone out to look for Mr Parker again, so you shouldn't stay here on your own,' said Alice-Miranda patiently.

Jacinta looked up, puzzled. ‘But Mr Parker's run away with his nurse.'

‘No, he didn't. We found a note from Nurse Raylene. It looks as if he's woken up and wandered off somewhere.'

‘Well, you'd better go and help with the search,' Jacinta said, deadpan.

Millie was growing more and more tired of Jacinta's behaviour. She stalked around to the front of the couch and further blocked the girl's view.

‘Come on, Jacinta, let's go,' Millie said. ‘You're being ridiculous. We heard how mean that teacher was to you, and giving him a piece of your mind was completely understandable. I think it was brave actually, standing up for yourself and the other girls. But now you're being stupid.'

Jacinta sat up and put the bowl down beside her. ‘Am not!' she spat.

Millie rounded on the older girl. ‘Yes, you are. Alice-Miranda is trying to be kind but you're being rude to her. She doesn't deserve it. Frankly, I don't care if you want to be foul – we were all used to it before. But what I don't understand is how you could have pretended to be nice for so long now when really you're just the same spoiled brat you always were.'

‘You don't know anything, Millie.' Jacinta stormed off to her bedroom and slammed the door.

Millie looked at Alice-Miranda and shrugged. ‘Let's go. Obviously she doesn't want to come back with us.'

Alice-Miranda frowned. This wasn't like Jacinta at all. If this is what growing up did to you, she rather hoped to stay a little girl forever.

‘I'm going to try one last time,' she said, and raced off down the hallway.

She knocked at the door and poked her head inside. Jacinta was lying on her bed. Alice-Miranda sat down beside her and reached out to stroke the girl's shoulder.

‘Go away!'

‘But you're upset and I want to help,' Alice-Miranda replied.

‘Well, this time you can't.'

Alice-Miranda paused for a moment before taking a deep breath. ‘I can't if you won't tell me what's wrong.'

‘I don't want to tell you. It's none of your business, even though you think you can go around saving the world and making everything better. You can't, you know. There are some things that you can't change, even with all your money.'

‘It's not
my
money, Jacinta, it's my parents'.'

‘You won't understand anyway,' Jacinta said. ‘You've never done anything bad in your life. You're perfect and everyone knows it.'

Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘No, I'm not. And I'm sure that Miss Grimm will understand that the fire was an accident.'

‘Just go back to school and leave me alone,' Jacinta fumed. ‘Everything's ruined.'

Alice-Miranda stood up. It was clear that Jacinta was not ready to talk about whatever was troubling her. ‘Well, you know where to find me.'

Jacinta heard the door close. A silent tear slid down her cheek. She couldn't believe what she'd just done. Alice-Miranda was the best friend she'd ever had. Her plan wasn't meant to go like this at all. She hadn't meant for the other girls to be involved. This was about her and her alone. But she'd set the wheels in motion and she was going to see it through no matter what.

Alice-Miranda found Millie watching television in the front room.

Millie looked up. ‘I gather that didn't go well.' Alice-Miranda shook her head.

Millie glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already after five. ‘Come on, we'd better get back.'

The girls walked along the hall.

‘Bye Jacinta,' Alice-Miranda called. But Jacinta didn't hear a thing. Her head was stuffed under her pillow and she was silently sobbing her heart out.

 

 

A
lice-Miranda and Millie arrived back at Grimthorpe House just before half past five. Miss Reedy was already storming through the building barking orders at girls to clean up their rooms and make sure their uniforms were ready for the morning.

Millie had warned Alice-Miranda on the return trip that having Miss Reedy in the boarding house was not going to be much fun.

The woman intercepted the pair as they came in the back door. ‘Oh, hello there, girls. Where's Jacinta?'

‘I'm sorry, Miss Reedy, but she didn't want to come back with us,' said Alice-Miranda.

Livinia Reedy frowned and a deep line formed from the tip of eyebrow to the top of her nose. ‘Well, she'd better be here first thing in the morning, as Miss Grimm would like a word.'

‘I'm sure she will. We have some good news too,' Alice-Miranda fizzed. ‘Mr Parker didn't run away. I found a note in the washing at Mrs Parker's house. Nurse Raylene has gone to visit her father and when she left Mr Parker was still there.'

‘Oh, that's wonderful. What a relief,' Miss Reedy said. ‘I imagine the search parties will be back out looking for him then.'

‘Yes,' Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘Can we tell the girls and go out after dinner to help for a little while?'

Miss Reedy thought about it for a moment, and then shook her head. ‘I think we should leave it to the police. There's not enough time to send the girls out far and if he was on school property, surely Charlie would have spotted him by now.'

‘But there are the woods and the mountain too,' Millie protested. ‘He might have wandered up there.'

‘Are you sure we can't go out, Miss Reedy?' Alice-Miranda persisted. She had a feeling that Mr Parker wasn't far away at all.

‘No girls, not tonight. You need to make sure you've got everything ready for the morning. I won't have any fussing.' Miss Reedy spotted Sloane about to dump an armload of washing onto the couch in front of the television. ‘Sloane Sykes, you take that to your room and fold it!'

‘But Miss Reedy, we always fold our washing in front of the TV,' Sloane griped.

‘Not on my watch, young lady. Off you go.' Miss Reedy strode towards the girl and ushered her down the hall.

‘I told you she was bossy,' Millie said.

‘Come on, let's go to our room,' Alice-Miranda replied. ‘I'm sure we can go out riding tomorrow after school and help look for Mr Parker.'

Millie shook her head. ‘We've got a singing rehearsal for the end-of-year celebration.'

‘Oh, of course.' Alice-Miranda frowned, wondering when they'd next have an opportunity to help with the search.

‘Oh no,' Millie groaned suddenly.

‘What's the matter?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘I forgot to do my English homework for Miss Reedy. She knows we've been out for most of the weekend and now she'll kill me if I don't have it finished.'

‘Come on then, I'll help you if I can,' Alice-Miranda offered.

Millie felt better already – if anyone knew the difference between nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, it was Alice-Miranda.

 

Monday morning came and went in a blur. Miss Reedy had the girls up and out of the house even earlier than Mrs Howard usually did. Sloane received a solid telling off for forgetting her English books and having to go back to the house after breakfast. Miss Reedy felt compelled to go with her, lest she get any ideas about staying in on her own for the day.

There was no sign of Jacinta.

At the morning assembly, Miss Grimm announced that the police were still looking for Mr Parker. A murmur went through the hall, as the girls whispered about getting a day off class to join the search. But Miss Grimm said that the police were handling the matter and she and Professor Winterbottom had decided it would be best to send a group of cadets from Fayle out to look in some of the more remote areas. There was a collective groan from the girls.

Millie nudged Alice-Miranda as she spotted Jacinta skulking into the back of the assembly hall.

Miss Grimm had seen her too. ‘Girls, I would like to remind you all, and particularly the students in the sixth grade, that although there are only a few weeks of school left for the year, I expect every­one to continue to uphold the high standards of Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale. Just because you are leaving soon, you do not have licence to behave badly. If you believe otherwise, I suspect we might keep you here for another year.'

Miss Grimm's final comment was met with a cheer from the girls of the sixth grade. She hadn't been expecting quite that reaction and smiled in reply.

‘We'd love to stay. Professor Crookston is the meanest teacher I've ever met,' Madeline Bloom called out.

Miss Grimm looked as if she'd swallowed a fly. Madeline was one of the quietest students in the year.

‘Life is full of surprises, girls.' She arched an eyebrow. ‘And to that end I would like to see Jacinta Headlington-Bear in my office immediately after this assembly.'

Sloane leaned over and whispered to Alice-Miranda and Millie, ‘She's going to cop it.'

‘Do you have something to add, Miss Sykes?' Miss Grimm's apparently bionic hearing had kicked in again.

Sloane blushed as if she'd been caught with her hand in the biscuit barrel. ‘No, Miss Grimm. But from what I've heard, it wasn't Jacinta's fault. That teacher was horrid and he pushed her into it.'

Ophelia Grimm glared at the girl. She couldn't have been more thrilled to see the creeping red flush lighting up Sloane's cheeks. It seemed that Sloane was beginning to understand the difference between right and wrong. Ophelia didn't say another word, but merely gestured for Miss Reedy to conclude the assembly with the day's announcements.

The English teacher moved to the podium as the headmistress returned to her seat. ‘Girls, please ensure that you are all on time to the rehearsal this afternoon. Mr Trout and I are looking forward to the Summer Spectacular living up to its name.' Privately, Miss Reedy feared it would amount to a summer spectacle rather than a spectacular, as they'd had nowhere near enough time to rehearse the skits and the songs.

Mrs Derby appeared at the side of the stage, looking anxious. She seemed to be trying to get Miss Grimm's attention.

‘Please stand while we sing the school song,' Miss Reedy instructed. The whole hall rose in one movement and Mr Trout began his extravagant introduction on the organ.

Ophelia Grimm flinched. She wished he could manage an abridged version and stop that infernal showing off.

Millie prodded Alice-Miranda and the two girls giggled. Miss Grimm's face said it all.

Whatever news Mrs Derby had to deliver clearly couldn't wait; she scurried across the stage and pushed a piece of paper between Miss Grimm and Danika, the Head Prefect.

‘Something's going on,' Millie whispered.

Miss Grimm glanced down at the note then turned to Mrs Derby. ‘They can't be serious!' she roared. Realising there were one hundred eyes trained on her, she turned back to the children, gulped and began singing at the top of her lungs.

Mrs Derby raised her eyebrows and retreated to the side of the stage.

As the teachers filed out of the hall with Miss Grimm in the lead, Alice-Miranda noticed that the headmistress seemed to be striding at twice her usual pace. After she passed the children, her smile evaporated and even over the din of the singing and organ accompaniment, the tripping of her high heels as she ran across the courtyard was audible.

‘Something's happened,' Millie said to Alice-Miranda. ‘She looked like she was about to explode.'

Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘I wonder what.'

‘Jacinta's probably been expelled from Sainsbury Palace,' Sloane announced.

Alice-Miranda turned to look at her. ‘I hope not.'

‘Who knows?' Millie shrugged. ‘But I think I'll stay out of Miss Grimm's way today.'