In the Fifth at Malory Towers Read Online Free PDF Page B

pantomime? Or a ballet? All kinds of thoughts ran through the girls” minds, and they glanced at one another in delight.
    “You will do it all on your own, except for any advice you may need from Mr. Young, the music-master, or Miss Greening, the elocution coach,” went on Miss James, pleased at the pleasure shown by the girls. Ah, when they got up into the fifth, how they liked to do things on their own, with no interference from anyone! Quite right, too — if they didn’t learn to handle affairs and stand on their own feet now, they never would!
    “You will choose your own producers,” said Miss James. “I should have at least two, for the work will be too much for one. The more you do on your own the better I and Miss Grayling, the Head, will be pleased — but we shall, of course, be glad to give you any advice or help if you need to ask for it.”
    Every girl in the class at once fiercely determined not to ask one single piece of advice. The Christmas Show, whatever it was, should be theirs and nobody else’s.
    “It shall be the best one ever done at Malory Towers!” vowed Darrell.
    “We’ll get the parents to come and what a surprise they’ll have!” thought Sally.
    “What a chance!” thought Alicia, and her agile mind began to run over all kinds of ideas at once. She longed for the first meeting. If only they would make her one of the Producers! She could organize well. She could plan and she could be more resourceful than anyone. She knew she could!
    They all longed for Break, so that they could discuss the ideas put into their heads by Miss James. Irene was in the seventh heaven of delight — if they did a pantomime, would they let her write the music? The music for a whole pantomime — why, that would give her more scope than she had ever had before!
    Mavis was also dreaming delightfully. Would she be able to do some of the singing, if they did a play or a pantomime? She was allowed to practise her singing properly this term, and had a special singing-master of her own, who came to the school to teach her. Oh, if only she could sing the principal songs!
    Break came at last. The fifth-formers rushed off in a crowd, gathering in a corner of the grounds, all talking at once.
    “We’ll have to have a proper meeting,” said Darrell. “Oh gosh — I do feel thrilled — to be told we can do the Christmas entertainment all on our own — and to be told I’m Games Captain and responsible for the picking and training of the lower-school kids for their teams! Why — I shanty have time for any work at all!”
    “Well, we’ve learnt how to work by now,” said Sally. “If we haven’t, we never will! We’ve got other things to learn now, I suppose — how to plan things on our own, and carry them out — and how to work together in them properly — things like that.”
    “Oh! Do you suppose Jimmy’s planned all this just to make us learn a whole lot of other things then?” said Daphne.
    “Quite likely,” said Alicia. “But what does it matter? If we’re learning something by producing a pantomime, well, let’s learn it by all means! I’m all for it!”
    “We have to choose a committee,” said Moira, taking charge. Sally, Darrell and Alicia felt a momentary annoyance. They had been so used to leading everything in the fourth form that they found it difficult to recognize Moira’s authority. Still, she was head-girl. She had the right to take charge, and she was perfectly capable of it — there was no doubt about that at all.
    The girls could all feel the impact of a hard and dominating personality in Moira — much the same as they felt in Alicia, who was also hard and strong in character. But Alicia had a sense of humour, which was quite lacking in Moira — that made all the difference in the world!
    Alicia could say something biting — and yet it would produce a laugh because of the way she said it. She was gay and lively, too, which Moira was not. Well, it took all sorts to make a