1 first day

“my last term!” thought darrell, as she got ready to go downstairs. “my very last term! i shall be eighteen on my next birthday—i’m almost grown-up!”

a yell came from below. “darrell! aren’t you ever coming? daddy says do you mean to leave today or tomorrow?”

“coming!” shouted back darrell. she snatched up her tennis racket and her small suit-case and fled down the stairs, two at a time as usual.

her young sister felicity was there, waiting for her. both were dressed in the orange and brown uniform of malory towers—dark brown coat and skirt, white blouse, orange tie, straw hat with orange band.

“it’s the very last time i shall go off with you in the same uniform,” said darrell, rather solemnly. “next term you’ll be going alone, felicity. how will you like it?”

“not a bit,” said felicity, quite cheerfully. “still, you’ll be having a wonderful time yourself, going off to the university. don’t look so solemn.”

“last times are always a bit horrid,” said darrell. she went out to the car with felicity. their father was just about to begin a fanfare on the horn. why, oh why was he always kept waiting like this? didn’t they know it was time to start?

“thank goodness you’ve appeared at last,” he said. “get in. now where’s your mother? honestly, this family wants a daily shepherd to round up all its sheep! ah, here she comes!”

as mrs. rivers got into the car, felicity slipped out again. her father didn’t notice her, and started up the car. darrell gave a shriek.

“daddy, daddy! wait! felicity’s not in!”

he looked round in astonishment. “but i saw her get in,” he said. “bless us all, where’s she gone now?”

“she forgot to say good-bye to the kitten, i expect,” said darrell, grinning. “she has to say good-bye to everything, even the goldfish in the pond. i used to do that too—but i never wept over them all like felicity!”

felicity appeared again at top speed. she flung herself into the car, panting. “forgot to say good-bye to the gardener,” she said. “he promised to look after my seedlings for me, and count how many strawberries come on my strawberry plants. oh dear—it’s so horrid to say good-bye to everything.”

“well, don’t then,” said darrell.

“oh, but i like to,” said felicity. “once i’ve done a really good round of good-byes, i feel that i can look forward to school properly then. i say—i wonder if that awful josephine is coming back! she kept saying something about going to america with those frightful people of hers, so i hope she has.”

“i hope she has too,” said darrell, remembering the loud-voiced, bad-mannered josephine jones. “she doesn’t fit into malory towers somehow. i can’t imagine why the head took her.”

“well—i suppose she thought malory towers might tone her down and make something of her,” said felicity. “it’s not many people it doesn’t alter for the better, really. even me!”

“gosh—has it done that?” said darrell, pretending to be surprised. “i’m glad to know it. oh dear—i wish it wasn’t my last term. it seems no time at all since i was first setting out, six years ago, a little shrimp of twelve.”

“there you go again—coming over all mournful,” said felicity, cheerfully. “i can’t think why you don’t feel proud and happy—you’ve been games captain of one or two forms, you’ve been head-girl of forms—and now you’re head-girl of the whole school, and have been for two terms! i shall never be that.”

“i hope you will,” said darrell. “anyway, i’m glad sally and i are leaving together and going to the same college. we shall still be with each other. daddy, don’t forget we’re calling for sally, will you?”

“i hadn’t forgotten,” said her father. he took the road that led to sally hope’s home. soon they were swinging into the drive, and there, on the front steps, were sally and her small sister of about six or seven.

“hallo, darrell, hallo, felicity!” called sally. “i’m quite ready. mother, where are you? here are the riverses.”

sally’s small sister called out loudly: “i’m coming to malory towers one day—in six years’ time.”

“lucky you, daffy!” called back felicity. “it’s the best school in the world!”

sally got in and squeezed herself between felicity and darrell. she waved good-bye and off they went again.

“it’s the last time, darrell!” she said. “i wish it was the first!”

“oh, don’t you start now,” said felicity. “darrell’s been glooming all the journey, so far.”

“no cheek from you, felicity rivers!” said sally, with a grin. “you’re only a silly little second-former, remember!”

“i’ll be in the third form next term,” said felicity. “i’m creeping up the school! it takes a long time, though.”

“it seems a long time while it’s happening,” said sally. “but now it’s our last term, it all seems to have gone in a flash.”

they talked without stopping the whole of the journey, and then, as they drew near to malory towers, sally and darrell fell silent. they always loved the first glimpse of their lovely school, with its four great towers, one at each end.

they rounded a corner, and the eyes of all three fastened on a big square building of soft grey stone standing high up on a cliff that fell steeply down to the sea. at each end of the building stood rounded towers—north tower, east, west and south. the school looked like an old castle. beyond it was the dark-blue cornish sea.

“we’re nearly there!” sang felicity. “daddy, go faster! catch up the car in front. i’m sure susan is in it.”

just then a car roared by them, overtaking not only them but the one in front too. mr. rivers braked sharply as it passed him, almost forcing him into the hedge.

“that’s josephine’s car!” called felicity. “did you ever see such a monster?”

“monster is just about the right word,” said her father, angrily. “forcing me into the side like that. what do they think they are doing, driving as fast as that in a country lane?”

“oh, they always drive like that,” said felicity. “jo’s father can’t bear driving under ninety miles an hour, he says. he’s got four cars, daddy, all as big as that.”

“he can keep them, then,” grunted her father, scarlet with anger. he had just the same quick temper as darrell’s. “i’ll have a word with him about his driving if i see him at the school. a real road-hog!”

felicity gave a squeal of delight. “oh, daddy, you’ve hit on just the right name. he’s exactly like a hog to look at—awfully fat, with little piggy eyes. jo is just like him.”

“then i hope she’s no friend of yours,” said her father.

“she’s not,” said felicity. “susan’s my friend. here we are! here’s the gate. there’s june! and julie and pam. pam, pam!”

“you’ll deafen me,” said mrs. rivers, laughing. she turned to her husband. “you won’t be able to get near the steps up to the front door today, dear—there are too many cars, and the school coaches have brought up the train girls too.”

the big drive was certainly crowded. “it’s as noisy as a football crowd,” said mr. rivers with his sudden smile. “it always amazes me that girls can make so much noise!”

darrell, felicity and sally jumped out, clutching their rackets and bags. they were immediately engulfed in a crowd of excited girls.

“darrell! you never wrote to me!”

“felicity, have you seen julie? she’s been allowed to bring back her pony, jack horner! he’s wizard!”

“hallo, sally! how brown you are!”

“there’s alicia! alicia, alicia! betty! i say, everyone’s arriving at once.”

a loud-voiced man, followed by a much overdressed woman, came pushing through the crowd, making his way to the enormous american car that had forced mr. rivers into the hedge.

“well, good-bye, jo,” he was saying. “mind you’re bottom of the form. i always was! and don’t you stand any nonsense from the mistresses, ha ha! you do what you like and have a good time.”

darrell and sally looked at one another in disgust. no wonder jo was so awful if that was the way father talked to her. and what a voice!

jo jones’s father was obviously very pleased with himself indeed. he grinned round at the seething girls, threw out his chest, and clapped his fat little daughter on the back.

“well, so long, jo! and if you want any extra food, just let us know.”

he caught sight of mr. rivers looking at him, and he nodded and smiled. “you got a girl here too?” he inquired, jovially.

“i have two,” said mr. rivers, in his clear confident voice. “but let me tell you this, mr. jones—if i hadn’t swung quickly into the hedge just now, when you cut in on that narrow lane, i might have had no daughters at all. disgraceful driving!”

mr. jones was startled and taken aback. he glanced quickly round to see if anyone had heard. he saw that quite a lot of girls were listening, and, after one look at mr. rivers’s unsmiling face, he decided not to say a word more.

“good for you, daddy, good for you!” said felicity, who was nearby. “i bet nobody ever ticks him off—and now you have! jo’s just like him. look there she is.”

jo scowled back at felicity and mr. rivers. she hadn’t heard what felicity said about her, of course, but she had heard felicity’s father ticking off her own, and she didn’t like it a bit. never mind—she would take it out of felicity this term, if she could.

“we must go, darlings,” said mrs. rivers, leaning out of the car. “have you got everything? good-bye, darrell dear—and felicity. good-bye, sally. have a good term! the summer term is always the nicest of all!”

the car sped away. felicity plunged into the milling crowd and was lost. sally and darrell went more sedately, as befitted two sixth-formers.

“it’s nice to be at the top,” said darrell. “but i can’t help envying those yelling, screaming lower-form kids. just look at them. what a crowd!”