4 In Miss Grayling’s Room
Next day everyone awoke to the sound of the loud clang of the dressing-bell. New girls sat up in bed, startled, unused to the loud morning bell. Second-formers grunted¹ and rolled over for another snooze. They were a notoriously lazy form that year. Darrell was always teasing her second-form sister, Felicity, about it.
“Lazy lot of kids,” she said. “Always rushing down to breakfast with your ties half-knotted and your shoes undone². I wonder Miss Parker doesn’t deal out punishments by the hundred!”
“Oh, old Nosey does!” grinned Felicity. “Was she as bad in your time, Darrell, always nosing into this and that?”
“Never you mind,” said Darrell, remembering how she herself as a second-former had scrambled³ down to breakfast once with only one stocking on. “How’s that awful Josephine getting on?”
“Oh, throwing her weight about as usual,” said Felicity. “Susan and I don’t take much notice of her. It’s when she comes up against June that she gets it hot! June simply pulverizes⁴ her! Serves her right.”
Darrell was quite sure that June would be able to “pulverize” anyone, as Felicity called it. June was Alicia’s young cousin, a very tough and aggressive young person, only slightly mellowed⁵ so far by her stay at Malory Towers. She was very like Alicia, and had Alicia’s quick tongue and sharp humour. She also had Alicia’s love of tricks, and everyone who taught her had learnt to keep a very sharp eye indeed on June.
Except Mam’zelle Dupont! Anyone could play a joke on her and get away with it. But it was getting more difficult now, since Mam’zelle had discovered that there were actually booklets and leaflets sent out by firms, describing their jokes and tricks. She had made an intensive study of these, and was now much more on the alert.
“Do you remember when Mam’zelle played a trick on us?” said Felicity, giggling⁶ as she remembered. “She bought a set of false celluloid teeth and fitted them over her own—do you remember? And everyone she smiled at had a fit, she looked so

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