The Mam'zelles of Malory Towers

CHAPTER FIVE: THE MEETING

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"Golly", said Daphne. "A meeting? It seems frightfully shady!"

"Do you think we're in trouble?", asked Doris hopefully. "Could we possibly get expelled?"

Gwendoline shot her a dirty look. "Beast!" She said spitefully. "It's obviously something to do with that awful trick Alicia played. If we're blamed for it, it would simply be too unfair!"

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but if we're in trouble for that dreadful Alicia Johns I shan't hesitate to snitch her out," a catty girl named Elsie retorted. 

With that, the motley gang of girls, who shared nothing save their spitefulness and unpopularity, headed unhappily to prep, each girl secretly worrying to herself- that is, each girl except Doris and Fanny! Doris was happy to accept any excuse to get out of her so-detested Malory Towers, and as for Fanny, she was too busy buffing her nails to even notice anything out of usual.

Prep was a sordid affair, presided over as usual by Miss Potts. By the time it had ended, Daphne and Elsie were covered in cold sweat while Gwendoline had taken to bursting into tears every five minutes. Given that this was usual behaviour for her, the other girls took no notice.

Soon, Prep had finished and the group of five girls gathered outside Mam'zelle Rougier's office, each girl bearing a scowl on her face but Fanny, who thought scowling gave you wrinkles. Elsie and Daphne leaned against the wall, while the Pi sisters stood with their arms linked and their hands clasped in mock prayer. 

"Come in", called a voice from inside the office. The girls took a deep breath and swung in to Mam'zelle Rougier's cavernous lair. The room was lit entirely by candles, casting strange, harsh shadows in some places and throwing others into pitch darkness. 

The only piece of furniture in the room was Rougier's enormous desk, where the woman was seated. She motioned for the girls to come over and they gingerly gathered around her desk, noticing what strangely appeared to be a pile of wallets stacked on one side. The rest of the desk's surface was completely covered in a thick layer of coins, bills, and other various valuables neatly sorted into piles. Elsie could swear she saw something curiously snake-shaped slither in the shadows.

"What in the Lord's name is going on?" asked Doris. Even Fanny put down her nail file to stare at the vast array of shiny goods on the desk. Golly, the woman was like a magpie!

"I have called all of you to my office because I noticed a certain... quality about you at Supper," said Mam'zelle Rougier. "A catty glint in your eye, the stealing of another girl's jammy bun, or even certain catty remarks. All of you are misfits, rejected by the other girls who think they are too good for you," she said, the last line delivered with a snarl.

The girls looked at each other in confusion. What was going on?

"In short," continued Rougier. "I want you girls to become my very own crime circle here in this school. It will give you a place where you belong, not to mention revenge on those awful English girls and a chance to fulfil your criminal urges. "Alors, girls, what do you think?"

Elsie and Daphne looked at Mam'zelle Rougier with eyes filled with wonder, while Gwendoline attempted her best evil villain smirk. However, the Pi sisters, namely Doris, had expressions of utmost horror plastered to their faces.

"What you are talking about is theft, which is against the law of the Ten Commandments!" cried Doris. "We shall take no part in your sinning!"

With that, the Pi sisters turned and swept out of the room, their dramatic exit nearly foiled when Fanny tripped on a stray gold coin. As the door to her office swung shut, Rougier cleared her throat and looked at the three remaining girls.

"Very well," the Frenchwoman said. "Take a seat, girls. Now, here's what you will have to do".