The Mam'zelles of Malory Towers

CHAPTER TEN: ALICIA'S REACTION

After dinner, Alicia and the girls trooped into the common room, bellies stuffed with treacle pudding. They all collapsed onto the sofas, wheezing and clutching their stomachs. But five minutes later, the insatiable Irene piped up.

"Say - I could use some more pudding right now," she said. "Alicia old girl, do you still have that half-eaten toffee cake in your tuck?"

Alicia looked at Irene as if she were made out of jammy buns. All she could see was food with her bursting stomach - how could this girl still want to eat? 

"I don't know how you can think about food, but yes, please help yourself," wheezed Alicia.

But when Irene scampered up to the cubbies and opened Alicia's tuck, it was empty.

"Strange," said Alicia, suddenly alert and active. "Maybe I kept it under my bed by accident?"

By this time, all the girls were up, wanting to know what had happened to Alicia's cake. They headed for the dormitories, one by one. Only Doris and Fanny, supremely bored and unsurprised that gluttonous Alicia Johns' cake had disappeared, remained in the common room.

"That wench has probably stuffed it into her own face and just forgot about it," chortled Fanny to her twin.

Meanwhile in the dormitory, the girls faced a shock.

"My... bed!" screamed Alicia. All her bedding was gone, as well as everything she had stored under the bed. A quick opening of the drawers revealed that her small gold earrings had also vanished.

Alicia's mouth was set in a grim, determined look. And then Gwen, who was eager to get back into the sharp-tongued Alicia's good book, made a suggestion.

"Girls - we should check the entire dormitory to see who did this!"

All the girls were quick to follow to follow Gwen for once, including Daphne who had seamlessly blended into the group of girls heading into the dormitory.

"I SAY!" bellowed Darrell after a few minutes, holding up a black bag stuffed to the brim. "Is this your things Alicia?"

Alicia opened the bag and all her belongings spilled out, including one embarrassing doll that her mother had given to her on her fourth birthday. Drat, she thought. This might ruin my hard-as-nails reputation!

"Yes," she responded to Darrell. "Whose bed was it under?"

"One of the Pi sisters," responded Darrell grimly. 

The girls gasped. First the Pi sisters had tried to steal Darrell's gold necklace, and then they stole all of Alicia's things? It was too much - they must be punished. Everybody marched back into the common room and accosted the two girls.

Doris and Fanny looked up in surprise. Why was all the attention on them? That never happened.

"What is it," asked Doris rudely. "Why are you simpletons glaring at us like we just took your spots on the lacrosse team or something?"

Fanny was lapping up the attention. "Doris, they're staring at my new manicure! This is a superior color than any of you can afford to buy," she said, thrusting her hands towards the girls.

Alicia pushed past all the girls to face the twins, a murderous look on her face. "YOU - YOU... VILE CREATURES... NASTY.... ANIMALS... THIEVES!" She was so angry that she couldn't form proper sentences.

Doris stared at her nemesis as if she were deranged or rabid. "Don't come close to me. I'm scared you'll give me mad dog disease," she said, inching away from Alicia.

Darrell stepped up. "Girls, we saw what you did. It's simply too much. How could you possibly steal all of Alicia's belongings?!"

The Pi Sisters' mouths once again dropped open. "But we didn't do - " Fanny was interrupted by a sharp dig in her ribs from her twin.

"Fanny," Doris whispered. "This is a good thing! We should take credit for stealing that dreadful Alicia Johns' things!! It's an opportunity of a lifetime!"

And so Doris confessed to the girls. "Yes it was us," she flung her arm across her forehead tragically. "So sorry Alicia, we should have hid things in a better place."

The girls immediately sent the Pi Sisters to Coventry and frog-marched them to Grayling's office, where they got another grave talking to from the Head. But you wouldn't be able to tell from the way the Pi Sisters emerged from the office with ear-to-ear grins. They were just too happy to see Alicia Johns miserable to care!

They went straight to the criminal circle, who they guessed had been the real executors of the crime. 

"Daphne, I want to shake your hand," said Doris, beaming. 

Daphne looked at Doris in astonishment. She had never seen the girl in such a good mood!

"So you're not angry with us for using you two as scapegoats?" 

"Angry?" responded Doris. "We're positively delighted! And in return for this honour, we shall never rat out your little crime circle again! Steal away, girls!"

With that, the Pi Sisters bounced back to the common room cackling, leaving the crime circle very confused.

"Well, I guess that'll make our work a little easier?" said Daphne. "Now let's go to Rougier, shall we? She said she'd have our new assignment ready for us!"