9 amanda makes a surprising suggestion

darrell was working hard for her exam, and so was sally. but they played hard too, and somehow found some time to attend all the debates, the sing-songs, lectures and meetings that cropped up through the week. it was a happy, busy life, and one that darrell enjoyed to the full.

she had now been six years at malory towers and had learnt to work really well, so the exam work did not seem as difficult as she expected. miss oakes was pleased with her.

“already you can work by yourself, darrell, with just a little guidance,” she said. “you are ready for college now. there, you will find that students can work as much or as little as they like. it is up to them! but you will always work well, and sally too—you have the habit now.”

privately miss oakes thought that darrell and sally would do much better at college than alicia or betty, although these two had quicker brains and better memories than either sally or darrell.

“being grown-up, and feeling free for the first time from bells and strict time-tables and endless classes, will go to alicia’s head, and betty’s too,” thought miss oakes. “they won’t do a scrap of work at college! they’ll be out to dances and parties and meetings the whole time—and in the end sound little darrell and solid little sally will come away with the honours that alicia and betty should find it easy to get—but won’t!”

at that moment darrell and sally were drawing up lists for the first tennis match of the season. moira was there, giving excellent advice in her rather domineering way. however, sally put up with that for the sake of her help. moira knew what she was talking about when it came to games.

amanda came up and looked silently over their shoulders. the others ignored her. moira turned her back on her even more pointedly.

“i think for the third team we’ll put in jeanie smithers, from the third form,” said sally. “she’s got a very fine serve, and she’s steady. she’ll make a good couple with tessie loman.”

“tessie’s no good,” remarked amanda. “never will be. not until she gets rid of her peculiar way of serving. she loses half her power, the way she swings her racket.”

“i bet you don’t even know which tessie is!” said sally.

“oh yes, i do,” said amanda, unexpectedly. “i sometimes go and watch those babies. you can always pick out the ones with promise.”

“well, you’re cleverer than we are then,” said moira. “it’s possible to pick out someone brilliant—and then find it’s just a flash in the pan—they’re no good at all.”

“i could always pick out the promising ones,” said amanda, with conviction. “i could tell you now who to put into the first team—that’s easy of course—and the second, third and fourth teams. but i wouldn’t choose either jeanie or tessie for the third team. they’ll go to pieces.”

the others felt annoyed. why all this interference? how could amanda, who had only been a few weeks at malory towers, possibly know anything about the sports capabilities of all the girls?

“well, perhaps you’d like to tell us who will be the captain of school games three years hence?” said moira, sarcastically. “we’re listening hard!”

“yes, i can tell you,” said amanda, without the least hesitation. “if she had some coaching—proper coaching—and stuck to practising every minute she had, there’s a kid in the second form who could be games captain of every form she’s in, and far and away best at tennis, whatever form she’s in.”

the other three turned and stared at amanda. she sounded so very very certain.

“who’s the kid?” asked moira, at last, after all three of them had searched their minds in vain for this elusive second-former. who could it be?

“there you are—you can’t even spot her when i’ve told you she’s outstanding, and told you what form she’s in,” said amanda, walking away. “why, at trenigan towers she would have been spotted the second day she was at school! but you could have a world champion here and never know it!”

“amanda! don’t go!” ordered moira. “now you’ve aired your opinions so freely, let’s hear a few more. who’s this wonderful second-former?”

“you go and watch them playing, and find out,” said amanda, in a bored voice. but moira flew to the door and shut it just as amanda had opened it to go out. “no, amanda,” she said. “you tell us before you go—or we’ll think you’re just talking through your hat, and that there isn’t any wonderful kid.”

“i don’t waste my breath like that,” said amanda, scornfully. “and don’t glare at me in that way, moira—you can order the others about as much as you like, and talk to them as if they were bits of dirt—they’re used to it! i’m not, and i won’t have it. if there’s any talk of that sort to be done, i’ll do it!”

sally came to moira’s defence, though secretly she was pleased to find someone who could stand up to the opinionated moira, and fight her on her own level.

“you’re a new girl, amanda,” she said. “but you seem to forget it. you can’t talk to us like that, and you must realize that moira knows more than you do about our girls, even if i don’t!”

“she doesn’t,” said amanda, contemptuously. “all right. i’ll tell you the kid, and you’ll see i’m right. it’s june.”

“june!” said the other three, amazed. june, the defiant, aggressive, dare-devil cousin of alicia’s! well, who would have thought of june?

“she never bothers even to listen when she’s being coached,” said sally.

“she only plays when she wants to,” said darrell, “and more often than not she plays the fool! she’s no good.”

“june’s always been like that,” said moira. “ever since she’s been here—she could run faster at lacrosse and tackle better than anyone if she tried—but we have never been able to put her into a team. she could swim like a fish if she didn’t always fool about—she’s fast when she wants to be. but you can never depend on june.”

“look,” said amanda, with conviction in her voice, “i tell you, if june was coached properly and soundly, at tennis and swimming—i don’t know if she’s any good at lacrosse, of course—i tell you that kid would be the finest player and swimmer you’ve ever had. oh, i know she fools about, i know she’s a dare-devil and doesn’t care a rap for anyone—but my word, once she finds out she can be superlative at something, well—watch her! she’ll go to the top like lightning!”

this was all very surprising—and somehow, spoken in amanda’s loud, very sure voice, it was remarkably convincing. darrell looked at sally. could amanda be right? had their dislike and disapproval of the cheeky, don’t-care june prevented them from seeing that she had the promise of a first-class games-player?

“well,” said sally, doubtfully, thinking of june’s tennis, and remembering the way she had watched her playing the fool on the court the week before, “well, i don’t know. she’s wonderfully quick and supple, and she’s very strong—but her character is against her. she won’t bother.”

“she just wants someone to take an interest in her and encourage her,” said amanda. “i bet it’s a case of ‘give a dog a bad name and hang him’, with june. if i had the handling of her, i’d soon make something of her!”

“well, why don’t you?” said moira, rather disagreeably. she had suddenly seen that amanda was right. june was a natural games-player—she had a wonderful eye, and a beautiful style. “she’s cheeked me so often that i just couldn’t see her good points,” thought moira, grimly. she put her question to amanda, and stood waiting for the answer. “well, why don’t you?”

“oh, amanda can’t be bothered to coach anyone, can you, amanda?” said sally, slyly. she felt sure that by appearing doubtful about amanda’s wish to help she would make the big, aggressive girl volunteer to do so. clever sally!

amanda fell into the trap at once. “i can be bothered to coach if the person is worth it,” she said, shortly. “well, i’m glad you seem to agree with me, anyway. i’ll take on june, and what’s more, i’ll have her in the second tennis team and second swimming team before the term’s finished!”

she walked out, shutting the door loudly, in her usual way. the three left in the room looked at one another. darrell rubbed her nose as she always did when surprised and taken aback.

“well! she’s right, of course. june could be and would be a wonder at games if she wanted to. she’s like alicia—brilliant, but unstable. a wonder so long as she’s doing something she wants to do, and something she’s determined to do well—but no good otherwise.”

“i shouldn’t care to take that little wretch of a june on,” said moira. “she’s rude and ungrateful, and she fools about all the time. i wish amanda joy of her!”

“she’s certainly taken on a handful,” said sally, picking up her games lists. “but if she does help june’s game, it’ll be something! anyway, thank goodness, we’ve got felicity to depend on, darrell. she’s going to follow in your footsteps all right!”

darrell glowed with pleasure. yes, felicity was all right. felicity would make good—and yet, june would be twice as good as even felicity, if she only took the trouble!

“well—it will be interesting to see what happens,” said moira. “very, very interesting. the confident cock-sure amanda—and the confident cock-sure june. my word, how i do dislike them both!”