‘That’s not what I was looking for,’ Millie said with a grin. ‘He looks like Mrs Parker’s gnome, Newton. He probably stowed away on the bus with us, just to get away from her. You know he likes to travel.’
‘Poor Newton. I don’t think Mrs Parker lets him outside at all these days,’ Alice-Miranda said with a giggle.
She reached in and picked off the token marked ‘1’ while Millie searched for the box containing the next clue.
She located it at the back of the garden and pulled out an envelope just as Jacinta and Sloane arrived to take the second token.
‘Have you seen Caprice and Susannah?’ Millie asked.
‘They were down the back near the tennis courts,’ Sloane gasped. ‘We thought we’d be last to get here. We were number four at the tree.’
‘I’m glad you beat Caprice,’ Millie said. ‘She tried to snatch our number last time. She’s going to be really mad when she realises she’s at least third to get here.’
Millie opened their envelope and she and Alice-Miranda sped away to read the clue: ‘Peter Rabbit’s favourite food.’
‘This one’s easy,’ Millie said. She was starting to get the hang of the clues and remembered straight away that she’d seen a vegetable patch marked next to the tennis courts on the map. Somewhere among the carrots they would find the next clue.
The girls sprinted towards the tennis courts, passing Caprice and Susannah on the way.
‘Have you found the second clue?’ Susannah asked.
Millie nodded.
Caprice’s eyes were wild. ‘Stop talking to them!’ She grabbed Susannah’s hand and dragged her around the corner. ‘You go and get the next clue. I’ve got a stone in my shoe,’ she whined.
Susannah did what she was told. Sep and Lucas had just pulled the third token from the gnome, leaving Susannah to collect the fourth.
Susannah came back with the next clue.
‘What number did you get?’ Caprice demanded.
Susannah reluctantly held up four fingers.
‘Argh!’ Caprice clenched her fist and shuddered. ‘They can’t win. I won’t let them!’ She snatched the clue from Susannah and tore it open.
‘Easy!’ she blurted. She started for the vegetable patch, where she’d seen Millie and Alice-Miranda heading. There’d been no stone in her shoe at all. She’d just wanted to see which direction the girls went.
Millie and Alice-Miranda had found the patch easily enough but the treasure was proving more difficult.
Susannah followed Caprice as she ran through the tomatoes and sunflowers.
‘There!’ Caprice pointed at a basket of carrots covered in numbers.
Millie was watching from a few beds away. She grabbed Alice-Miranda’s hand and the girls raced towards Susannah and Caprice, but Caprice had already taken the first token and found the next clue.
‘So, still think you’re the smartest girls in the school?’ Caprice taunted.
Millie pulled a face. ‘You haven’t won yet.’
‘Oh, but I will,’ Caprice promised and darted off to open the clue.
‘How much time do we have left?’ Millie asked.
Alice-Miranda glanced at her watch. ‘About twelve minutes to solve the last two clues.’
The fourth clue proved trickier than all the others and turned out to be the shed where the canoes and kayaks were stored. Somehow Lucas and Sep managed to get there first, leaving Caprice and Susannah with the second token and Alice-Miranda and Millie in third place.
The race to the finish was neck and neck.
‘Quick, what’s the clue?’ Millie’s heart hammered inside her chest. She wanted to beat Caprice more than she’d wanted anything for a very long time.
‘“The spring is in the water”,’ Alice-Miranda read. ‘I’ve got it!’ She grabbed Millie’s hand and charged off.
‘Where are we going?’ Millie shouted.
‘The indoor pool,’ Alice-Miranda puffed. ‘If there’s a diving board I think that’s what we’re looking for.’
‘We could lock the others out,’ Millie said.
‘But that would be cheating.’ Alice-Miranda gave her friend a playful shove as they ran along the path they thought would take them to the pool.
Caprice had figured out the clue too and was bolting after them. As Alice-Miranda and Millie neared the building, they looked for the entrance. There was a lot of glass and the location of the doors wasn’t clear.
‘I’ll go the other way,’ Millie panted. She took the path that led right while Alice-Miranda went left.
‘Go left!’ Caprice barked at Susannah.
The poor girl wasn’t keen to be on the sharp end of Caprice’s tongue again and did exactly as she was told. Caprice raced after Millie just as the red-haired girl found the door and pushed it open.
‘No!’ Caprice screeched and followed Millie inside. Caprice spun around and looked at the door, then reached out and turned the latch.
Millie scanned the pool deck. Sure enough, a diving board jutted out across the water. She ran for it. There were five tokens on the ladder. Millie reached out to take the first one.
‘No!’ Caprice shouted. She was right behind her. ‘No, no, no! That’s mine.’ She stamped her foot like a two-year-old.
‘Caprice, it’s a game,’ Millie snapped.
‘But I don’t lose anything!’ Caprice snarled, poking Millie sharply in the chest.
‘Too bad, you just did.’
Outside, Alice-Miranda and Susannah finally located the door only to find it locked. Alice-Miranda wondered how that had happened and pushed the thought of Millie’s earlier comment about the pool out of her head. Why would she lock the door with Caprice already inside? The girls ran to find Mr Plumpton or Beth.
Inside, Caprice and Millie were still arguing. ‘Give me that token,’ Caprice demanded.
Millie shook her head.
Caprice’s eyes narrowed. ‘Give it to me. Or else.’
‘Or else what? You’ll push me in the pool?’ Millie laughed at her. ‘Seriously, it’s just a game. As long as you complete the task, you’ll pass.’
‘But I don’t want to pass. I want to be first. Besides, how could I push you in the pool when I’m the one with my back to it?’
Millie had begun to wonder if there was something seriously wrong with Caprice. Competitive wasn’t the half of it.
Caprice was watching over Millie’s shoulder. She waited until she could see Alice-Miranda and the teachers come into view near the doors.
‘Stop it, Millie, stop pushing me,’ she yelled as loudly as she could.
Millie looked at the girl, bewildered.
Caprice stepped backwards, edging closer and closer to the water.
‘What are you doing?’ Millie demanded.
‘You’ll see,’ Caprice snapped. She could see Beth and Mr Plumpton through the glass.
Beth was fumbling with the key on the lanyard around her neck.
‘Stop it! Don’t touch me!’ Caprice screeched at the top of her voice.
‘I’m not touching you,’ Millie said. ‘Are you hallucinating?’
‘No, of course not,’ Caprice hissed. ‘You know, I don’t think you deserve to pass this test, after what you did to me.’
‘What did I do to you?’ Millie said. ‘Come away from the edge.’
‘Why? Are you worried I might fall in?’ Caprice pouted.
‘Oh, for goodness sake.’ Millie lunged at the girl and grabbed for her arm. Just as she did, there was a loud splash as Caprice toppled backwards into the water.
Outside, Beth finally managed to unlock the door. Mr Plumpton ran towards the pool while Beth raced to fetch a lifebuoy.
‘Oh heavens, Caprice, I’m coming!’ Mr Plumpton kicked off his shoes and leapt into the water, clothes and all. He sank like a stone, before pushing off the bottom of the pool and snatching the child under one arm. The pair burst to the surface, coughing and spluttering.
Caprice seemed to be fighting Mr Plu
mpton all the way and the poor man struggled to keep his head above the water.
‘Here, grab this.’ Beth threw the lifebuoy, which the teacher caught.
The young woman hauled and heaved the sodden pair to the ladder, before grabbing Caprice and pulling her out of the water.
‘Are you all right, Mr Plumpton?’ asked Alice-Miranda. She handed the teacher a stripy beach towel that she’d found close by. His clothes were stuck to his body like soggy cling wrap.
Jacinta and Sloane arrived just as the boys all got there too.
‘What happened?’ Rufus asked. ‘Did you forget your togs, sir?’
‘Does it look like I meant to go swimming, Pemberley?’ the man snapped as he peeled off his jacket.
Caprice was snivelling and shivering. ‘She … she pushed me.’ She pointed at Millie.
‘I did not!’ Millie felt her temperature rising.
‘You saw it, didn’t you, Mr Plumpton?’ Caprice sobbed. ‘You all saw it. I was just trying to get away and she pushed me in.’
‘Well, it did look like that.’ Mr Plumpton nodded slowly.
Millie’s face was incredulous.
‘She locked the door too,’ Caprice wailed.
‘That’s a lie!’ Millie scoffed. ‘She’s lying!’
‘Millie, settle down. The last thing we need is for you to lose your temper. I think we’ll have to discuss with Miss Reedy whether you’ll pass this activity. We can’t have dangerous behaviour – Caprice might have drowned,’ said Mr Plumpton, shaking his head – although the children couldn’t tell if it was because he was upset with Millie or he was trying to get the water out of his ears.
‘She wouldn’t have drowned. I’m sure she can swim perfectly well.’ Millie’s lip trembled but she was determined not to cry.
‘My clothes were so heavy,’ Caprice said with a sniffle. ‘I thought I was going to die.’
‘Oh, give it a rest, Caprice. You’re disgusting!’ Millie stomped off. ‘I don’t care about the stupid treasure hunt.’
‘Millie!’ said Alice-Miranda, and went after her friend.
Beth looked at the rest of the children. ‘Come on, we’ll go back to the quadrangle and get your tokens sorted out.’ But the shine had gone off the treasure.
‘Caprice, you can go back to the house and get changed. Susannah, would you go with her please?’ Mr Plumpton instructed.
Susannah nodded. She didn’t want to believe that Millie pushed Caprice. But from where she stood, it certainly looked that way.
‘It’s not fair,’ Millie grouched as she scraped leftovers into the bin. ‘Why do I have to do extra kitchen duty when Caprice planned to fall in the pool all along? She’s evil.’
Alice-Miranda stood on a little rubber-topped stool and pulled the trigger on the giant snake-like tap. She rinsed the smeared plates before stacking them in the oversized dishwasher tray beside her.
‘Don’t worry about Caprice,’ Alice-Miranda said. She wondered why the girl had it in for Millie. Alice-Miranda believed what Millie told her about the pool incident. It was a pity that Mr Plumpton and Miss Reedy didn’t. ‘Caprice is probably lonely. Maybe she just wants some friends.’
‘I know you’re right about a lot of things, Alice-Miranda, but this time you’re wrong,’ Millie said. ‘I don’t think she knows the first thing about being a friend. She just wants to win everything.’
Livinia Reedy poked her head into the kitchen to see how the girls were getting on. She’d been very surprised to hear about what happened at the pool, but Beth and Mr Plumpton had both seen it and, despite Millie’s protests, it seemed that the girl had lost her temper and deliberately pushed Caprice in. Livinia wondered if Millie was jealous. Caprice was terribly clever and talented, not to mention stunning. She was one of those rare souls who seemed to have it all. It was only natural that she’d gravitate towards Alice-Miranda, who was probably the closest to her intellectual equal in the school.
‘Are you managing with all that?’ Miss Reedy asked.
‘Oh, hello Miss Reedy.’ Alice-Miranda smiled at the woman. ‘Yes, we’re almost done.’
Millie looked into the bin and had to stop herself from gagging. Gelatinous lumps of gravy were mixed in with soggy peas, grey mashed potato and the odd fleck of orange carrot as well as chunks of jelly and sticky white liquid that had once been ice-cream.
‘After dinner, Millie, you can go straight up to your room,’ Miss Reedy said.
‘But that’s not fair. I’ve already done extra duties and I didn’t push Caprice in the pool in the first place,’ Millie protested.
‘We’ll talk about it later when you’re upstairs,’ said Miss Reedy.
‘But Miss Reedy,’ Millie complained.
‘Millie, I want to believe you. I really do. But some of the things I’ve seen and heard from you since Caprice arrived have given me cause for concern.’
‘Can’t you see? She’s setting me up,’ Millie fumed.
‘Really? You have been known to lose your temper,’ the teacher reminded her.
‘When?’ Millie demanded.
‘I remember a rather unpleasant incident with a bowl of dessert on Sloane’s head.’
‘Oh, that.’ Millie picked up the last plate and gave it her full attention.
Miss Reedy nodded. ‘Yes, that. I’ll come up and see you before the other girls go to bed.’
‘May I stay with Millie?’ Alice-Miranda asked.
‘No, you have choir practice,’ Miss Reedy said. ‘Mr Lipp needs you there.’
‘I’m in the choir too,’ Millie reminded the woman.
‘Yes, and you’re sitting this one out to reflect on how you’re going to make things work with Caprice.’ Miss Reedy stared at Millie pointedly and then walked out of the kitchen.
Millie shrugged. ‘I don’t know what she wants me to reflect on. Caprice hates me.’
‘I’m sure she doesn’t hate you,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘Maybe you should ask her if you can have a chat and sort things out. I’ll talk to her too.’
‘But I didn’t do anything wrong,’ Millie grumbled. ‘It was her fault.’
Alice-Miranda rinsed the last plate. She pulled off the disposable rubber gloves and washed her hands for good measure, then walked over and gave Millie a hug.
‘It’s all right. Caprice is just finding her way. And you – you’re Millie. You can do anything,’ Alice-Miranda reassured her friend.
‘Thanks.’ Millie hugged Alice-Miranda back. ‘I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.’
The next morning, Alice-Miranda placed the book she’d been reading into her backpack.
‘What are you taking?’ Millie asked.
‘I’m hooked on Black Beauty at the moment. It’s like reading the anti-Bonaparte story. I live in hope that one day my little monster will be as well behaved as Beauty,’ she explained.
Millie grinned. ‘Don’t hold your breath.’ She stuffed a dog-eared copy of The Witches into her pack and snatched her water bottle from the bed.
The previous evening Millie had spent an hour on her own before the other girls returned. As promised, Miss Reedy had come to talk to her. The teacher said that she understood that sometimes girls didn’t get on, but asked her what she thought Alice-Miranda would do in the same situation.
That was easy. Alice-Miranda had been in Alethea Goldsworthy’s sights from the minute she had arrived at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale. And what did she do? She almost killed her with kindness and, even though Alethea had left the school, Alice-Miranda could hold her head high.
Miss Reedy asked Millie what sort of girl she’d rather be like – Alethea or Alice-Miranda. That was easy too. Heaven help anyone who actually wanted to be like Alethea. Millie decided she’d try to make peace with Caprice, even though she was one of those girls who always made sure that the teachers were out of earshot before she did anything mean. She could only try.
Miss Reedy said that, providing there were no more incidents, Millie would pass the activ
ity. She was relieved to hear it.
When the girls arrived back at their dorm for the night, Millie told Caprice she was sorry about what happened. Truthfully she was, but she didn’t add that she was sorry that Caprice had set her up and sorry that she had to miss choir and do extra kitchen duties. To everyone’s surprise, Caprice accepted her apology.
Alice-Miranda had approached Caprice in the bathroom when they were brushing their teeth. Caprice had promised that there were no hard feelings and assured the younger girl that things were fine between her and Millie. Alice-Miranda hoped that was true.
So far that morning there hadn’t been a cross word spoken and breakfast had been a cheery affair. Even the food seemed to taste better. There was cereal followed by pancakes with maple syrup and weak milky tea, just the way Millie liked it.
After breakfast, Beth and Mr Plumpton were waiting for the group out the front of Bagley Hall.
‘When are we going rock climbing, sir?’ Figgy asked as the boys arrived.
‘If you look on your timetable, George, I’m sure you’ll see that for yourself,’ Mr Plumpton replied.
‘Yeah, but you could just tell me,’ Figgy said. ‘Save me getting it out again.’
‘Figworth, you do realise that this camp is about resourcefulness and independence?’ Mr Plumpton reminded the lad.
Figgy nodded.
‘And do you think asking me for the answers is displaying resourcefulness and independence?’
‘Yeah, of course,’ Figgy said. ‘I’m resourceful because I ask someone who knows.’
The Science teacher shook his head and the children all giggled. ‘I give up,’ Mr Plumpton said.
‘So how long do we have to go and visit the oldies for?’ Sloane asked.
News that the children would be spending part of each day next door at the Pelham Park aged-care facility hadn’t exactly sent shivers of excitement tingling through their veins. Except for Alice-Miranda. She couldn’t wait to get over and see everyone.
‘Sloane, I hope you will not be using that language in front of the residents,’ Mr Plumpton admonished.
‘What, “oldies”? Of course not.’ The girl rolled her eyes. ‘As if I’d be that rude.’
‘We will be there for at least two hours each day, which will give you time to get to know people and read to them. The matron at Pelham Park has also suggested that some of you write down the stories the residents tell you, if they consent. Quite a few of them or their parents worked or lived on the estate, and the home is keen to record their memories for the anniversary fair. Other students will be assigned to help the matron with some preparations for the fair as well as some gardening duties. I expect all of you to be on your very best behaviour.’
Alice-Miranda at Camp 10 Page 8