Free Alice-Miranda At School by Jacqueline Harvey

to be dealt with. Why she had agreed to allow the girl into the school in the first place was a mystery. She was obviously far too young and quite the most precocious brat Ophelia had ever come across. Once they were here though, they were awfully hard to get rid of.
    Ophelia grimaced as a painful memory invaded her thoughts. Another child, so like this one, a child to love, so adorable but … It was too hard to think about. Her feelings had almost destroyed her. She couldn’t allow it. She wouldn’t allow it. This child had to go, no matter the cost.
    She suddenly remembered the new hardware she’d had installed during the break. Higgins was becoming more and more unreliable. Sappy love-struck girl – one day she would learn that there was more to life than love. Ophelia got out of bed and marched to her walk-in closet. She reached up andpressed the top button of her favourite vermilion Chanel suit. The rear wall slid apart to reveal a room, not large by any standards, but heaving under the weight of twenty-four video screens. Why she hadn’t thought to do this sooner she really couldn’t understand.

When at last Alice-Miranda drifted off to sleep she too had dreamt. About girls playing and laughing. The clanging of the school bell and a hundred pairs of feet running to their classrooms. It was a wonderful sleep and when she awoke her stomach was aflurry with tiny butterflies. Alice-Miranda couldn’t remember being this excited before.
    â€˜Good morning, Millie.’ She sat up in bed, clutching Brummel Bear to her chest.
    â€˜Oh, hello Alice-Miranda.’ Millie opened her eyes sleepily, yawned and stretched her arms above her head. ‘Thanks for waking me. I hate that awful bell.’
    Just at that moment there was a loud clanging noise accompanied by a shrill, ‘Rise and shine ladies, time to get up, time to sparkle, chop, chop, choppy chop.’
    â€˜Who is that?’ Alice-Miranda asked.
    â€˜That’s just Howie. You’ll get used to it. She uses the same wake-up call every morning,’ Millie giggled.
    â€˜Howie?’
    â€˜Well, she’s really Mrs Howard but she’s so used to Howie I don’t think anyone has used her proper name in years.’ Millie swung her feet to the floor and scooped her slippers from beside the bed. ‘You’d better hurry up. If you don’t get to the showers early you’ll miss out on the hot water.’
    Alice-Miranda hopped up and pulled the sheets towards the bedhead.
    â€˜What are you doing?’ Millie asked.
    â€˜Making the bed,’ Alice-Miranda replied as she carefully folded the sheets down over the top of the duvet and arranged the pillows.
    â€˜You know we don’t have to. Howie always comes around and does them after we’ve gone to class.’ Millie dangled her toothbrush from her mouth as she donned a floral shower cap.
    â€˜Why should she have to do it?’ Alice-Miranda smoothed the duvet and carefully rested Brummel Bear in the middle of her pillow.
    â€˜We’re supposed to make them ourselves but we’re all so terrible at it that she remakes them anyway. Alethea called a house meeting last year and said that no one had to make their beds because Howie would do it for us,’ Millie replied.
    â€˜That’s not very fair. I’m sure she has more important things to do than make our beds.’ Alice-Miranda scrunched her feet into her slippers.
    At that very moment Howie appeared at the doorway. Her frame took up almost the whole space.
    â€˜Good morning, girls. Hello Millicent, did you have a good break, my dear?’
    â€˜Yes, Howie. And you?’ Millie replied.
    â€˜Lovely. I spent a lot of time in the garden but rather more in the kitchen –’ she patted her tummy – ‘if you know what I mean. And you must be one of our new poppets. It’s Alice-Miranda, isn’t it?’
    â€˜Yes, Mrs Howard. Pleased to meet