10 amanda and june

when amanda had made up her mind to do something, she did it immediately. as soon as she had got outside the door she looked out for a second-former, she saw susan.

“hey, you—what’s your name—susan.” she called. “go and find june, tell her i want her, and send her up to my study.”

susan sped off, wondering what june had done. as a rule the second-formers were only sent for when they needed lecturing about something. she found june and delivered the message.

june was surprised. amanda, as far as she knew, hadn’t even bothered to know her name, though she had seen the big sixth-former watching the lower-form tennis practice and swimming several times. she looked at susan.

“i’m sure it’s not me she wants,” she said. “it’s someone else. anyway, i haven’t done anything wrong—and if somebody was going to tick me off, it wouldn’t be amanda. it would be sally or darrell. i’m not going. i don’t like amanda.”

“but you must go,” said susan, shocked at the idea of june disobeying a sixth-form order. “even if it’s a mistake, you ought to go and find out.”

“i’m busy,” said june. “leave me alone. i’m the one that will get into trouble for not going, not you. but i shan’t, don’t worry! amanda meant someone else, not me.”

susan went off. all right—let june disobey amanda if she wanted to. susan had delivered the message. it was just like june’s silly obstinacy. she hated being ordered about by the bigger girls.

amanda went to her study and waited. she had no real interest in june beyond the fact that she had certainly noted june’s decided gift for games. she just wanted to coach her to prove her point. she sat and waited for the second-former to come.

she waited five minutes, patiently, knowing that it might take susan a little time to find her. then, most impatiently, she waited another five minutes. she got up, annoyed, and went to the door to see if by any chance june was there and had knocked, and she hadn’t heard her.

the passage outside was empty. amanda went to the window and looked. down in the garden she saw june, walking with two or three others, talking animatedly. she yelled out of the window.

“june! come here! didn’t susan give you my message?”

june pretended not to hear. amanda yelled again. the others nudged june and pointed to the shouting amanda. june reluctantly detached herself and went under the window.

“come up to my study at once,” ordered amanda. “i’ve already been waiting ten minutes and more!”

the other second-formers laughed at june’s annoyed face. “now you’re for it!” called katherine. “what have you been up to, june? you’re in for a good old wigging!”

june couldn’t think of anything she had done. she had hated being hauled indoors in front of all the others. she went in sulkily and stood outside amanda’s door. she knocked sharply. amanda had expected a soft, apologetic knock and she jumped.

“come in,” she said. june went in and shut the door too loudly. she would show amanda she didn’t stand in awe of sixth-formers, however high and mighty they thought themselves!

it was not a good beginning for any co-operation between them. amanda was annoyed, june was cross.

“i suppose susan didn’t give you my message?” said amanda.

“yes, she did,” said june.

“then why on earth didn’t you come?” demanded amanda.

“i thought you’d made a mistake,” said june. “i didn’t know you even knew my name.”

“what a feeble excuse!” said amanda, and, indeed, it did sound rather feeble, even to june, as she said it.

june scowled. she waited to hear what she had done wrong. she half expected to see a punishment book ready on the table, but there was none. all the sixth-formers had punishment books, in which they wrote down any punishment they meted out to lower-formers who had offended in some way. usually the punishment was lines to learn and repeat.

“i wish she’d tell me what i’ve done,” thought june, eyeing amanda aggressively. actually amanda, finding june so exasperating, was debating whether or not to change her mind about offering to coach her. she decided to go on with it. she couldn’t bear the idea of moira sneering at her if she didn’t.

“look here, june,” she began, abruptly. “i’ve been watching you.”

june was startled. “watching me!” she said, on the defensive at once. “what for? i’m not aware that i’ve been worth watching—i’ve been fairly harmless lately.”

“don’t talk in that silly way,” said amanda. “i’ve been watching you at tennis and swimming. you could be good. in fact you could be better than anyone in the second form, or the third form. and if you worked at your games, instead of playing the fool, you’d soon beat anyone in the fourth form too.”

june gaped. this was so very extraordinary and unexpected that she couldn’t think of a word to say.

amanda went on.

“so i propose to coach you myself, june. i’ve told sally and darrell and moira my views about you, and i’ve said i could make you good enough to put you in the second tennis team and second swimming team before the end of the term. i want to prove that i’m right.”

still june stared at amanda, overcome with astonishment. she couldn’t understand amanda picking her out like this. june had no illusions about herself—she knew she could be outstanding if she tried—but it was too much trouble to try! still, it was very very flattering to be told all this!

“well?” said amanda, impatiently. “why don’t you say something? i propose to begin coaching you right away—this afternoon, if possible.”

june hesitated. she was torn between two alternatives. she disliked amanda, and wanted to throw her offer back in her face, because it had something hard and condescending about it. on the other hand—what fun to lord it over the other second-formers, and tell them that amanda, from the great sports school, trenigan towers, had actually picked her out from all the other lower-formers—and considered it worth while to spend a great deal of time on her!

“all right,” said june, at last. “did sally say i could have special coaching from you?”

amanda gave a snort. “don’t be silly. and i think you might at least show a spark of gratitude. i’m going to give up a lot of my time to you.”

“well—you’re really only doing it to prove yourself right, aren’t you?” said june, with her devastating sharpness. “not because you’re really interested in me? i don’t mind. it suits me, if it suits you!”

amanda restrained her tongue with an effort. it wouldn’t do to put this cheeky youngster in a hostile mood at the beginning, or there would be no co-operation between them, and no good results. but how she did dislike her!

“very well,” said amanda, crisply. “we’ll have the whole thing on a business basis. i want to prove i’m right, and you want to be in the second school teams. at least, i imagine you do. it would be a tremendous thing for a second-former.”

“all right,” said june, in her maddeningly casual way.

“but there’s just one thing you must understand,” said amanda, “or the whole thing’s off. you have jolly well got to come at the times i set for coaching in swimming and tennis. got that?”

“that’s fair enough,” said june. and so the bargain was struck between them, a cold sort of bargain with no liking or real interest on either side. june went off jauntily. what a shock for the other second-formers to hear her news!

as soon as she appeared in the second-form common-room the others called out to her.

“what was it, june? what did she want you for?”

“how many lines have you got to learn this time?”

“did you cheek her? what did you say?”

“she sent for me because she said she wanted to coach me in tennis and swimming,” announced june.

this was so astonishing to the others that they were struck into silence. felicity gasped:

“amanda—coaching you, june! whatever for?”

“well, she appears to think i could be in the second tennis team and the second swimming team by the end of the term if i want to,” said june, airily.

“you couldn’t. you always fool about too much,” said susan at once.

“right. amanda appears to think so, i said,” answered june. “i’ve no doubt your opinion is more correct, though, susan.”

“look—don’t be so exasperating,” said felicity. “tell us what really happened.”

“i’ve told you,” said june. “amanda wants to coach me every day, and i’ve agreed. that’s all.”

there was another silence. the second-formers found it all very hard to believe. but they knew june was speaking the truth. she always did.

“well, all i can say is, i wish you joy of being coached by that awful, loud-voiced creature,” said susan. “she’ll order you about like anything.”

“she’ll have to mind her p’s and q’s,” said june, smoothly. “i don’t take kindly to being ordered about. if she wants to prove she’s right, and get me good enough for the second teams, she’ll have to go about it the right way.”

“you’re a pair,” said harriet. “a real pair! i shall come and watch the coaching.”

“i don’t want you to,” said june, hastily.

“oh, but we must,” said felicity, winking at the others. “after all—with coaching marvellous enough to push you into the second teams so soon, even we might pick up a few hints.”

“just a few crumbs from the rich man’s table!” giggled jane. “well—what a bit of news!”