Alice-Miranda Takes the Lead Read online

  Praise for the Alice-Miranda series

  ‘Alice Miranda’s optimism and determination is infectious. An immediately lovable character that young girls are going to want to be or be with.’ Deborah Abela, bestselling author of Max Remy

  ‘What’s the worst thing about reviewing kids’ books? When you find a book so enchanting that you want to ignore your own child to keep reading it! A modern story with a touch of the classics about it.’ Megan Blandford, Kids’ Book Review blog

  ‘Full of humour and with very likeable characters, this book sets a benchmark for a fantastic new series.’ Donella Reed, Read Plus

  ‘Alice-Miranda is a powerhouse of positive thinking, a problem solver and a friend to all – she’s quite simply unstoppable.’ Maitland Mercury

  ‘It is a welcome change to read about a small child who changes adults’ lives … even though she never changes, everyone around her does, for the better.’ Sydney’s Child

  ‘Her generosity of spirit, enthusiasm and ultra well-heeled practicality endear her to the reader.’ Katharine England, Adelaide Advertiser

  ‘A great book for ages 6 and up.’ Kate O’Donnell, Magpies Magazine

  ‘Ever since reading the first Alice-Miranda book, I’ve been dying to read the second book. Finally, here it is, and I love it … Now I want the third book.’ Matilda Murrihy (11 years), Herald Sun

  ‘In the best tradition of Pollyanna, Pippi Longstocking and Milly-Molly-Mandy … A modern fairytale, Alice-Miranda On Holiday is a delightful read full of quirky characters and events, plenty of chuckle-worthy moments, and a wonderful sense of fun.’ NSW Association for Gifted and Talented Children website

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Alice-Miranda Takes The Lead

  ePub ISBN 9781742750309

  Kindle ISBN 9781742750316

  A Random House book

  Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

  www.randomhouse.com.au

  First published by Random House Australia in 2011

  Copyright © Jacqueline Harvey 2011

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by

  any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form

  or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except

  under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968),

  recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without

  the prior written permission of Random House Australia.

  Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at

  www.randomhouse.com.au/offices.

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry

  Author: Harvey, Jacqueline

  Title: Alice-Miranda takes the lead / Jacqueline Harvey

  ISBN: 978 1 86471 849 2 (pbk.)

  Target audience: For primary school age

  Subjects: Girls – Juvenile fiction

  Boarding schools – Juvenile fiction

  Dewey number: A823.4

  Cover illustration by J.Yi

  Cover design by Mathematics www.xy-1.com

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Praise for the Alice-Miranda series

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Imprint Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  And just in case you’re wondering…

  Cast of Characters

  About the Author

  Want more Alice-Miranda?

  For Ian and Sandy

  For Linsay and Kimberley

  Twelve pairs of eyes widened in unison, awaiting Miss Ophelia Grimm’s next move. She stood in the corner of the room, a scarlet flush creeping up from her neck to her cheeks. Her blonde hair sparked with static and her lips drew tightly together.

  ‘Out!’ Her shrill voice shattered the silence. ‘Get out and don’t come back, you horrid little monsters!’

  Eleven girls reeled backwards in terror, their hands clutching pallid faces. Millie’s cinnamon freckles turned white and Jacinta’s mouth gaped open. Only Alice-Miranda dared to smile.

  ‘And that, my dears, was how I got rid of the two cheeky chimps who had taken up residence in our room!’ Miss Grimm smiled and plonked herself down in the striped armchair beside the fireplace in her study. Dressed casually in jeans and a pretty orange shirt, Ophelia Grimm was a picture of happiness.

  The girls exchanged quizzical looks and then disintegrated into fits of giggles. Mr Grump, who was sitting in the armchair opposite, roared with laughter.

  ‘You should have seen those poor monkeys.’ Aldous Grump grinned at his new wife. ‘They didn’t have a hope with Ophelia after them. Ran for their lives, they did – thought they’d be better off taking their chances with the lions out on the game reserve.’

  ‘Very funny darling,’ Miss Grimm admonished. ‘I was just tired of the little brutes raiding my make-up purse, that’s all. I hadn’t realised chimps were fond of lipstick and blush until I caught them giving each other a makeover at the dressing table after we returned from breakfast one morning.’

  ‘We must have stayed at the same lodge when we were on safari last year,’ said Alice-Miranda, ‘because the very same thing happened to Mummy. The manager, Mr Van Rensburg, said that his chimps had collected enough stolen lipstick to start their own beauty parlour. Apart from that, it does sound like you had a lovely time.’

  ‘We most certainly did,’ Mr Grump nodded.

  Millie took the last sip of her hot chocolate, up-ended the delicate blue-and-white mug and allowed a sodden marshmallow to slide into her mouth.

  ‘Mmm, yum!’ she exclaimed.

  ‘All done?’ Miss Grimm asked.

  Millie nodded.

  ‘Well girls, I think you had better be heading off. School tomorrow and we have
loads of exciting things planned for the term.’ Miss Grimm stood up and walked towards the mahogany door.

  ‘But can’t we stay and hear more?’ Jacinta grumbled. ‘I want to know what happened to the baby elephant you saw on safari. Did he escape from that crocodile?’

  ‘Next time,’ Miss Grimm promised. ‘And girls?’ She tapped her finger to her cheek as though she had just remembered something important. ‘We have a new student starting tomorrow. She’ll be rooming with you, Jacinta, so I expect you to make her feel very welcome.’ Ophelia arched her eyebrow and gave Jacinta a meaningful look.

  Jacinta nodded like a jack-in-the-box.

  ‘A new girl? That’s lovely,’ Alice-Miranda replied. ‘I can’t wait to meet her. What’s her name?’

  ‘Sloane. Sloane Sykes,’ Miss Grimm replied. ‘Now, off you go, girls.’

  Alice-Miranda was the first to stand. She said goodnight to Mr Grump, who was still sitting in his armchair. Without warning, the tiny child leaned forward and gave him a peck on his stubbly cheek.

  ‘Now what was that for?’ Aldous asked.

  ‘Just because,’ Alice-Miranda replied, before skipping over to Miss Grimm to give her a warm hug too. Miss Grimm smiled at her youngest student with the cascading chocolate curls and eyes as big as saucers.

  ‘And you know something?’ Alice-Miranda scanned the walls either side of the door. ‘I simply love your photographs. That one of you and Mr Grump is gorgeous, and that one of the elephant is too cute – you could enter it in a competition.’

  The previously bare walls now played host to more than a dozen pictures: Miss Grimm and Mr Grump’s wedding, their honeymoon and even some casual shots of Miss Grimm with girls around the school. There were faces and places and memories.

  ‘Do you remember, Miss Grimm, when I first met you, I said that what this room needed was some photographs? And now look – it’s perfect!’

  ‘Yes, young lady, I certainly do recall that was one of your recommendations, among rather a few others,’ Miss Grimm teased. Alice-Miranda grinned and leaned forward to give the headmistress another quick hug.

  The group of girls behind her took turns saying goodnight to Miss Grimm and Mr Grump. It was amazing how much things had changed at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale in the past few months. Who would ever have thought that Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones, along with eleven of her friends, would enjoy an hour in the headmistress’s study, hearing all about her recent honeymoon safari to Africa?

  Alice-Miranda smiled to herself. She couldn’t wait to see what excitement the new term would bring.

  Alice-Miranda led the charge across the cobblestoned courtyard towards Grimthorpe House. From her position on the dimly lit veranda, the housemistress Mrs Howard peered out into the darkness, a flurry of bother frothing on her lips.

  ‘Oh, thank heavens!’ she ex claimed. ‘I was worrying myself into an early grave. Where on earth have you been? Dinner was an hour ago. Now hurry up inside, it’s cool out and the last thing I need is a house full of coughs and splutters.’

  The girls poured into the hallway, one after the other. Mrs Howard gathered them around her like a mother hen, locked the front door and turned to face her charges.

  ‘Sorry Mrs Howard, we should have phoned you,’ Alice-Miranda began. ‘Miss Grimm and Mr Grump invited us back to the study for hot chocolate and marshmallows and we lost track of the time. Miss Grimm was telling us about their honeymoon in Africa. It all sounded so wonderful. They went on a safari and they saw elephants and lions and hippos …’

  ‘And guess what, Howie?’ Millie interrupted as she rushed through from behind Alice-Miranda. ‘Two monkeys invaded their bedroom and stole Miss Grimm’s lipstick and when she was telling us about it, I almost jumped out of my skin. She’s good at scary stories, that’s for sure.’

  Mrs Howard rolled her eyes. ‘Imagine that! Well, run along girls and brush your teeth. I’ll be in to turn the lights off in ten minutes.’

  The girls began to disappear through doorways along opposite sides of the long corridor. Alice-Miranda and Millie were headed towards their room when Jacinta whispered Millie’s name. She then opened and closed her hands, signalling the number ten. ‘Ten minutes. Okay?’ Jacinta asked.

  Millie gave two thumbs up.

  ‘What was that fo–?’ Alice-Miranda began. Millie promptly put her hand over Alice-Miranda’s mouth and gave her a gentle shove into their bedroom.

  Millie shut the door and flopped down onto her bed. ‘Midnight meeting in Jacinta’s room.’

  ‘Midnight! What fun! But it’s school tomorrow,’ Alice-Miranda said as she unbuttoned her shirt. ‘Won’t that upset Mrs Howard? I don’t think she was very happy about our staying out late tonight.’ She retrieved her pyjamas from under her pillow and began to get changed.

  ‘Don’t worry about Howie,’ Millie replied. ‘She was just pretending to be annoyed. She could have phoned the kitchen if she was that worried. Anyway, the girls on the corridor always have a “midnight meeting” on the first night back.’

  ‘We didn’t last term,’ Alice-Miranda replied.

  Millie explained that this was because Alethea wouldn’t allow anyone except her friends last term. Apparently the meeting was not really at midnight anyway, more like quarter to nine and usually someone fell asleep by quarter past and everyone got off to bed by ten at the latest. After holidays where the girls got to stay up later, it was hard to go back to the routine of 8.30 pm bedtime for at least a couple of nights.

  ‘We can talk about what we did on the holidays,’ Millie informed her friend.

  ‘But Millie, there are some things we can’t talk about from the holidays,’ Alice-Miranda reminded her.

  During the school holidays, Alice-Miranda, Jacinta and Millie had far more adventure and excitement than any of them had bargained for. Jacinta had gone to stay with Alice-Miranda for the whole break. The two girls quickly found themselves at the mercy of a rather cranky boy and a dastardly stranger. When Millie arrived to join in the fun for Aunt Charlotte’s birthday party, things went from bad to worse. A case of mistaken identity saw dear old Aunty Gee kidnapped by a gang of rogues intent on getting their hands on the Highton-Smith-Kennington-Joneses’ cook and her formula for Just Add Water Freeze-Dried Foods. The fact that Mrs Oliver and Aunty Gee looked like twins had a lot to do with the confusion. In the end Aunty Gee returned safely and Alice-Miranda’s bravery ensured that the crooks were captured, but the girls had been sworn to secrecy. Since Aunty Gee also happened to be the Queen, her future freedom depended on their silence. Indeed, she would never be allowed anywhere on her own again if news of such misadventures reached the palace.

  ‘Do we take snacks?’ Alice-Miranda asked. ‘Because Mrs Oliver packed a whole tin of her chocolate fudge.’

  ‘Yum.’ Millie licked her lips. ‘Treats are always welcome. But don’t expect to have any leftovers.’

  Alice-Miranda and Millie finished changing into their pyjamas, grabbed their toothbrushes and hurried to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. The place was a hive of activity as all of the girls from the ground floor readied themselves for bed.

  Not five minutes later, the bathroom was empty and Mrs Howard was patrolling the corridor, poking her head into each room, saying her goodnights and flicking off the lights.

  Alice-Miranda and Millie lay in the dark, watching the clock as the minutes ticked by slowly until 8.45 pm.

  ‘It’s time,’ Millie whispered as she pushed back the covers and sat up, swivelling her legs around to scoop her slippers from the floor.

  Alice-Miranda hopped out of bed and pulled on her dressing-gown, then slid her feet into her pink slippers. ‘This is such fun!’ she smiled. Her tummy was full of butterflies. ‘Are you sure Mrs Howard won’t mind?’

  ‘Trust me,’ Millie replied. ‘It’s a first night tradition. Well, most of the time.’ She grabbed Alice-Miranda’s tiny hand and they scampered to the door.

  The corridor was empty. A
lice-Miranda followed her friend as they tiptoed along the softly lit hall to Jacinta’s door. Other doors were opening and it wasn’t long before there were at least ten other girls headed to the same place.

  ‘Password?’ Jacinta’s voice murmured on the other side of the door.

  ‘Dead,’ Millie replied, louder than she had intended.

  ‘That’s not it,’ Jacinta whispered back.

  ‘No, but that’s what you’ll be if you don’t hurry up and let us in,’ Millie threatened.

  Jacinta giggled and opened the door.

  The stream of visitors poured into the room, finding themselves comfortable spots on Jacinta’s bed and the spare bed that was to be Sloane Sykes’s as of tomorrow. Alice-Miranda and Millie sat cross-legged on the Persian rug in the middle of the timber floor and Alice-Miranda offered the fudge tin around.

  Just as the group got settled there was a shuffling sound outside the room, followed by a booming voice.

  ‘Jacinta Headlington-Bear, turn off that light, or I will be in to turn it off for you,’ Mrs Howard instructed. The girls froze. Jacinta had left her bedside lamp on so everyone could see their way in.

  ‘Just doing it now, Howie,’ Jacinta called back.

  The girls remained silent until they heard the housemistress’s footsteps on the stairs at the end of the hall.

  ‘That was close,’ Susannah whispered as the group let out a collective breath.