There were no other words that Alicia could have used: the pantomime was a complete and utter disaster. No one laughed at Gwen, who got through the entire performance mangling every single line and not even trying to emote, instead constantly wearing an expression of smug satisfaction. Rather than laughter, the audience's reaction was embarrassed silence and when someone did laugh, it seemed inappropriate.

However, Gwen was not the only one responsible. Mary-Lou and Daphne's performances were half-hearted at best and Alicia had to admit that the silent audience unnerved her.

At the end, there was only weak, polite applause, as the actresses shuffled backstage. Darrell was nowhere to be found and as soon as Alicia found out, she decided to ignore Moira calling everyone together. Instead, she slipped out of the room, unwilling to waste her time listening to Moira's lecture about their performance.

Alicia found Darrell in the room they had used for writing the script. She was standing at the window, looking outside, while the sheets of the script lay in disarray on the table. When Alicia shut the door behind her, Darrell turned around and Alicia saw that there were tears in her eyes and on her cheeks. "Alicia?" said Darrell.

She didn't reply, she just walked over and took hold of Darrell's hand.

"Where's Sally?" asked Darrell.

Alicia opened her mouth to speak, but quickly stopped herself. No, this was not the time. "Moira is giving the others a lecture. I managed to escape," she said instead.

"Oh," said Darrell.

They stayed silent for a few more moments. Then Alicia spoke, "If you want to cry, go ahead. Or if you want, tell me to get out."

"No," said Darrell, "I'm not a kid anymore."

"Oh, Darrell," said Alicia, "This is all my fault."

Darrell shook her head. "No, I agreed to that idea, even though I should have known better."

"Don't blame yourself like that," said Alicia, "It was me who brought up the idea and badgered you about it."

"Alicia," said Darrell, "I should have known better than to suddenly start rewriting the script and to cast Gwen as the lead."

"Darrell, don't be so hard on yourself," said Alicia.

"Alicia. Be quiet," said Darrell.

So Alicia was. Few minutes later, Darrell started to sob quietly and Alicia hugged her, softly stroking her hair. Darrell was openly crying, but Alicia stayed silent, not knowing whether Darrell would accept any consolation.

The door opened again and Sally stepped inside the room. Upon seeing Alicia and Darrell, she stopped for a second, but then approached them. "Darrell?" she said.

Darrell looked up and attempted a smile, but the result was more like a grimace. Sally did not say anything else, but took hold of Darrell's other hand and joined them.

Again, they passed some time in silence, until Darrell extricated herself from their hold and dried her face with a handkerchief. She sighed. "Come on, let's go meet our parents," she said.

Alicia and Sally looked at each other, but neither of them tried to stop Darrell, who despite her teary face had apparently regained self-control and was trying to put on a brave front. After Darrell took a deep breath and left the room, Sally and Alicia followed.

Despite Moira casting dark looks at them, Alicia stayed with Darrell almost until they met Mr and Mrs Rivers. Only then did Alicia leave Darrell to go and listen to Moira's speech about the wasted chance to make the pantomime something spectacular. Luckily, as Moira's own parents were near, she did not have to endure it for long. Small blessings, indeed.

All around her, the girls were talking to their parents. Almost everyone from the Fifth Form seemed embarrassed by the abysmal performance, except for Belinda, Irene and Mavis, who have all done spectaculary well. Of course, there was also Gwen, who was currently smothered by the praise of her mother, while her father stood aside, his face mirroring the embarrassment of Fifth Form girls.

Rather than witness the praise heaped on Gwen's head, Alicia steeled herself and went to find her family. Those of her brothers who were able to attend the Christmas entertainment at Malory Towers immediately started their ribbing, but Alicia found her mind wandering away to Darrell. How was she holding up?

Unfortunately, Alicia and Darrell did not have much time before they went home for Christmas proper, but they had managed to steal some time together in their writing room, where they had both gone to collect some of the things they had left there.

"Alicia," said Darrell, "I don't blame you for any of that. I just want you to know."

Alicia tried to smile, but it did not feel right. "Don't you dare blame yourself, Darrell," she said, "It was my idea to make Gwen the lead and that was what sunk the script."

"Do you mean that the script was good?" asked Darrell.

Alicia just nodded. She remained silent after that, afraid of Darrell's reaction. Would Darrell realise that the blame was solely on Alicia's shoulders? Or would her disappointment turn into anger?

Just as she was about to leave, Alicia heard Darrell speak, "Wait."

Obeying Darrell, Alicia stopped and turned around. Darrell smiled at her a little. "Alicia, I want to tell you: this joke of yours was a terrible idea," said Darrell.

Alicia nodded and Darrell continued, "But you know, I've learned a lesson from it, so it was not all bad. I should have listened to Sally."

Alicia nodded again, feeling as if she were once again a little kid, listening to father scolding her. However, the mention of Sally made her also feel a little bit of jealousy. However, instead of punishing her like father did, Darrell walked over to Alicia and kissed her. Then she smiled at Alicia. "See you next term," said Darrell.

And once more, Alicia nodded and smiled at Darrell.