Charm School Read Online Free

to catch Cindy-Lou out, ‘if she’s already perfect?’
    ‘You’ve got to keep up,’ Cindy-Lou told Bonny sternly. ‘Fashions and styles keep changing so people who aren’t paying attention get left behind. That’s why some of the girls from our Little Miss Pretty Circle come here to Mrs Opalene’s Charm School every Saturday, and not just for her big Curls and Purls Competition. Mrs Opalene’s really good at giving people all those special little tips that make the world of difference.’
    The world of difference! Bonny stared. But just at that moment, as if to show how very keen she was not to miss any of these quite amazing tips, Cindy-Lou abandoned Bonny and rushed off to take her place in Amethyst’s perfect circle of chairs even before Mrs Opalene had clapped her hands for attention.
    ‘Girlies! Girlies, it’s Beauty Tip time! Now I’m starting today with a small variation on that old idea of bleaching your elbows by sticking them in two halves of squeezed lemon.’

    Bleaching your
elbows
? Bonny crept closer, fascinated.
    Mrs Opalene waved a stern finger round the circle of girls who had hurried to their seats and pulled out their notebooks and pens. ‘And I hope I don’t have to remind anyone here that,
contrary
to what we read in some cheap and nasty little magazines, we don’t use up our leftover lemon juice in the last clear rinse of our hair wash. And why not, Amethyst?’
    Amethyst flicked her hair shyly. ‘Because it strips it of the natural oils?’
    ‘That’s right, dear.’
    Amethyst flicked her hair again, pleased.
    ‘
Well
,’ said Mrs Opalene, twinkling with enthusiasm. ‘Some
very
clever person has worked out that, while you’re sitting with your elbows in your lemon halves, you could be doing something inordinately useful at the same time.’
    She gazed around at them. ‘Can anybody guess what that might be?’
    It seemed an easy enough question. ‘Reading a good book?’ suggested Bonny.
    Mrs Opalene waved a beringed hand. ‘Do try not to be silly, dear. This is seriou—’ She broke off, inspecting Bonny properly for the first time. ‘You look a little …’ She paused, puzzled, as she eyed this newcomer to her class up and down from plain old top to plain old toe. ‘Dear, you don’t seem quite …’Again, she stopped, and peered even more closely. ‘Are you
supposed
to be here?’
    ‘Yes,’ Bonny said, fingering the ticket in her pocket. She was about to explain when Cindy-Lou called out from her side of the circle.
    ‘She’s here to help Maura with the sound and the lighting.’
    At once, she was the most popular person in the universe and everyone was calling out.
    ‘Oh, please! May I just tell you something?’
    ‘I have to explain to you exactly what I need.’
    ‘Listen, there’s a bit in my music where—’
    ‘When Maura gets to the lighting for my bit—’
    ‘You see, I have this problem with—’
    ‘Girls! Girls!’ Mrs Opalene clapped to hush them. ‘Everyone will get their turn to visit the back room.’ She turned back to Bonny. ‘Well, dear,’ she said. ‘You do look awfully young to be dealing with expensive equipment. But I suppose if Maura thinks it’s all right—’ She gazed around. ‘Has anyone seen Maura this morning?’
    Most of the faces looked blank, though one framed by a mass of midnight blue ribbons began to crease, as if some worrying, half-remembered message was drifting to mind.
    ‘Don’t screw your face up, dear,’ Mrs Opalene reproved her. ‘It will only encourage early wrinkling.’ And then, as if this reminded her of all she had to get through that morning, she impatiently waved Bonny out of the circle. ‘All right, dear. Off you go.’
    And Bonny, equally reminded of all she wanted to miss, sprang to her feet, delighted at this chance to flee from all their drippy lectures about bleached elbows and natural hair oils. The tea boy was right. They were ridiculous, perched in a circle on their little chairs, like