Princess at Silver Spires Read Online Free

day?” I stammered, trying to say something sensible.
    Elise spoke lightly. “Only three. One from each category. So no big deal.”
    I sighed with relief.
    Elise started to tick them off on her fingers. “Right, the first category is ‘Dress to Impress for Less’. The second is—”
    â€œI like the sound of that one,” I interrupted, feeling silly the moment the words were out of my mouth, but carrying on anyway. “Katy does that kind of thing all the time, don’t you, Kates?”
    Elise ignored me completely and carried on. “The second one is ‘Caj with a Dash’, which is just a quirky way of saying ‘smart but casual’. It’s not exactly a perfect rhyme, is it, but who cares? Miss Clemence thought of that one and she’s French so…” Elise didn’t finish her sentence.
    â€œYes, I know. She’s our French teacher,” said Katy. “And she does junior fashion club as well. ‘Caj with a Dash’, that sounds cool.” Katy’s eyes danced with excitement as she turned to me. “You’ll look lovely, Naomi.” Then she swung back to Elise. “Will the fashion show be videoed?”
    Elise looked at her as though she’d just asked whether Africa was bigger than England. “Obviously,” she said, with a bit of a sneer. “There’ll be the official DVD for all the parents, but the local press will be there too, and this year they’re even featuring it on the local TV news.”
    â€œOh wow!” Katy said, while I swallowed and felt a new wave of nervousness coming over me at the thought of people being able to watch the fashion show not just once, but as often as they liked on the DVD.
    â€œOh, and, Naomi,” Elise added, “be prepared to be interviewed, with you being…so into the charity.”
    I gulped. I hadn’t thought about being interviewed on TV, but I’d have to be brave and just get on with it, because it would be good publicity for Just Water. I’d done interviews before, for magazines and things, so hopefully it wouldn’t be too terrifying. I told myself I’d cross that bridge when I came to it anyway. For the moment, I still wanted to know more basic facts, like exactly how many times I’d have to walk up and down the catwalk.
    â€œAnd the third category,” Elise went on, “is my personal fave – the ‘Prom’ category.”
    â€œProm?”
    â€œSurely you know what a prom dress is!”
    â€œNo, I…”
    â€œIt’s a totally glam evening dress for a prom party.”
    â€œA prom party?”
    â€œOh dear,” said Elise when she saw my puzzled face. “You have got a lot to learn. Prom parties are what us Year Elevens like to do…” She laughed. “Term time, holiday time, any time! Hence this creation here!” She waved her hand at the material on the dummy, then spotted someone across the room. “Oh, here comes Tansy.”
    A girl who was only slightly taller than me but quite a bit bigger was strolling over towards us. She had the straightest blonde hair I’d ever seen, a really pale complexion, and a rather sulky expression on her face.
    â€œTansy, this is Naomi, the one I told you about.”
    Tansy looked me up and down and gave me a half smile, as though she couldn’t quite be bothered to stretch her mouth any wider. “Hi.” Then she turned back to Elise. “Made any decisions about the shoes? Because I’m going shopping at the weekend and I’ll get them then.”
    Elise looked mysterious. “Yes, I have! I’ll tell you later. And I think I’ll come on the shopping trip with you, but let’s get a taxi, yeah? Then we won’t waste any time waiting for buses.”
    â€œYeah, whatever.”
    â€œTansy’s my other model, by the way, Naomi. She’s used to wearing expensive clothes, like you