Night School

‘Any clue as to what’s going on?’ Allie asked, hanging her silky white dress on the wardrobe door.

Jo shook her head. ‘Not a peep. Just “working on the project …”’ She deepened her voice and made it mildly defensive, which sounded so much like Gabe that Lisa and Allie giggled.

‘Yeah, Sylvain is more like, “Eet ees amporTANT wot we are doEENG”,’ Allie said, and they all collapsed in giggles again.

A silver tray of sandwiches cut into triangular quarters dominated Jo’s desk, along with jugs of juice. Jo insisted that they all must eat something before leaving the room. (‘Last year I nearly fainted at the ball because I was too excited to eat all day.’) Slim as a daisy stem, Lisa nibbled delicately at the edge of a cucumber sandwich before setting it down on a napkin. Jo shot her a warning look.

‘Eat it, Lisa.’

‘But I’m not hungry …’ Lisa said, pushing the sandwich away.

Allie, who had skipped lunch to sleep, grabbed a cheese sandwich and took a huge bite. ‘Oh my God, how can you not be hungry? I’m starving. To death.’

Lisa, still undecided about how to wear her hair and beginning to panic, wordlessly held up a magazine, which was opened to a picture of blonde starlet with an elaborate up-do.

‘I wish you’d just let me work my magic and stop worrying about it,’ Jo said. ‘I can do better than that. In fact, Allie, I’m going to do your hair right now. I have a feeling Lisa’s will take for ever.’

Allie stuffed the rest of the sandwich into her mouth. ‘Mmph,’ she said agreeably as she climbed into the chair.

‘Exactly.’ Jo brushed her hair and then began twisting it gently with the ribbon.

‘I love having my hair done,’ Allie said, closing her eyes. ‘It’s like having a head massage.’

‘If this whole expensive education thing doesn’t pan out for me I’m definitely opening a salon in Mayfair in London,’ Jo deftly twisted a lock up and pinned it into place. ‘I’ll call it MayHair.’

Allie laughed up at her. ‘You’ve really thought about this. Well, fine then. If your expensive education doesn’t take, I’ll be your first customer.’

As Jo predicted, getting ready took for ever. Lisa’s hair alone took ages. In the end, and after much disagreement, she had it twisted into a simple chignon that made the most of her long, slender neck.

‘It’s perfect.’ Lisa smiled at herself in the mirror. ‘Jo, you’re a genius.’

‘I know,’ Jo said, smoothing her own hair into a flattering gamine style. ‘But guess what time it is.’

Allie looked at her watch and groaned. ‘Step it up, ladies, we’ve only got ten minutes.’

They grabbed their dresses.

‘I knew this would happen,’ Jo said, slipping her silver minidress over her head. Allie zipped up the back for her.

‘Yes you did. For all the good it did us.’

While Allie pulled on the long white dress, Jo slipped on her strappy sandals and turned around to help.

Allie gazed at her admiringly. ‘You look like a film star.’

‘Darling, I might, but you look like a princess in a fairy tale.’

Lisa wore a silvery blue silk dress with delicate straps and a matching silk wrap she draped loosely across her back. When she finally pulled her shoes on, Jo and Allie applauded their sardonic approval.

‘You look gorgeous, but good lord it takes you for ever to get ready,’ Jo said.

Lisa picked up her clutch bag and smiled without rancour. ‘Everybody says that.’

‘Wait! Nobody gets out of this room until I’ve taken a picture.’ Jo waved a small camera at them.

She pulled Allie and Jo over to the full-length mirror, and they squeezed close together, giggling. When they were all reflected, Jo held up her camera and snapped the picture.

‘Perfect,’ she said checking the image. ‘We look amazing.’

‘We’ll probably never look this good again,’ Lisa said sombrely. Allie and Jo stared at her for a second and then burst out laughing.

‘You’re impossible, gloomy guts,’ Jo said hugging her. ‘Don’t make me mess your hair up.’

They walked out the door together at eight o’clock on the dot. When they reached the top of the stairs, a noisy crowd of boys had gathered at the foot of the staircase, all clad in white tie.

The girls stood still for just a second as the crowd looked up at them and fell silent. To Allie the moment felt unreal – dreamlike. She’d freaked out and nearly drowned naked in a pond last night and yet here she was only hours later, in a beautiful dress, with good friends. It felt like she was living someone else’s life.

Sylvain, Lucas and Gabe stood in the crowd below, although there was no sign of Carter.

She stood straight and sucked her stomach in. Jo caught her eye and gave her a wink, then held out her hand. Allie took it, and then reached out to Lisa with her other hand. They walked down the stairs together in a butterfly’s fluttering of silk.