“So true!” says Raza with applause, but I’m rubbing my nose. All these roses in here are making it itchy.
“Let’s start with a simple conversation about the weather,” says Madame Cleo. “Miss Gillian, I’m so pleased to see you joined the Royal Ladies! And I love the new purple hair you’re sporting! Why don’t you and Miss Tessa start us off?”
Tessa and I face each other. She’s wearing perfume that is competing with the rose scent in this room. My nose doesn’t like it. Tessa extends her hand and I—
“Achoo!” I sneeze all over her face.
A dozen girls produce pink handkerchiefs at the same time.
“Oh my goodness, that will never do,” tsks Madame Cleo. “You’re supposed to cover your mouth when you sneeze and always turn away from your guest.”
Great, I’ve failed already. “Sorry.”
“Now, let’s try that again,” Rose encourages.
Tessa looks less than happy, but she musters a smile as she extends her hand. Darn curtsy. I make it halfway down, wobble, and come up, but I shake her hand.
“I’ll go first,” Tessa says testily. “Hello, Gillian. How is your afternoon going?”
Wow. Okay, so that’s how it’s done. “Fine. Thanks. How is yours?”
“No ‘thanks.’ Use ‘thank you.’ And use proper language, please,” says Madame Cleo.
“I’m fine, thank you. How are you this afternoon?”
Tessa smiles. “Splendid, although this weather is dreadful, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, it’s as drafty in the castle as it is outside.”
“No, no, no!” Madame Cleo covers her face with her hands. “Don’t knock Fairy Tale Reform School. Why don’t you take over, Azalea, and show how it’s done?”
Azalea doesn’t botch her curtsy. “We are pleased you could make the journey to our school in this nasty weather. Can I get you a hot beverage after such a long outing?”
Everyone applauds and Azalea accepts their praise with another curtsy. Then they all curtsy and I get dizzy. I can’t take anymore. I need a break. Now. “May I be excused to get a glass of water?” I ask Rose.
I slip out of the room while the others watch Raza and another girl tackle “Complimenting One Another’s Shoes.”
Olivia follows me. “I could use a refreshment,” she says. “We do so much talking.”
“Yeah,” I say, rushing out the door and taking big, gulping breaths to get rid of the rose scent that is overwhelming me. Water. I need water.
“The water fountain is down there,” Olivia says, and I follow her down the hall, where elves are mopping the floors with mops that clean on their own. “I just love your purple hair. You have to tell me how you got it. It makes you look so powerful.”
Powerful? “You think?” I touch my hair and Olivia nods.
“It would look even better if you wore it up sometimes so you can see the purple. Maybe in a side ponytail?” she suggests, and before I can protest, she pulls my hair to the side, removes one of her glittery bracelets, and uses it to fasten my hair. “Like this. Look!” She pulls me over to one of Miri’s mirrors. “You look beautiful!”
“Beautiful? Me?” I ask, amazed at what I’m seeing in the mirror. My hair doesn’t look half bad, and the glittery band makes it shine. I look almost royal. Olivia’s pretty decent. I’ve never been given a present before. “Thanks,” I say and then start to cough as I breathe in the rose perfume Olivia is wearing. It reminds me of the RLW room.
“Fiddlesticks, you need water,” Olivia says. “Here! This way!” A gurgling water fountain is just beyond the elves’ cleaning cart. “You take a sip first.”
I hurry over and begin gulping sips in a very unladylike fashion.
Olivia starts to laugh. “Gilly, stop! You are acting like an ogre! Look how sloppy you’re being. Just like Maxine!” I stop drinking and look up in surprise. “Oops! Sorry. I forgot you’re friends with ogres, and your roommate is a fairy who almost destroyed FTRS.” Olivia looks almost embarrassed for me. “Some of the girls thought you weren’t RLW material because you were friends with them. Not me, of course, but people do talk about the company you keep.”
My face burns. The RLWs are talking about me? My stomach feels swishy and my cheeks burn. I’m used to people saying good things about me lately. I don’t like the idea of them making fun of me. The words bubble out of my mouth like a volcano. “We’re not friends,” I blurt out. “Kayla was assigned as my roommate, and Maxine just hangs on everything I say and I can’t shake her off.” Olivia laughs.