I sighed. “A girl can but dream…”
Annie laughed again. “Just don’t forget about us when you’re jetting all over the world.”
“Like anyone could forget about you lot…you’re all as mad as a box of frogs,” I said, throwing my arm around Annie’s shoulders. “Now, as much as I hate to say it, back to the grind!”
Annie muttered something unladylike under her breath as she sat back upright and grabbed her textbook.
We were in for a long night…
The school year was coming to a close. Final exams had been completed, all coursework and dissertations had been handed in. There was a buzz of excitement in the air around Mapleton Manor, from girls and teachers alike. The weather was warmer, putting everyone in good spirits, and that feeling of completion and sense of impending freedom that came with every approaching summer holiday had me walking on air.
At the end of the week I would be flying back home to Monaco for a brief stopover over before heading off to Switzerland to the summer camp that I went to every year with Augustus and Louisa. I couldn’t wait for summer camp—it was always great fun and full of exciting activities.
There was only one last thing left on the Mapleton Manor School Calendar until the end of term—the dance with Stonebridge boys’ school. We were encouraged to invite other people, but all my friends were already there so I didn’t have anyone I particularly wanted to extend an invitation to. Some girls invited siblings and other family members, and it was brilliant to meet new people. Needless to say, every Mapleton Manor girl wanted to look her best.
Taking advantage of the good weather, I lay in a line with my friends on the great lawn behind the school. We sprawled out under the sun in our bikinis during our afternoon break from classes. We were slathered in baby oil, and my tanned skin only needed the barest of encouragement from the sun to return to its usual healthy glow. The English winters could make me pale—not as pale as my friends—but pale enough that I felt like a vampire some days.
I adored the heat of the sun and could feel its rays on my skin as I soaked up all that vitamin D.
“This is the life,” Fenella murmured beside me.
“Absolutely,” I agreed.
“We’ll all be bronzed goddesses for the dance in a few days,” said Athena. She lay on her stomach and flicked through the latest issue of More magazine. “Oh, look at this dress. Where is it from…?”
“I’m so excited for the dance,” Harriet said beside me. “My brother and cousin are coming. I can’t wait for you all to meet them.”
“Brother?” Jemima asked as she sat up. “I’ve never heard anything about a brother before.”
“I have a brother—what’s the big deal?” I asked Jemima.
“Your brother is a little young for my taste, Freddie.” She gave me a tight smile before turning to Harriet again. “How old is he, Harriet?”
“Pan is seventeen, like us. Mummy had us one right after the other, so we ended up in the same year at school. He’s a lot of fun, I’m sure you will all like him.”
“Some of us more than others,” Athena muttered from my other side.
I gasped and glanced at Jemima, but she didn’t appear to have heard Athena’s comment.
Athena flashed me a wink when she caught my gaping look. I stuck my tongue out at her.
“Are we all getting ready together?” Cassandra asked as she pushed her large sunglasses up onto the top of her head. “It’s so much fun when we do.”
“Sounds great!” Fenella said with a wide smile.
“Count me in,” I agreed.
“Awesome!” Cassandra beamed. “My room after dinner?”
We all nodded our assent.
I adored getting dressed up anyway, and doing my hair and makeup, but it was even better when we all did it together. We could pass on advice and encouragement and compliments on our outfits before we took the world by storm.
Every Mapleton Manor girl was a flurry of excitement as they skipped and danced down the halls. Nothing got the girls fired up like a school dance could. Half of them could barely sit still during dinner, and a couple of my friends in particular hardly ate a thing, as they were too excited.
The second we were allowed, my friends and I rushed to our rooms to get the things we needed and carted them to Cassandra’s room. Using the bathroom was always a feat when there was a dance as every single girl wanted to use it. Thankfully we all arrived in the nick of time, and I actually managed to grab a shower with hot water.
Cassandra’s room was full to the gunnels and bursting with noise. Makeup bags spilled their contents, dresses were hung around the room, hairdryers blasted and there were so many different perfumes that the room was more potent than the fragrance section of Harrods.
Athena, Jemima and Annie all wore floral prom-style dresses with full knee-length skirts and bright, busy patterns. Cassandra pulled out one of the fabulous pieces her dad had sent over from LA, an emerald green slinky dress with thousands of sparkling sequins. Fenella and I couldn’t wait to put on our dresses that we’d bought in Madrid. Fenella’s was an aquamarine number with a fitted bodice embellished with detailed stitching, Swarovski crystals and a big, tulle skirt.
And mine…well, mine was easily the best of the bunch…if I did say so myself. But then I suppose I was a little biased. I had completely fallen in love with this dress when I’d bought it, and time had not diminished my adoration of it.
It was a black halter neck with buttons down the front to the skirt, which flowed out in a nice little flare without being too outrageous. It ended a few inches above my knees, showing off my long, tanned legs. It revealed more skin than I was used to, and my back was completely bare, but it wasn’t overly racy.
My dress was still fun but I felt like it was more grown-up than the other girls, with an edge of playful sophistication that theirs lacked.
I applied a smoky look to my eyes, making the irises stand out, and I kept my blonde hair straight and natural, not needing to overdo it. When I emerged from behind the screen in Cassandra’s room once I had put on my beautiful dress, it was to the surprised gasps of my friends.
“Frederica!” Athena exclaimed. “Look at you! You look absolutely gorgeous!”
“Blimey, Freddie, you look like you should be in a nightclub,” Fenella said in a breathy voice. “It looks even better on now than it did in Madrid.”
“Now I’m doubly jealous I didn’t get to go to that shop.” Annie pouted as she gave my dress a harmless tug.
My cheeks warmed from their compliments and I waved them aside with my hand. “Stop, you’ll embarrass me.”
“We’re the ones who should be embarrassed, sweetie,” Cassandra said with a wide smile. “After all, we have to stand next to you all night with you looking like that.”
“She’s right,” Jemima said, scanning me from head to toe. When she drew her gaze back up to my eyes, she laughed and shook her head. “No one will look twice at us.”
“Stop, you are all absolutely gorgeous.” I threw my arm around Jemima’s shoulders. “This dress fits you perfectly, you have such an amazing figure.”
Jemima popped a hip. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
We all laughed.
“Picture time!” Fenella announced. She hopped over to Cassandra’s desk where a disposable camera sat. She picked it up and gestured for us all to move closer.
All of us crowded together with our cheeks touching. Fenella placed herself in front and held the camera up. “Everyone say Stonebridge!”
“Stonebridge!” we chorused through our laughter.
“Oh my gosh, I’m nervous,” Fenella whispered as we walked down the corridor towards the hall where the dance was being held.
“Why?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “It’s just so exciting, isn’t it? I mean, we’re not the young girls anymore, are we? We’re the older ones. We’re the ones the boys will pay more attention to. Hopefully. Oh God, what if no one pays atte
ntion to us?”
I kissed her cheek. There wasn’t a chance on this earth of no one paying attention to Fenella. She looked incredible and she was such a fun person that she could win over just about anybody. The boys of Stonebridge had better watch out. “Then it will be their loss!”
Fenella giggled. “You’re right, Freddie, just like always.”
“Come on, you two!” Harriet called from in front of us.
We hurried to catch up with the rest of the group, Fenella sliding her hand into mine and we giggled like the schoolgirls that we were.
The hall was decked out in paper streamers and balloons. A DJ was set up in the corner, and disco lights throbbed in time with his music. There was a row of chairs against each wall and the time-honoured tradition of girls on one side and boys on the other was being strictly upheld. A refreshments table had been set up at the back of the hall where pop and snacks were being sold.
The first part of dances were always awkward until everyone got over their shyness. The younger Mapleton Manor girls crowded into one corner, forming almost a protective huddle against the scary boys. They whispered and sneaked glances, but for the most part they only showed their backs.
I followed my friends to the refreshments table so we could get a drink of squash, more for the excuse to have something to do than anything else.
Music blasted into the room, R.E.M.’s Losing My Religion, and a few of the braver Mapleton Manor girls danced along to it. They were watched by the Stonebridge boys, a few of them with looks of wonder on their faces as though they were observing some rare, exotic creatures.
For a while we wandered the room, chatting to friends and peeking glances at the boys. Mostly the boys were refined and appeared to be gentlemen, but there were others who were more crass, loud and boisterous.
Teachers milled around the room, a few unfamiliar ones who had to be from Stonebridge. They kept an eye on things, making sure no one was acting out of turn.
“This is agonising,” Annie murmured in my ear. “Why are we always so excited for these dances? They are nothing but embarrassing when we get to them.”
I shrugged my shoulders. It was the age-old question, I supposed. “Everyone is too unsure of themselves, it seems.”
“Well, it’s rubbish.”
Glancing at my friends, all beautiful, strong, confident girls, reduced to insecure and shy individuals when faced with a room full of boys, I knew something had to be done.
“Yes, it is rubbish. So why don’t we do something about it?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow. Without waiting for a reply, I marched over to the other side of the room to where a cluster of Stonebridge boy’s stood. Picking the best looking of the bunch, a tall, leanly built blond with a slightly crooked nose, I grabbed his hand. “I thought this was a dance, not a stand-a-round.”
His friends cheered as I dragged him in the direction of the dance floor, shouting things I couldn’t make out, and I was quite glad of that fact. My friends watched with wide eyes when I stopped right in the middle of the dance floor, in full view of the entire room, and started shaking my hips and moving to the music.
I cut my eyes to his group of friends then back again to the girls, hinting for them to man up and do what I had done.
Jemima was the first. She stormed to that group of boys like she owned the place, sizing them up and choosing the next best one. After that, all the others moved over to mingle with the boys and before I knew it, there was no gaping distance between the Stonebridge boys and the Mapleton Manor girls.
“That was pretty cool of you,” the boy I was dancing with said.
I smiled at him. “Thanks.” Maybe this boy was worth coming to the party for…and he went to Stonebridge, so I could see him lots. Plus he was the same height as me. He wasn’t taller than me, which I would have preferred, but it was definitely more agreeable than being shorter!
“I’m Miles, by the way,” the boy said, flashing me a wide smile.
“I’m Frederica. Lovely to meet you.”
The music changed to a slower number, and Miles wasted no time in sliding an arm around my waist and tugging me closer to him. The motion startled me and I stiffened in his arms. Miles let his hands wander south and a second later he was cupping my bottom.
An unfamiliar teacher rapped Miles on the shoulder, his face a mask of annoyance and embarrassment. “Mr Haines, might I remind you that you are a representative of Stonebridge School? This sort of behaviour just will not do.”
His hands moved from my bottom to the middle of my back in a hurry. “Yes, sir, sorry, sir,” Miles mumbled as he glared at the floor.
The teacher glanced at me briefly, his eyes assessing. I wanted to scream that Miles’ attention was unwanted and I had done nothing to encourage his behaviour. He gave Miles another pointed look then turned away from us, no doubt trying to find another Stonebridge boy acting with bad decorum.
Once his teacher’s back was turned, Miles’ bashful look twisted into an angry sneer. “God, what an idiot that man is. I should have known he would be patrolling around like a prison warden.”
“I think he’s just making sure everyone acts appropriately,” I said quietly.
“I think he’s just out to ruin everyone’s night.” Miles’ eyes bored into my face. “Well, he can try anyway.” He moved his hands south again, and I knew I had made a catastrophic error in choosing my dance partner.
Ripping out of his hold, I stumbled back into another couple dancing behind us. “Sorry, but I think you’ve managed to ruin my night all on your own.”
“What?” Miles asked, his eyebrows shooting up. “Are you kidding?”
“No, I am not,” I huffed. “God, keep your hands to yourself next time, will you?” And with that I turned around, my hair whipping my face, and marched away from him.
I stormed over to the refreshments stand and bought myself a cup of warm Coke and a packet of Maltesers. Taking my things, I found an empty seat at one of the tables that had been set out, and sat down to watch the dance from the safety of my chair.
Fenella looked like she was enjoying herself as she danced with her guy, as did Jemima, whose body language was borderline inappropriate. I couldn’t see any of the others, but the dance floor was now so crowded they could have been anywhere.
Everyone looked as though they were having a good time. Everywhere I looked, girls were smiling and dancing, either with their friends or a Stonebridge boy.
I had been sitting at the table for about fifteen minutes when I spotted Athena pushing her way through the crowd towards me. When she reached the table, she shooed me until I moved over on my chair so there was enough room for her to sit down too.
“So, you picked the wrong one!” she declared, throwing her arm around my shoulders and stealing the last of my drink.
“That I did. How did you know?” I asked her. When I’d last looked, Athena had been busy with her own Stonebridge boy, and had spared no glance for me and mine.
“I spied you marching away from him like he was the devil incarnate, and a minute ago he asked me to dance. When I said no he asked if all Mapleton Manor girls were as frigid as me and my friend.” Athena’s face darkened with anger and I knew it had taken all her self-control not to impale the idiot with her stiletto shoe right there on the spot.
I gasped, unable to hold in my shock. “Oh my God, what an idiot.” What I wouldn’t give for Daddy’s air rifle right about now…
“Well, forget him,” Athena said. “There are plenty of other cute boys here. You just had rotten luck the first time around, that’s all.”
A laugh bubbled in my throat. “I think that was worse than rotten luck, Athena. He was awful! And I hate to say it, but I think he’s put me off Stonebridge boys for life.”
“No, don’t say that!” Athena cried. “You can’t let one stupid boy ruin your night, or your dating prospects.”
“I don’t think the love of my life is going to be a silly Stonebridge boy, Athena.”
She sighed like it was the saddest thing she had ever heard. “Fine, fine. But at the very least, you can’t let him spoil the rest of your night. You may not be looking for a boy, but all your girls are here and we all love you.”
I laughed again. “I suppose you’re right.”
Athena jumped to her feet and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of my chair. “Come on, I’m not letting you waste the night in the corner by yourself.” She held my hand all the way to the dance floor as though she was afraid I’d bolt in the opposite direction if she let me go. A fast song came on, and Athena started jumping around like a crazy person.
Harriet and Cassandra appeared from the throng of bodies. They gave excited squeals when they reached us, and joined in with Athena’s rather enthusiastic dancing.
I threw my hands in the air and lost myself to the music, letting my body take over and do what came naturally. A happy, warm feeling bloomed in my belly. Athena was right—I shouldn’t let a stupid boy ruin my night. It was still early yet, and the night was young. My friends were here and that was all I needed for a good time.
Dancing with my friends felt like better exercise than a lacrosse match. My feet throbbed, my legs ached and my heart pounded. I was fairly sure I looked like a sweaty mess, but a quick trip to the bathroom reassured me the exertion had only given my cheeks a healthy flush.
“This is definitely the best dance Mapleton Manor has put on,” Fenella said as she freshened up her lipstick in the mirror.
“Absolutely. Those Stonebridge boys get better looking every year,” Jemima said. She caught my eye in the mirror as I carefully applied another coat of mascara. “Don’t you think, Freddie?”
I shrugged. Was she intentionally trying to goad me? Or did she not know what had happened with Miles? “None of them have made me lose my head yet.”
“Don’t fret, I’m sure you’ll meet your Prince Charming sooner or later. Perhaps later, though.”
Athena groaned and gave Jemima a little nudge, making her mess up her gloss.
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