cried, âSplendid choice! Youâll be marvellous, Nora, old girl.â
Jennifer managed to hide her disappointment, and congratulated Nora, but Bonnie was quite unable to hide hers. Her bottom lip jutted out, and she scowled fiercely at Susan.
âHorrid beast!â she lisped to Amy. âSusan has never liked me, because I used to be friends with Felicity, and this is her way of getting back at me. I donât like Miss Tallant, but perhaps it would have been a good thing if she had stayed after all, for Iâm sure that she would have chosen me for the part.â
Once the noise and excitement had died down, Susan announced, âAmelia, the little girl, is to be played by Molly.â
Molly, a very small girl from East Tower, with rather a serious expression, suddenly found herself beaming from ear to ear, as a rousing âhurrah!â went up from the East Tower girls.
Quickly Susan gave out the other parts. Pam was to play Ameliaâs aunt, Julie was going to be a toy soldier, and Lucy laughed out loud when she learned that she was to dress up in a big, furry costume and play a teddy bear!
âThere will be something for everyone to do,â said Susan. âMary is writing a song for us, of course, while June and Freddie are adding some humorous touches to the script. And weâre going to need plenty of people to help paint scenery and do hair and make-up, and so on.â
âIâve a good mind not to do anything at all to help,â muttered a disgruntled Bonnie to Amy.
But Susan hadnât finished. âThere is one more thing,â she said. âThere is one person I havenât mentioned, who is going to be very important to our little play. In fact, I would go so far as to say that she is vital.â
The fourth formers looked at one another in surprise. Who on earth could Susan be talking about?
âThat person is our wardrobe mistress,â said Susan, looking very serious indeed.
âBecause there are so many costumes, we really need someone who is an expert at needlework. Someone who has flair and taste, and a good eye for detail. Someone who, once she sets her mind to a task, works tirelessly to complete it. There is only one person in the formâin the whole school , in factâwho fits that description. And that person is Bonnie Meadows.â
Bonnie gave a gasp, her big brown eyes growing even bigger. Instantly, her disappointment at not being cast as the fairy was forgotten. And Susan was no longer a mean beast. On the contrary, she was very shrewd and perceptive indeed. Bonnie couldnât imagine how she had ever thought that she didnât like her!
Felicity grinned to herself. Good old Susan! She was learning that, with some people, a little tact worked wonders. Now she had turned Bonnieâs sulks to smiles, and made sure that the fourth formers had an excellent wardrobe mistress, in the neatest possible way! Most of the others guessed what Susan was up to as well, and played along by cheering Bonnie, and praising her extravagantly.
âSimply marvellous! I canât think of anyone who would do a better job!â
âYes, we can be sure of having just the right costumes now, with old Bonnie in charge.â
âI should say! Good for you, Bonnie!â
Bonnie beamed round and thanked everyone prettily. âI shanât let you down,â she said. âAnd I shall be glad of some help from anyone who is good with a needle, for there will be a lot of work to do.â
Several girls from other towers immediately volunteered their services, and Bonnie said, âPerhaps tomorrow afternoon we can all go and look in that little room behind the stage, where all the old costumes from past Malory Towers plays are stored. We are sure to find some things that will be useful to us in there.â
âMy word, youâre eager, Bonnie,â called out Julie.
âIf a jobâs worth doing, itâs worth doing