The chaperon watched her closely while she was at the counter. Sometimes girls slipped notes to the soda skeets. You can save your eyesight on me, Mimi thought. Bumpy faced upstarts. She had no note or no time for them. Some girls were so silly!
Even after the bottle was stowed away on the top shelf of the bathroom, school was nearly over for the year before Mimi, Madge and several others, who had been begged into the “Beauty School,” found time to put it on when they were sure they would have time to shampoo it out the following morning. In the intervening time, however, Mimi had been using freckle cream and brushing her hair religiously, a hundred strokes a night.
“If we don’t put it on tonight, there’s no use,” Mimi urged. She had cornered several of the girls after supper before they left the dining hall. The final rush was on and rounding them up had been difficult. “This is Friday—Sunday is Baccalaureate—Monday—too late.”
“Tonight suits me,” Madge said. “I was planning to get up early anyhow.”
“Me, too.” Jill agreed.
All together there were six who came to Tumble Inn for the scalp beauty treatment. Madge was more or less in charge because she had known people who had done this. However, Mimi had read the directions carefully and had to get in a few words. She could no more stay in the background than a peacock. Center stage-front, was where she belonged and, no matter where she began, she usually wound up there.
“Why pick on Tumble Inn, Mimi, when you are the only one who is sap enough to smell like a polecat?”
“I didn’t think of that, Sue. I’m sorry. Just seems like that most things that happen, take place here.”
“You’re right. Things do happen here. Stick ’em up, every one of you girls! Dimes and quarters or what have you! All donations kindly received and accepted. While you ‘Vanities’ stars sing your ‘Stay Young and Beautiful’ theme song I am going to prepare a feast. Everybody who wants to eat, kick in.”
“Swell idea, Sue. Get plenty of dill pickles.”