“Hello, everybody!” Billie called gaily. “Edina and I have been shopping and we’ve bought the most marvelous things—dozens of pretty frocks and other things. Wait till you see!”
So Billie carried the battle into the enemy’s territory. By this bold stroke she practically forced the girls to take sides either for or against her new friend and protégé. By it Billie said, though not in so many words:
“You must either accept Edina or reject her—and by rejecting her, you will reject me also.”
If Billie had not possessed quite so strong a hold upon the affection and esteem of her schoolmates, it is quite possible that this bold bid in Edina’s interest would have gone for nothing.
However, the girls loved Billie, and this new Edina Tooker in the marvelous clothes was certainly far more attractive than the old Edina. Then, too, there was the talk of new frocks—dozens of them, Billie had said.
The atmosphere became more friendly. One could almost feel it thaw.
Jessie Brewer, a diminutive blonde with round face and infantile blue eyes, turned the scale in Edina’s favor.
“You look stunning,” said Jessie, generously going all the way now that she had decided on surrender. “That coat is perfectly sweet. If I’m good, will you let me have a lend of it sometime?”
The request, with its tacit acknowledgment of equality, took Edina’s breath away.
“Sure,” she stammered. “Any—any time you like!”