Alice-Miranda pulled on her long white socks and slipped her feet into her leopard-print shoes. She jumped off the edge of the bed and grabbed her brush from the bedside table, then tied her hair into a high ponytail, adding a pink scarf around her head.

‘I can’t believe Britt pulled all this together and got it here for us in time,’ Millie marvelled, swishing her tulle skirt.

Alice-Miranda shrugged on her black leather jacket. ‘She is amazing.’

When the parcel had arrived for the girls mid-week, neither of them could believe it. Alice-Miranda had felt so awful about not having written to Britt for a month that she’d decided to call the girl instead and, during their telephone conversation, they’d talked about the festival. Britt had then surprised Alice-Miranda and Millie with what had to be the trendiest outfits they could have imagined and now they were about to give them their first public showing at breakfast. They were almost matching, except that Alice-Miranda’s headscarf was pink and Millie’s was green, which looked perfect against her red hair and matched the sparkly green heart on her white T-shirt.

‘And we get to stay in these clothes all day instead of having to wear our stuffy, old Winchester-Fayle Singers outfits. Miss Crowley is cool with a capital “C”,’ Millie said, grinning at her room mate in the mirror. ‘Ready?’

Alice-Miranda nodded and added a touch of lip gloss. ‘It’s been a lot of work for everyone, but I just know today is going to be incredible. The most important thing is we help the Abbouds get back in their house and rebuild Fattoush as quickly as possible.’

‘I hate to admit it – and I probably won’t to anyone other than you – but Caprice did a good thing,’ Millie said.

‘And after all is said and done, Millie, I think you should tell her that. It would go a long way to making things better between you two. I would almost guarantee it.’ Alice-Miranda considered her friend’s outfit and pinned one last badge onto her jacket.

‘I hate it when you’re right.’ Millie smiled and gave Alice-Miranda a huge hug. ‘Come on, let’s get this show on the road!’

The girls hurried down the hall to the dining room, where the atmosphere was electric. Nick Waterford’s ‘Greatest Hits’ was playing through the speakers and, interestingly, quite a few of the girls were singing along despite their previous protestations that he was ancient. Everyone had pulled together something fabulous to wear too, including the teachers. Miss Crowley was in skinny jeans, black ankle boots and a shimmery silver top. Mrs Clinch had gone for gothic revival and had kitted herself out in black from head to toe, while Miss Wall was barely recognisable without her tracksuit on.

‘Have you ever seen Miss Wall with her hair out?’ Sloane whispered to Jacinta. The girl shook her head, her fishbone plaits flying from side to side.

Benitha Wall’s long, dark hair was blow-dried and the woman had on a full face of make-up too. She looked like a completely different person in a short skirt and peasant blouse. Percy Pratt also caused quite the stir when he walked into the room. Gone was his lab coat, replaced with stonewashed jeans and a denim jacket over a dark denim shirt.

‘Wow.’ Millie giggled into her hand. ‘I thought double denim was dangerous, but Mr Pratt’s taken it to the next level.’

But something wasn’t right – and not just with his outfit. The man had a face like thunder as he marched over to his colleagues. He produced a piece of paper from his pocket and the group huddled together. At one point Miss Wall threw her hands into the air and declared that she was going to see Miss Grimm. She strode from the room, leaving the girls wondering what on earth Miss Reedy had done now. Come to think of it, none of the girls could recall the last time they’d seen the acting headmistress. She’d been holed up in Miss Grimm’s office, conducting interviews for over a week, and hadn’t come to dinner at Caledonia Stables at all. Mr Plumpton had been nigh on invisible too.

Millie nudged Alice-Miranda as they headed for the servery. ‘That doesn’t look good.’

Unsure what to do about the note she’d found in the garden, Alice-Miranda had safely tucked it away in her desk drawer, but the girl had resolved to see Miss Reedy tomorrow, after the festival. This wasn’t the school she knew and loved and the last thing she wanted was a staff coup.

Millie heaped a pile of pancakes onto her plate and drizzled them with maple syrup.

Mrs Jennings leaned across the counter, clearly chuffed. ‘Mrs Smith’s recipe.’

‘They look delicious,’ Alice-Miranda said, smiling at the woman, although she’d seemed to have lost her appetite after witnessing the upset among the teachers.

‘Wow, you two!’ Chessie grinned at Alice-Miranda and Millie as they slid along the bench seats.

‘Courtesy of our Norwegian friend, Britt Fox,’ Millie said, striking a pose.

‘She’s awesome,’ Sloane said. ‘You both look fantastic.’

‘You aren’t too shabby yourselves,’ Millie said, admiring the girls’ cute maxi dresses paired with denim jackets. Chessie’s mother had sent some outfits and so had September Sykes. Between the two of them, the girls had come up with looks they loved. Actually, September was so excited about the event that she’d gone to the trouble of putting together a portfolio with suggestions tagged. She’d talked the girls through it over the telephone, raving on about how much she missed going to festivals herself. She’d even popped a crimping iron in the post.

Jacinta looked incredible too, but that was to be expected given her mother’s fashion experience. The girl was dressed in a floaty green boho dress with ankle boots and a flower crown nestled atop her blonde locks.

‘Has anyone seen Caprice?’ Alice-Miranda asked, glancing around the room.

She was met with shaking heads as the girls were heavily invested in their surprisingly delicious pancakes and had their mouths full. Alice-Miranda checked the time and hopped up to speak to the teachers before she walked over to the microphone. Mr Trout turned down the music.

‘Good morning, everyone,’ Alice-Miranda began. ‘I hope you’re as excited about the festival as I am. I just wanted to say a huge thank you for your hard work and for all that is still to come. I love that you’ve gone to so much trouble to dress up and get into the right mood for music.’ There was a loud cheer from the girls. ‘On to more mundane things, if anyone needs an extra running sheet, there’s a pile at the front of the dining room. Most of all, have a great day and let’s get out there and raise enough money to see the Abbouds back home.’

The dining room erupted again.

Shelby Shore raced into the room, huffing and puffing. ‘There are cars outside for miles!’ she announced, gasping for breath. ‘Charlie says they’re already queuing through the village and on the Downsfordvale road. He’s going to open the gates early as we don’t want any accidents.’

‘I’d better get to the ticket booth,’ Millie said, and quickly shovelled in another generous mouthful of pancake.

‘Has anyone seen Caprice?’ Alice-Miranda asked again. She was beginning to worry, as it wasn’t like the girl to miss the action, especially when she’d been so excited about the festival. Not to mention the fact she was managing the program on the main stage while Chessie and Sloane were in charge of Stages Two and Three.

‘Here I am,’ a voice sang out from the doorway.

All eyes turned to see who it belonged to. Millie almost choked on her pancake while Sloane spat her milk across the table.

‘What is she wearing?’ Jacinta blurted.

That was just the reaction Caprice had been hoping for. She simpered in a sparkling pink floor-length gown with her copper-coloured hair piled high on top of her head. She had a face full of make-up too and looked decades older than her peers. ‘Mummy had it sent from Italy.’

‘No, I didn’t,’ a voice rang out from behind her. ‘I had Mrs Evans make it for you, as usual, and why you’re swanning about in it now I have no idea.’ Venetia marched into the room, looking less than impressed. She had popped over to the boarding house to see if Mrs Jennings had some more mixing bowls as she seemed to be running short and had already scarpered Mrs Smith’s stash. The woman was dressed for action in jeans and a white linen shirt with a Sweet Things apron over the top. ‘That dress is for performances only and you’re not scheduled to appear until early this evening. You’re not wearing it all day while you’re managing the main stage, and what is on your face? It’s called stage make-up for a reason, Caprice, not running-around-doing-your-job make-up. I don’t know if you realise, but you will be racing about like a scalded cat and you’re not doing it in that dress, looking twenty-five years old.’

‘I hate you, Mummy!’ Caprice screeched. She turned on her high heels so fast that she almost lost her footing.

Venetia pushed up her sleeves and ignored the impending tantrum. ‘No, you don’t, sweetheart. But I’d suggest you change quick smart, wipe your face and get to work – today is a team effort and there’s no “I” in “team”.’

Millie chortled and took another bite of her pancake. ‘Gosh, I love that woman,’ she said, before scampering off to the ticket booth.