CHAPTER XX
ROOF GARDEN PARTY
The roof garden party was not begun as the social affair it turned outto be. In the beginning it was strictly a business proposition. Theparty was an outgrowth of a "Be Beautiful" campaign Mimi herselfstarted.
If Mimi had known the series of exciting events which hinged on theinnocent purchase of a bottle of mange cure, she might never havebought it. She might have let dandruff stay in her hair and frecklescontinue to splotch the bridge of her nose.
What to wear at the growing-closer-every-day Commencement affairsturned Mimi's thoughts from her term themes, two highly importantletters from Daddy and Mother Dear, and a reprimand from Mrs. Cole fordisturbing study hall.
"I can't wear white for Commencement and look decent with freckles. Idon't look nice in white."
"Who cares?" Sue teased. "To hear you rave, one would think you weregoing to graduate, or something."
"Well, I _am_ going to improve my looks. Miss Bassett was talking to ustoday about our hair and nails. She said my posture had improved thisyear. Beginning tonight, I am going to brush my hair one hundredstrokes every night before I retire."
"Yeh, I did that once myself--once was about all."
"Dog mange cure is grand for your scalp," Madge volunteered as thediscussion became general.
"Is it?" Mimi asked turning to Madge. She had never given much thoughtto her personal appearance other than cleanliness. She was always toobusy doing something. The silliest thing she ever watched was a girlstanding near the highest window, mirror in one hand, tweezers in theother, plucking her eyebrows. She didn't plan to go in for that sort ofbeauty; something, say, which would improve her hair--Mother Dearhadn't made any suggestions about it in so long. It was getting moreunruly. She'd tried changing the part from the right side to the leftand that had only made it worse. She was thinking of letting it growlong enough to braid so that she could wear it like Dit's, but thethoughts of shedding hairpins and never finding a hat big enough kepther from it.
"What does it do to your hair, Madge?"
"Oh, makes it shiny and fluffy and thick and long. I saw a picture on abox of a woman whose hair fell from her shoulders to her knees. I had acousin who put mange cure on her hair and----"
"Stop!" Sue cried. "Waste no more words. You've already sold her theidea. I can tell by the smooth and oily waves"--she made ripplingmotions with her hands and arms mimicking a favorite gesture ofMimi's--"that the fragrance of mange cure will soon permeate thehithertofore wholesome air of Tumble Inn. I wouldn't put that awfulsmelling stuff on my hair for--for----"
She gave up trying to find a word bad enough to describe it.
"But you only leave it on one night. Besides it washes off, andfurthermore, I don't mind the odor. It's a good clean smell like tar."
"Rave on," Sue encouraged disdainfully. "Pretty soon you'll have itsweet scented as dew hung jasmine in the rosy dawn. Blah! You'll haveMimi believing she can pose for the pictures in the hair tonic adsafter two trial bottles. Double blah!"
Two weeks passed before Mimi had an opportunity to buy the dog mangecure.
With Commencement so near, every afternoon now some teacher chaperoneda group of shoppers to town. Mimi joined the first group. In order tomake her purchase before the others were ready to leave, she left a fewsups in the bottom of her chocolate malted milk glass. Anyhow she nevercould get every drop without making that vulgar zooping, sucking soundon account of the whipped cream settling to the bottom. She didn't wantto "strike bottom" before a chaperon. She had done well to juggle thecherry on two straws safely to her mouth.
The chaperon watched her closely while she was at the counter.Sometimes girls slipped notes to the soda skeets. You can save youreyesight on me, Mimi thought. Bumpy faced upstarts. She had no note orno 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 severalothers, who had been begged into the "Beauty School," found time to putit on when they were sure they would have time to shampoo it out thefollowing morning. In the intervening time, however, Mimi had beenusing freckle cream and brushing her hair religiously, a hundredstrokes a night.
"If we don't put it on tonight, there's no use," Mimi urged. She hadcornered several of the girls after supper before they left the dininghall. 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 beautytreatment. Madge was more or less in charge because she had knownpeople who had done this. However, Mimi had read the directionscarefully and had to get in a few words. She could no more stay in thebackground than a peacock. Center stage-front, was where she belongedand, no matter where she began, she usually wound up there.
"Why pick on Tumble Inn, Mimi, when you are the only one who is sapenough to smell like a polecat?"
"I didn't think of that, Sue. I'm sorry. Just seems like that mostthings that happen, take place here."
"You're right. Things do happen here. Stick 'em up, every one of yougirls! Dimes and quarters or what have you! All donations kindlyreceived and accepted. While you 'Vanities' stars sing your 'Stay Youngand Beautiful' theme song I am going to prepare a feast. Everybody whowants to eat, kick in."
"Swell idea, Sue. Get plenty of dill pickles."
Mimi was the first one to pay. She dropped a quarter in Sue's beret,then settled down to business.
"Let's be careful and only rub it in the parts," she cautioned, runninga comb through Jill's sleek hair.
They went about their work seriously. They parted and patted andmassaged. As soon as they took the stopper out of the bottle and beforethey had well begun, Chloe and Sue grabbed their noses and ran out.Betsy weakened. She couldn't stay out of anything that was causing sucha stir.
"Next," Mimi called, shooing Madge out and beckoning Betsy. She put herin the chair as a barber would and pinned a towel around her neck.
"Do a good job on me and then I'll really fix you up."
"O. K."
The agreement was carried out. To hear Sue and Chloe and otherroommates carry on, they were all "fixed up." Sue passed judgment.
"You can't sleep in Tumble Inn, stinking like that."
"Aw, Sue. What will we do?"
"Take your mattress to the roof for all I care."
Sue wasn't serious but Mimi jumped at the idea.
"Sue, you angel!"
She hugged her and turned her around a time or two.
"You think of the grandest things! That's exactly what we will do andwe'll have a midnight feast--a roof garden party!"
There! The plans had been made that quickly. Sue had no difficultybuying and preparing the food. On the promise of three sandwiches, acollege freshman went to the grocery for her. The rest had been easy.The girls who would have to sleep out were the ones who had trouble.They couldn't sleep on the bare tin roof, but how could they get themattresses out? They figured and planned. Finally, Mimi worked it out.
There were only seven to sleep out. All right, they would sleepcrosswise; four on one mattress, three on the other. They would takethe two mattresses out of Tumble Inn and get them out the sitting roomwindow onto the porch roof. Sue and Chloe objected loudly until theyheard the arrangements made for them. Chloe was to sleep with Madge'sroommate and Sue with Jill's.
The whole plan must be kept secret. That was hard, almost as hard astugging and rolling and pushing the mattresses out. They had to waituntil dark, and from the time they were out, until she saw Mrs. Cole'slight go out, Mimi worried for fear Mrs. Cole would find Tumble Innvacant and the beds torn up. That would be too bad!
There was, also, a threat of rain. If it would just hold off until thefeast was over, surely
the roommates of the beauty cult could not be socruel as to leave them shivering and wet. But long before the weatherchanged, and for an entirely different reason, the girls were takenfrom the roof, but not before they had had a feast.
Sue had done well. It was quite the swankiest spread of the year--papernapkins if you please and as a big special surprise, ice cream suckers.The man had packed them in dry ice and sealed them in a carton. Theywere still frozen hard when Sue proudly passed them around.
Mimi ate and ate.
"If my pajamas had a belt, I'd surely untie it," she said. "If you heara sudden noise, you'll know what it is--Mimi exploded! There'd benothing but giblets left."
"Oh me," groaned Sue. Even in pain she was happy.
After the food, there were stunts; things that could be done withoutnoise. Walking like Dr. Ansley. Looking over spectacles as Dr. Barnes.Mimi and Sue "made an elephant." After convulsing the girls withlaughter--none of the stunts would have seemed half so funny if theycould have shrieked out--Madge succeeded in patting her stomach andrubbing her head at the same time. Jill, after several trials, got herfoot behind her head.
They were getting too noisy. Betsy was afraid, that any minute now,they'd be discovered and called down. She suggested that they see whocould go the longest without laughing. Faces began to puff up. A snorthere. A titter there. Was there ever such fun?
After they had worn themselves out they talked and talked. All the goodtimes of the year were reviewed. But by now, here and there a sleepygirl was crawling to an outer edge of a mattress and going to sleep.
Mimi was as wide awake as the owls she had heard at camp.
"I bet I can stay awake longer than any of you," she wagered.
As it turned out she did, but when she was speaking, she little knewthe excitement she would live through before the sun rose again.
She became so drowsy she had to stretch out. She wouldn't go to sleepbut it would be more comfortable lying. Just as she crossed that hazyland which lies between wakefulness and slumber, Madge reached over andclutched her arm.
"Oh, Mimi," she said tensely. "I--hear--them again!"
"Hear what?"
Mimi was too far gone to realize why Madge was frightened.
"D--d--death bells!" she sobbed, her teeth chattering with fright.
Mimi sat bolt upright.