Nancy, Bess, and Ned introduced themselves. “Don’t worry about it,” Bess said good-naturedly as she shook Susannah’s hand. “I’m happy to meet someone with more luggage than me!”
Susannah grimaced at her bags. “I know I should travel lighter,” she said, “but I run a mail-order business. I can never seem to go anywhere without my files.” She opened the door to her sister’s room and started dragging her luggage inside. “You may have heard of my company—Susannah’s Spices?”
Bess’s face lit up. “Of course! I use your Snappy Cinnamon on my toast.”
Susannah seemed pleased. “Well, thanks again. Guess I’ll see you around this weekend.”
After they left the dorm, Ned led the girls along a tree-lined path that led down a hill opposite the oval. At the foot of the hill a lake sparkled in the late-afternoon sun, reflecting the brilliant fall foliage of the nearby trees.
They headed along the edge of the lake and past the boathouse to a large cedar-sided storage shed. When Ned pulled open the sliding door, they were immediately struck with the sounds of voices, pounding hammers, and rock music. The huge open space was filled with floats in various stages of construction and crowds of students scrambling around them. Nancy could make out a globe of the world, a giant top hat, and a train. Some of the creations, still in the beginning stages, were just chicken wire twisted over wooden frames.
“Wow, this place is really hopping,” said Bess, pausing next to Nancy just inside the shed door.
“Will these floats really be ready on time for Saturday’s parade?” Nancy asked.
“Sure,” Ned replied with a nod. “Some of the best ones are whipped together just hours before the parade.”
Just then a petite blond-haired girl came barreling through the shed entrance, jostling Nancy as she went by. Her arms were full of stacks of brightly colored tissue paper.
“Kristin, wait up a sec,” Ned called as the girl skirted around Nancy.
She spun around and gazed expectantly at Ned. “What’s up?” she asked.
Introducing Nancy and Bess to Kristin Seidel, Ned explained, “They’re here to lend a hand.”
“And in the nick of time!” Kristin said gratefully. “We’re desperate for help with our float for the drill team.”
“Hey, Nickerson, get over here!” called a voice from the far side of the shed.
With a shrug, Ned said, “Duty calls. See you later.” Giving Nancy a quick kiss, Ned took off.
Five minutes later Nancy and Bess were seated on one corner of a raised wooden platform, stuffing a long strip of chicken wire with squares of folded tissue. Kristin had told them it would be the skirt for their float.
“Hey, look at this, Nan,” said Bess. “When you surround pink paper with red and white, it looks like tiny rosebuds.”
Nancy studied the colorful pattern. “It’s pretty, but we’d better find out what the float’s supposed to be before we turn it into a rose garden. Kristin ran off before she told us.”
They waved at Kristin, who scrambled over and joined them at the platform. “What a great idea!” Kristin said enthusiastically when Bess showed her the rose pattern. “This will make a perfect skirt for the float. It’s going to be a layer cake with a banner that says Wildcats Take the Cake.”
“Sounds delicious!” Bess commented.
Nancy was reaching for a sheet of red tissue paper when a petite girl wearing an oversize purple-and-orange Emerson jacket stormed by in front of the platform and caught her attention. The girl paused a few feet away from the platform and gave a defiant toss of her jet black hair. Nancy could see that her green eyes were flooded with tears.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve!” she shouted.
“Oooh, hot news flash,” Kristin whispered to Nancy and Bess. “That’s Danielle Graves. She’s a cheerleader. I bet she’s having a fight with her boyfriend.”
“Is that him?” Bess’s eyes were riveted on a tall, muscular dark-haired guy wearing jeans and a sweater who seemed to be following Danielle. “He’s adorable!”
Kristin nodded. “No kidding. His name’s Randy Simpson—he’s the Wildcats’ new quarterback. He and Danielle are a hot item on campus.”