The Pi Sisters at Malory Towers

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE GRAND FINALE!

Time seemed to rush by, and before the girls knew it, it was time for the grand play!

'I really hope the Pi Sisters don't wreck it,' moaned Alicia, sticking a wart at the end of her green-tinted nose. 'I simply wont bear seeing our play shattered to pieces!'

'Don't worry, it will be fine,' said Darrell, anxiously fluttering around. 'Anyway, What's the worst that could happen?'

Meanwhile, in the stars' dressing room, the Pi Sisters were cackling their swollen, spiteful, heads off. 'What's the worst that can happen! shrieked Doris. 'If only she knew!'

'Yes,' gasped Fanny, shaking with laughter. 'What ever would she do if she had found out that we wrote our own horrid version of the play and are going to perform that instead! Oh! She'll have a fit!'

The Pi Sisters giggled. 'Anyway, lets get dressed,' said Doris. 'Do show me your hideous Hansel outfit. I simply can't wait to see it! I'm sure it'll be an eyesore compared to my lovely dress.

'Turn around and I'll change,' said Fanny with her most innocent expression. Her twin did so, and Fanny stuffed herself into the lacy, overdone dress. She didn't want Doris to figure out her plan till the last possible second!

'Let's not look at each other till were on stage. It'll be a grand surprise,' said Fanny. Doris agreed readily, turning around. Fanny smiled to herself.

'You're up first, old thing!' she said. 'Let's shock them all!'

The audience took their seats, eagerly awaiting the play. The theatre was simply jam-packed, and Darrell's parents could be seen in the front row, waiting to see their daughter's triumph. After a long and impatient silence, it finally started!

The opening symphony played, the curtains rose, and Doris stepped on stage.

'Oh dear,' she said, in her most high, pious voice. 'Looks like our awful Daddy has left us in the woods! Ooooooh!'

Darrell's jaw dropped. 'Those aren't the opening lines,' she hissed angrily from the wings. Doris heard her, but paid no heed, instead smiling a secret smile.

'Well,' continued Doris. 'I suppose I shall have to get out of this horrid place somehow. Hansel you brute, come here and help me!'

The audience gasped as Fanny stepped on stage. Doris frowned. What were they looking at? She turned around and her jaw dropped.

In the middle of the stage, with all the spotlights shining on her, stood Fanny, her most innocent expression on her face. And she was wearing a glistening, fancier version of the dress Doris herself was wearing, bedecked with lace and sequins that could be seen from a mile away!

'Why, Hansel! cooed Fanny. 'Why are you wearing a dress and pretending to be me?'

The girls stared at each other. What on earth was this? Two Gretels?

The rest of the play dragged on as slowly, the parents glancing frequently at their watches and stifling yawns. It was filled with badly-written dialogues and jokes that weren't funny in the least! And worst of all were the other girls. As soon as the stepped on stage, they were so astonished that they forgot their lines.

'Heavens!' said Fanny in the scene with the witch. 'Looks like dear old Hansel is in the oven! I wonder if I should bother to help him; I did get a fresh manicure yesterday,' she said, shoving Doris into the 'oven', a prop lovingly made by Belinda.

Darrell glared at Alicia from the sidelines. She was standing on stage like a nincompoop, with her cheesy makeup and broom (and jaw) hanging to the ground. And worst of all, she couldn't remember any of her lines after the huge shock of what the Pi Sisters had done!

The play was thus a complete disaster.

'Boooo for Darrell and Alicia,' screamed the girls. 'Your play was horrible and you didn't even know your lines! And three cheers for Fanny and Doris, for singlehandedly saving the play!'

'Dear me,' said Darrell's mother with a worried expression. How could she sugarcoat this for her daughter? The play simply was atrocious

'And here I was, thinking Darrell was a good writer,' said Felicity reprovingly. 'Even I have to admit, the play was simply awful!'

Meanwhile, in the front, Miss Grayling was shaking her head. The play was a fiasco. 'I will have to talk to the girls about it,' she thought. 'But those Berger girls! I did not think they had it in them to save the play. They must have gotten their acting skills from their Father!'

BTW: CONGRATS TO Pania_Juliet for breaking 1K reads for 'New Generation at Malory Towers'!!