Chapter 99: Don’t Mention Treebeard

When Arnold had finished telling them all this Matilda looked over at Jessie and said, “I know I’ve seen you a few times in the library but I feel like I should know you from somewhere else but can’t think where.”

Jessie looked back at Matilda and shrugged her bare shoulders before Kate spoke up with a suggestion.

“You’ve probably seen her singing with her choir. They do public performances every now and then and she’s the one everyone calls ‘the girl with the voice of an angel’.”

Matilda looked at Kate then back at Jessie then said, “Yes, I think you are absolutely right. In fact I think I have even been to the church your choir comes from. It was quite a while ago now but I, yes, I do remember you singing there, and at that thing you did down town a few months back. That’s why I think I know you.”

Matilda looked at Jessie again then added, “ ... and your church is OK with you doing this nudist stuff?”

Jessie nodded and said, “They are now. But it took a bit of work and we even did a fully nude performance just last week. Everyone loved it.”

It was quiet for a bit before Arnold asked, “ ... and what about those email addresses and phone numbers I gave you? Have you had any luck or any sort of a reply from anyone yet?”

Jessie gave a sad little nod of her head and quietly said, “No, nothing at all. I sent off emails to every address listed and put voice mail messages on all those phone numbers telling them my problem. I even told them all that the only reason I wanted to enter was to hopefully win some prize money to give to a girl I know suffering from a rare form of cancer. They probably just thought I was playing a violin to make them feel sorry for me. Anyway, I haven’t had any replies apart from one automated message telling me when the cut off date was for registration and that no further applications would be considered beyond that ... all very unhelpful.”

Arnold Berridge just shook his head and said, “Yer, that’s what I thought would happen.”

Matilda then looked at Jessie and said, “Um ... well let’s not give up hope yet on all that. I’ve just thought of something that may be of interest in some way here. But it more involves your choir, Jessie, than perhaps just you entering the Beauty Pageant.”

Matilda then looked at her new friend and said, “And you, Arnold, you told me one of your aunties is part of the entertainment committee for the pageant. Correct?”

Arnold nodded his head but with a questioning shrug of, “But, so what?”

Matilda’s hand went up to her chin in a moment of very deep thought. That hand started rubbing that chin hard as Matilda’s eyes jumped from Arnold’s face then to Jessie’s then back to Arnold’s.

Eventually Matilda took out her phone from her handbag and asked, “Jessie, can I have your phone number. I reckon I might be able to pull a few strings here that may or may not help. With a few of the connections Arnold has and a few that I have I might still be able to get you into that Teen Beauty Pageant. But as I said, it might involve your choir and perhaps a nude public performance. Do you think your church would be OK with that?”