The floor sloped to a yawning stage on which a band of musicians, grouped around a grand piano, were tuning their instruments.
She had two fleeting impressions.

That it was all a mistake; this was no school, but a grand display of enormous ribbon bows; and the second, that she was sinking, and had forgotten how to walk.

Then a burst from the orchestra nerved her while a bevy of daintily clad, sweet-smelling things that might have been birds, or flowers, or possibly gaily dressed, happy young girls, pushed her forward.

She found herself plodding across the back of the auditorium, praying for guidance, to an empty seat.
As the girls passed her, vacancies seemed to open to meet them.

Their friends were moving over, beckoning and whispering invitations.