CHAPTER XVII: SPRING AT LYON HIGH
If the autumn, with its excitement of football and the starting ofschool activities, was thrilling to Betty Lee, what should be said ofthe springtime, with those same activities matured and new interests ofthe season? It was baseball among the boys now. Seniors were thinking oftheir graduation. Freshmen had nearly completed their first year of highschool and had changed by contact with the older classes and with theirown new ambitions.
Betty could not keep up with it all, nor attend all of theentertainments offered by the different organizations. In some of themshe had a part, as when the Girl Reserves did something special with agood program, or when the swimming contests took place, for then notalone the best swimmers took part, but those of modest attainments. Inthis Betty had occasion to take a little pride in winning points.
Her mother accompanied her to attend the great musical affair of theyear, when all the musical organizations, orchestra and glee clubs,combined to show their parents what they could do. Mrs. Lee exclaimedover the ability of the orchestra and Betty explained. “In the firstplace, Mother, they have a wonderful leader. He’s a foreigner and hasn’tmuch patience with anybody, Ted says, but it isn’t a bad thing for theway things turn out, you see. Then the boys and girls are used tohearing good music.”
“They hear some very terrible jazz, too,” remarked Mrs. Lee.
“I’ll have to admit it,” laughed Betty, “but not in school, except,perhaps, at the minstrel show they had. I wasn’t there, so I can’tstate.”
The school grounds were more attractive than in the fall. The gardenclub worked under the direction of the botany teacher. First came theforsythia, in welcome yellow delicacy all over the city, and here andthere about the grounds. Then other flowers came on, with magnolia andJapanese cherry trees in blossom, and in their time gay tulips, andpurple iris lining some of the walks. With the windows of class rooms,study halls and library open, the pupils and teachers could hear thesongs of birds, more free than they were, to be sure, but with theirdaily bread and nesting entailing much hunting and work on the part ofthe little creatures. Betty never failed to visit a part of the groundsdevoted to wild flowers, including May?apples and jack?in?the?pulpit.
She was occasionally out at the Gwynne place, when Carolyn carried heroff in a car which sometimes came for her, or accompanied her as far asthe street car went, to take the rest of the way in a strolling hike,enlivened with much discourse, after the manner of girls. They saw verylittle of the boys, by the way, for baseball and other active, outdooraffairs engaged their attention; but the girls, with so many of theirown, did not notice it. Of these girl activities, Color Day, the annualtrack meet of the girls was of importance.
This was held on the last of April in the stadium and the competitionwas between classes. The freshmen girls were quite excited over it, forthey had some very athletic girls in their various teams this year, andwhile they did not expect to win the meet they expected to make a goodshowing. Both Betty and Carolyn were in this, though Betty was notallowed to do competitive running. But there was the throwing, baseballand hurl?ball, and some other events. Numbers told for your class, itseemed. And when it finally came off it was great fun, Betty reported.
“You ought to have been there, Mother!” she cried when she came home.“You simply _must_ come more next year. We’ll get somebody to stay withAmy Lou, though she would think anything like this just wonderful,wouldn’t you, Amy Lou?”
“Yes, Betty. Why can’t I go?”
“You can next time. You ought to have seen the girls run and jump overthe hurdles and everything! We had a tug of war and the freshmen wonthat. Then one of our freshman girls made a brand?new record in thesixty?yard hurdles. I’ve forgotten just what it was, but it beat lastyear’s record just a little bit.
“I didn’t do so badly in the throwing, Mother, but I didn’t take firstplace by any means; and the relay in overhead basketball was great!”
“It seems to me that you make work of your playing, Betty.”
“Yes, I suppose we do. But isn’t it better to have athletics watchedover and amounting to something?”
“I suppose it is, unless you push it too far for your health.”
“Well, I suppose it does hurt some of the boys and girls once in awhile, when they get reckless and try more than they ought to do; butthey are all examined, you know, and they have rules. The seniors beat,by the way, so I suppose they’re satisfied. It would be hard to bebeaten when it was your last year. And, Mother, may I go to the G. A. A.banquet with Carolyn? And, won’t you think twice about going yourself?Carolyn says that her mother is going and wants to entertain you and me.I suppose we couldn’t get Father there, could we?”
“Oh, no, Betty. He is too busy to take time now for a girls’ affair.Perhaps I can go another year, but not now.”
“Mrs. Gwynne was going to call you up, or come to see you if she could.”
“That will be very kind,” said Mrs. Lee. “You may go, Betty, but I thinkthat you’d better pay for your own ticket. We shall see what seemspolite to do.”
“You see, Mother, honors are distributed that night and we find out whothe honor girl is and get whatever we do get for our points.”
This was one of the last events before the “finals” and Commencement.Betty, in her “partiest frock,” came home full of enthusiasm to reportthat the mystery was a mystery no longer and that Louise Madison “gotthe honor ring.” That was the crowning honor and the last thing given.
For the “first time in history” the freshmen received the baseballchevrons. Betty declared that she wasn’t ashamed of being a freshman,but oh, to think that her first year was nearly over! The banquet wassimply great, everything so good; and then after it came the speechesand the presenting of awards, while the girls that had done things were“all excited inside,” and the seniors, of course, all wondering which ofthem would get the great honor.
“I’ve decided that I’m going to ride in order to get one of those duckypins, a silver pin with a tiny black horse and rider, a girl, too,jumping over a bar!”
“Now, isn’t that just like a girl!” exclaimed Dick, who was listeningwhile some of this was being told at the breakfast table.
“It ought to take a very strong motive, Dicky,” mischievously repliedhis sister, “to induce one to make an art of riding! Still, I can stickon a horse out at Grandma’s, can’t I?”
“Yes–and how?” asked Dick scornfully.
Examination week to some seemed long, indeed, with the longer timeallowed for the real tests that had so much to do with passing for thosewho were obliged to take them. Fortunately, Betty had none to take, butit seemed odd, indeed, to wait for grades during examination time andthe time given the teachers to correct the important papers. The weatherwas hot, but it was a good opportunity for last visits or picnics.
Peggy Pollard had one of these at her home, a pretty place in the samesuburb which boasted the Gwynne place, but Peggy’s home was closer intoward town and not so large as that of the Gwynnes. The house was asimple building, modern, set back among a few handsome trees in a largelot. There was a pool on whose circular cement wall, Betty, Peggy andtheir friends sat like so many mermaids one hot afternoon. Bathing suitswere the appropriate costume for this picnic, Peggy had said. Inconsequence, the girls came in simple frocks, as cool as they couldmuster, and brought their bathing suits, caps, slippers and all.
The pool was retired, among the trees and thick bushes where it was coolwith shadows, and it was well known and favored among Peggy’s friends.Betty’s eyes opened wide when she saw it. Good friends as they had been,this was the first time that Peggy had entertained her.
“How did you happen to have such a _big_ one, Peggy?” one of the girlsasked, voicing Betty’s thought.
“Why, there were so many boys and they wanted it big enough for realdiving and swimming a bit; so, as they made it themselves, they had itthat way. This is fresh water, girls, just put in it. Betty, you haven’t
been here before, though I’ve tried to find a good chance to have folksbefore this. Mother’s been in the hospital, as I guess I told you.
“Why, Betty, I’m the last chick of a big family, or almost the lastchick. Jack is in the University still, my big brother, but the rest areall married or away, six brothers–what do you think of that?”
“How nice! Any sisters? but you practically told me you hadn’t any. Andhere I’ve known you all year and never knew a word about your family.”
“Life is like that, Betty,” laughed Peggy. “I guess we never told eachother our life history. I know your family because I’ve been at yourhouse and I saw them.”
“I’ve known Peggy all my life,” said Mary Emma, “and I never knew shehad _six_ brothers. Are you _sure_, Peggy?” Mary Emma was grinning asshe touched the water with her toes. Then she slipped into it and layback, floating a little.
It was the signal for a general descent into the pool whose waters,cooler than the air, were so refreshing. Nobody seemed to care aboutdiving, but they swam a little, had mild races which, no one cared muchabout beating, and sat on the steps that led down into the water orperched again on the upper rim of cement. “What makes us so doleful?”lazily asked Carolyn.
“Oh, it’s the weather, and school’s being ’most out,” returned KathrynAllen, who looked like a little red gypsy in her scarlet bathing suitand cap. “I feel just like splashing around and doing nothing unless tokeep from being drowned.”
“I have enough energy for that,” said Betty, swimming off.
“What do you suppose we’ll be doing this time next year?” asked Carolyn.
“My, you’re looking ahead, Carolyn! By that time we’ll be through beingsophomores, or almost.”
Betty curved around and drew herself up on the steps where Carolyn andKathryn were. “I’ve decided, to do something different every year,” shesaid. “I can’t do it _all_ all the time, you see. I’ll keep up swimming,and some music, and then one year I’ll take riding, and another yearsomething else–I _think_ I will, anyhow.”
“What are you going to do this summer, Betty?” Carolyn asked. “We’regoing away for July and August, I think I told you.”
“Yes. I heard you speak of it. It will be wonderful to be on the oceanbeach, Carolyn. But we’re going to have Mother go to my grandmother’s ona big farm, where they have tenants to do the work, mostly. It will begood for Amy Lou, whose been ‘peaked’ lately, since it grew so warm.Dick and Doris are to take turns going, I think, and I’m to keep housefor Father. But that will mean lots of picnics and little trips outplaces for our dinner and then something is to happen for me, he said,when Mother comes back. But they won’t tell me what it is. So I have anice mystery to look forward to, or try to discover.”
“Do you mean that either your brother or sister will stay with you?”
“I think they’re going to try that, though they are twins and like to beat least in the same town. But no telling. In our family we tryexperiments and if they don’t work we do something else. Nobody carriesout anything just for meanness, or because they said they were goingto.”
“I’ll tell that to Chauncey,” said Kathryn. “Chauncey hates toacknowledge that anything’s wrong he starts, and blazes ahead no matterwhat happens. You must have a nice family. I imagine you have a goodtime with your father and mother.”
“Oh, we do,” laughed Betty. “But we children do what they say–only we’re‘reasoned with’,” and Betty pursed up her mouth.
“Probably they think you have some brains,” said Kathryn. “I’m not surethat my Dad thinks I have any. I’d better make a few more prominent,don’t you think so, Carolyn?”
“It wouldn’t hurt any.”
The afternoon was going on wings, Peggy said, as some one from the houselooked out and Peggy called to ask the time. “That was only to knowabout refreshments,” she explained. “Will the mermaids now turnthemselves into summer girls again and get their frocks on? We’ll go upthe back way to the bath room and take turns at the shower. Then we’lldress where we undressed, and have lunch in the arbor.”
That was a pleasing outlook. The mermaids followed directions andpresently a cool arbor back of the pool was the scene of lightrefreshments being served to the group of Peggy Pollard’s friends. Peggyherself ladled out the iced lemonade from the punch bowl. “Please drinkall that you want, girls; I can’t seem to get enough myself.”
A wood thrush sang from the thicket near them, and they heard a meadowlark from out toward Carolyn’s. “Can you realize, girls, that tomorrowwe get our grade cards and won’t be freshmen any longer?” Kathryn wavedher pretty glass of lemonade as she spoke.
“That is so,” said Betty. “I’ll not be Betty Lee, freshman, but BettyLee, SOPHOMORE! I presume that I _will_ receive a card since I escapedexaminations!”
“It must be so,” dramatically cried Mary Emma in an exaggerated style,reminiscent of a ridiculous skit made up by the Girl Reserves, almostimpromptu, when necessity called for a longer program. “Hail to theSophomores! I will meet you at the witching hour of school time,tomorrow morning!”
“Come down from the high horse, Mary Emma, dear,” said Peggy, “andaccept this plate of fudge.”
“Thank you,” said Mary Emma, putting the plate down beside her as if shethought it all for her. But she selected a piece and passed on theplate. They must really start pretty soon, yet it was such fun to betogether.
“Peggy, I’ve had a glorious time and I’m sorry that it’s over. See youtomorrow morning at school. ’Bye, Peggy.”
“’Bye, Betty.”
“’Bye little Betty, don’t you cry, You’ll be a Soph’more by and by!”
So sang Kathryn, who followed Betty in farewells, and made room forseveral others not quite so intimate with Peggy. “There is your car,Betty,” she said a little later. “I’m going to be home a good deal thissummer. Let’s try to see each other.”
“Let’s,” warmly returned Betty, as she prepared to catch the car. “Wecan manage it, I’m sure. Goodbye, Kathryn, till I see you in themorning.”
THE END
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