CHAPTER II
THE FIRST SOCIAL
Two weeks at Glenmore, and Dorothy and Nancy were content. Letters fromMrs. Dainty and Aunt Charlotte assured them that the dear travelers werewell, and that already Mrs. Dainty was feeling the benefit of the changeof scene.
Mrs. Dainty had engaged a large, front room at Glenmore for the twogirls to enjoy as a sitting-room and study, from which led a tastefullyfurnished chamber, and already they called it their "school home."
Patricia and Arabella had a fair-sized room farther down the corridor.Vera Vane and Elfreda Carleton were snugly settled in cozy quarters afew doors beyond the one that bore Dorothy's and Nancy's names. PatriciaLevine had ordered a large card, elaborately lettered in red and green,announcing that:
THIS SUITE IS OCCUPIED
BY
MISS P. LEVINE
AND
MISS A. CORREYVILLE
A small card was all that was necessary, indeed only a small card waspermitted, but Patricia did not know that. After her usual manner ofdoing things, she had ordered a veritable placard of the village signpainter, and when she had tacked it upon the door, it fairly _shouted_,in red and green ink.
"There!" she exclaimed, "I guess when the other girls see that, they'llthink the two who have this room are pretty swell."
"Isn't it,--rather--loud?" ventured Arabella timidly.
Patricia's eyes blazed.
"_Loud?_" she cried. "Well, what do you want? A card that will whisper?"
"Maybe it's all right," Arabella said quickly, to which Patriciaresponded:
"Of course it's all right. It's more than all right! It's very el'gant!"
Arabella was no match for her room-mate, and whenever a question aroseregarding any matter of mutual interest, it was always Patricia whosettled it, and Arabella who meekly agreed that she was probably right.
Arabella was not gentle, indeed she possessed a decidedly contrarystreak, but she always feared offending Patricia, because Patricia couldbe very disagreeable when opposed.
Patricia was still admiring the gaudy lettering when a door at the farend of the corridor opened.
She sprang back into her room, closed the door and standing close to itwaited to hear if the big card provoked admiring comment.
Nearer came the footsteps.
Could they pass without seeing it? They paused--then:
"Well, just look at that!"
"A regular sign-board!"
A few moments the two outside the door stood whispering, then onegiggled, and together they walked to the stairway and descended,laughing all the way.
Patricia opened the door and peeped out. "It was that red-haired girl,and the black-haired one that are always together," she reported toArabella.
"Now, what in the world were they laughing at?"
"Laughing at the big card, I suppose," Arabella said.
"Well, there's nothing funny about that," Patricia said, hotly. "It costever so much more than the _teenty_ little cards on the other doorsdid." Patricia rated everything by its cost.
"They knew that big card looked fine, and they certainly could see thatthe lettering was showy," she continued; "so why did they stand outsidethe door giggling?"
"How do I know?" Arabella said.
"Open the door, and we'll look at it again, and see if--"
A smart tap upon the door caused Arabella to stop in the middle of thesentence.
"S'pose it's those same girls?" whispered Patricia. "If I thought it wasI wouldn't stir a step."
A second rap, louder, and more insistent than the first brought bothgirls to their feet, and Patricia flew to open the door.
Miss Fenler glared at them through her glasses.
"Why did you not answer my first rap?" she asked.
"We didn't know it was you," said Patricia.
Ignoring the excuse, Miss Fenler continued: "I called to tell you toremove that great card, and put a small one in its place with only yournames upon it, and in regard to your efforts to obtain work, you can nothave any such notice upon your door. Instead you must leave your namesat the office and I will see if any of the pupils will patronize you."
"I don't know what you mean!" cried Patricia, flushed and angry.
For answer Miss Fenler pointed to a line penciled on the lower edge ofthe placard which read:
_Patching and mending done at reasonable prices._
"We never wrote that!" cried Arabella, "and we don't want to bepatronized."
"The red-haired girl, and the black-haired girl that are alwaystogether, stopped at the door and did something, and then went downstairs laughing all the way," screamed Patricia. "'Twas one of those twowho wrote that."
"I must ask you to talk quietly," Miss Fenler said, "and as to thewriting, I'll look into that. In the meantime I'll get a small card foryou to put in place of that large one."
She left the room, and as soon as she was well out of hearing, Patriciavowed vengeance upon the two girls who had written the provoking legend.
"I'll get even with them!" she said.
"How will you?" Arabella asked.
"I don't know yet, but you'd better believe I'll watch for a chance!"
"I'll watch, too!" cried Arabella.
It was the custom at Glenmore to hold a little informal reception on anevening of the third week after the school had opened.
Its purpose was to have pupils of all the classes present so that thosewho never met in the recitation-rooms might become acquainted.
When the announcement appeared upon the bulletin board it caused aflurry of excitement.
Dorothy and Nancy had already found new friends, and were eager to meetothers whose agreeable ways had interested them.
"It's such a pleasant place," Dorothy said one morning as she stoodbrushing her hair, "and so many pleasant faces in the big class-room. Isaw at least a dozen I'd like to know, when we were having the morningexercises, and there's ever so many more that we have yet to meet."
"And Tuesday evening is sure to be jolly. There'll be a crowd to talkwith, and one of the girls told me to-day that there's almost sure to besome music, either vocal or instrumental, and she said that last yearthey often had fine readers at the receptions," Nancy concluded.
They were on their way to the class-room, when Patricia and Arabellajoined them.
"Is the social to be a dressy affair?" Patricia asked, adding: "I hopeit is, because _I_ shall be dressy, whether any one else is or not."
They had reached the class-room door so that there was no time foreither Dorothy or Nancy to reply to the silly remark if they had caredto do so.
* * * * *
At eight o'clock nearly all the pupils had assembled in the bigreception-room, and the hum of voices told that each was doing her bestto outdo her neighbor. Near the center of the room a group of girlsstood talking. It was evident that the theme of their conversation wasnot engrossing, for twice their leader, Betty Chase, had replied atrandom while her eyes roved toward the door, and Valerie Dare remarkedthat her chum had been reading such a romantic story, that she waseagerly looking for a knight in full armor to appear.
"Be still!" cried Betty. "You know very well what I'm looking for."
"I do indeed," Valerie admitted. "Say, girls! You all know the two thatare always together, the one with goggles that we've dubbed the'medicine chest,' and her chum who wears all the rainbow colors wheneverand wherever she appears?"
"Surely, but what are their names?" inquired a pale, sickly-looking girlwho had joined the group.
"Don't know their names," said Betty, "but I heard Miss Rainbow tellingher friend that she intended to wear 'something very dressy' to-night,so I'm eager to see her. My! Here she comes now."
"Good gracious!" gasped Valerie, under her breath.
With head very high, Patricia rushed, rather than walked across theroom, until she reached the center, when she stopped as if to permitevery one to obt
ain a good view of her costume. Her bold manner made hermore absurd even than her dress which was, as Betty Chase declared,"_surprising_!"
Turning slowly around to the right, then deliberately to the left, sheappeared to feel herself a paragon of fashion, a model dressed to givethe pupils of Glenmore a chance to observe something a bit finer thanthey had ever seen before.
As Patricia slowly turned, Arabella, like a satellite, as slowlyrevolved about her.
Who could wonder that a wave of soft laughter swept over the room. Itwas evident that vanity equalling that of the peacock moved Patricia toturn about that every one might see both front and back of her dress,but no one could have guessed why Arabella in a plain brown woolen dresskept pace with her silly friend.
It was not vanity that kept droll little Arabella moving. No, indeed.
Thus far, Arabella had made no new acquaintances.
As she entered the reception-room with Patricia she saw only a sea ofstrange faces, and with a wild determination at least to have Patriciato speak to, she trotted around her, that she might not, at any moment,find herself talking to Patricia's back.
That surely would be awkward, she thought.
Patricia's dress was a light gray silk, tastefully made, and had shebeen content to wear it as it had been sent to her from New York, shewould have looked well-dressed, and no one would have made comments uponher appearance.
The soft red girdle gave a touch of color, but not nearly enough toplease Patricia.
At the village store she had purchased ribbons of many colors, fromwhich she had made bows or rosettes of every hue, and these she hadtacked upon her slippers. Her hair was tied with a bright blue ribbon,and over the shoulders of her blouse she had sewed pink and yellowribbons. Narrow green edged her red girdle.
Blue and buff, rose and orange, straw-color and lavender, surely not atint was missing, and the result was absolutely comical! One would havethought that a lunatic had designed the costume.
And when she believed that her dress had been seen from all angles,Patricia left the reception-room, passing to a larger room beyond, whereshe seated herself, and at once assumed a bored expression. Not theleast interest in other pupils had she. She had come to the littlesocial to be gazed at, and as soon as she believed that all must haveseen her, the party held no further interest for her.
She heard the buzz of whispered conversation in the room that she hadleft, and she wished that she might know what they were saying. It waswell that she could not.
"What an unpleasant-looking girl!" said one.
"Wasn't that dress a regular rainbow?" whispered another.
"Oh, but she was funny, turning around for us to see her, just like awax dummy in a store window," said a third.
SHE WISHED THAT SHE MIGHT KNOW WHAT THEY WERESAYING.--_Page 32._]
"She's queer to go off by herself!" remarked the first one who hadspoken.
"We're not very nice," said Betty Chase, who thus far had not spoken,"that is not very kind, to be so busily talking about her."
"Well, I declare, Betty, who'd ever dream that you, who are alwaysgetting into scrapes would boldly give us a lecture."
Betty's black eyes flashed.
"I know I get into funny scrapes," she snapped, "but whatever I do, Idon't talk about people, Ida Mayo."
"You don't have time to," exclaimed her chum, Valerie Dare. "It takesall your spare time to plan mischief."
In the laugh that followed, Betty forgot that she was vexed.
Patricia began to find it rather dull sitting alone in a room back ofthe reception-hall.
She felt that she had entered the hall in a burst of glory; had fairlydazzled all beholders!
She had believed that the girls would be so entranced with herappearance that they would follow her that they might again inspect hercostume.
She was amazed that she had been permitted to sit alone if she chose.
The other pupils thought it strange that she should choose to remainalone instead of becoming acquainted with those who were to be herschoolmates for the year, but believing that she was determined to beunsocial, they made no effort to disturb her.
Arabella, who had followed her, became curious as to what was going onin the hall, and from time to time, crept to the wide doorway, peepedout to get a better view, then returned to report what she had seen.
"Everybody is talking to Dorothy and Nancy," she said in a stagewhisper, then:
"Vera Vane seems to know almost every one already, and Elf Carleton istelling a funny story, and making all the girls around her laugh.
"And, Patricia, you _ought_ to come here and see Betty Chase. She has along straw, and she's tickling Valerie's neck with it. Valerie doesn'tdream what it is, and while she's talking, keeps trying to brush off thetickly thing. Come and see her!"
Patricia did not stir. She longed to see the fun, but she felt ratherabashed to come out from her corner.
The sound of a violin being tuned proved too tempting, however, and shejoined Arabella in the doorway.
One of the youngest pupils stood, violin in hand, while, at the piano,Betty Chase was playing the prelude. Lina Danford handled the bowcleverly, and played her little solo with evident ease.
Her audience was delighted, and gayly their hands clapped theirapproval. The two in the doorway stood quite still, and gave no evidenceof pleasure. Arabella was too spunkless to applaud; Patricia was toojealous.
Arabella, after her own dull fashion, had enjoyed the music.
Patricia surely had not.
Patricia never could bear to see or hear _any one_ do _anything_!
"Let's go up to our room," she whispered.
"P'rhaps some of the others will play or sing," ventured Arabella, whowished to remain.
"_Let_ 'em!" Patricia said, even her whisper showing that she was vexed.
"'_Let_ 'em?'" Arabella drawled. "Why I'll have to let 'em. I couldn'tstop them, and I don't want to. I'd like to hear them."
"Then stay and hear them!" snapped Patricia, and she rushed out into themidst of the groups of listeners, and dashed up the stairway before MissFenler could stop her.
What could have been more rude and ill-bred than to leave in such haste,thereby disturbing those who were enjoying the music?
Arabella's first thought was to follow Patricia lest she be angry, butshe saw Miss Fenler's effort to stay Patricia, and she dared not leavethe room.
Arabella felt as if she were between two desperate people.
She feared Miss Fenler, as did every pupil at Glenmore, and by remainingwhere she was, she certainly was not offending her, but she could notforget Patricia. What a temper she would be in when, after the concertwas over, Arabella, cautiously, would turn the latch, and enter theirchamber!
Patricia was wide awake, and listening, when at last Arabella reachedtheir door. Softly she tried to open it so carefully that if Patriciawere asleep she might remain so.
Patricia had turned the key in the lock, and she fully enjoyed lyingcomfortably on the bed, and listening while on the other side of thedoor her chum was turning the knob first one way and then the other.
There's no knowing how long she would have permitted Arabella to standout in the hall, but suddenly she remembered that Miss Fenler strodedown the corridors every night after lights were supposed to be out,just to learn if any one of the girls were defying the rule.
With a rather loud "O _dear_!" Patricia flounced out of bed, went to thedoor, pretended to be so sleepy that she could not at once find thekey, and then, as the door opened, gave an exaggerated yawn.
For once Arabella was quick-witted.
"Miss Fenler is just coming up the stairs," she said.
Patricia forgot the scolding that she had been preparing for Arabella,and instead she said:
"Hurry! Put out the light. You can undress in the dark, but forgoodness' sake, don't stumble over anything!"