Author's note: This story is the fourth installment of the "Songs About Jane" series, which revolves around Jane Morgan. The first story is "Calamity Jane," the second is "Paint Them a Picture, Jane," and the third is "Queen Jane Approximately." Reading those stories beforehand isn't essential to this one, but they would just some helpful context.
Diana, Age 6
The last few weeks of summer, Diana longs for school to begin. The days seems to stretch out before her, stopping her from getting to what's waiting for her: the first grade. Her heart thrums in excitement when she thinks of all that it means. No more half-days, like in kindergarten, but full days in the classroom, like the older kids.
When Diana complains to her mother and father that the first day of school is always too far away, they chuckle at her.
"Take it easy, Diana," her father says, ruffling her hair as she sits by the apartment window, willing the green summer leaves to change to their autumn colors. "Enjoy the summer. School will be here soon enough."
When school at last draws closer, Diana's mother gives her a wonderful gift: a lovely dress made by her own hands. The dress is light purple, with pink, white, and dark purple flowers splashed all over it.
"It's beautiful," Diana breathes.
Her mother also presents her with a pair of fancy shoes, given to her by the Kerioth family from church.
"Esther Kerioth outgrew them," Diana's mother explains. "They don't have any more girls in their family, so they gave them to you to use."
The shoes are the prettiest Diana has ever owned. They're shiny and white, with flowers made of ribbons on the toes that her mother tells her are called "rosettes."
Finally- finally, the first day of school arrives. Diana is full of anticipation, and can barely eat breakfast in her excitement.
"Be respectful to your teacher," her mother tells Diana, kissing her goodbye at the door of Miss Elliman's classroom at Sleepyside Elementary. "Take care, sweetheart."
"Goodbye, Mom!" Diana calls, and skips inside the door, ready to have the time of her life.
The day is not all that Diana expects, however.
The teacher, Ms. Elliman, seems old and stern. She does not smile as she addresses the class.
"When I call your name, I will assign you your seat. You will then pick a picture to color and a pack of crayons. You will color your picture quietly, and color them nicely. We will hang them on the bulletin board outside of class. There will be no disruptions, or your name will be written on the chalkboard." She gazes at them suspiciously, and then begins the seating arrangements.
Several pictures are available to choose from: a teddy bear, a car, and a flower. When her name is called, Diana selects the flower, and then settles at her desk to color.
The colors she picks, though, do not please Ms. Elliman.
"Diana Lynch! Just what do you think you're doing?" The teacher looks down her nose at Diana.
"Coloring, Ms. Elliman," Diana answer proudly. She's going to give the picture to her grandmother once she gets it back from the bulletin board.
"Your flower is the wrong color," Ms. Elliman informs her tersely. "There are no blue flowers."
"Yes, there are," Diana says immediately.
Ms. Elliman's mouth tightens. "Don't be impudent, Diana."
"I'm not!" Diana protests, even though she doesn't know what "impudent" means. "But there are blue flowers. The Websters have a bush full of them in their garden!"
"Diana, I won't allow for any more argument!" Ms. Elliman warns her.
"There are blue flowers, though!" Diana insists. "You can ask Tad Webster! He's in the second grade here."
"Enough!" Ms. Elliman turns to the chalkboard, grabbing a piece of chalk and scrawling Diana's name. "I'm writing your name right here so the entire class can be reminded of your misbehavior all day!"
With a heavy heart, Diana sinks down into her seat, feeling her face grow red. Despite her embarrassment, she still hopes things will get better later on.
Ms. Elliman hands out two sheets of paper to each student. "You'll get a list of states and capitals, and a map of the United States. This exercise is a test of your knowledge about your home country. Label all the states you know, and all the capitals that go with them. Separate your desks. I don't want anyone copying from their neighbor."
Diana moves her desk and reaches for the papers, but Ms. Elliman stops her.
"Move your desk further, Diana," she commands.
Diana complies, but Ms. Elliman interrupts her again.
"Further. Till it's right up against the wall."
Once Diana does as ordered, Ms. Elliman leaves her to her task.
But the summer heat isn't gone, and the elementary school isn't air-conditioned. Because she's shifted her desk, Diana is right by the open window, where the muggy air presses down on her. The sun's rays fall across her and her desk, causing her to feel overheated and making the paper bright white, which hurts her eyes when she looks at it.
No one told her about this part of first grade. No told her the teacher would be grumpy, the flowers would have to be boring, or that she would have to know all the names of the states and capitals. It's like Miss Elliman expects her to know all sorts of things she's never been taught.
Eventually, Diana hands in her paper without any writing whatsoever, and Ms. Elliman stares at her in disapproval.
"Back in my day, Diana," Miss Elliman says severely, "a child who didn't know their geography would be asked to leave the classroom. A child so slow really wouldn't be worth the teacher's time to instruct."
Diana tries to avoid being noticed by anyone for the rest of the morning.
Things do seem to get better at lunch. Her mother has made her peanut butter crackers, along with cookies baked just for her first day of school, plus an apple and a cheese stick. The cheese stick is what makes Diana the happiest, because she knows that it's an "extra" snack her parents rarely purchase.
But when she's leaving lunch, Diana hears a loud whisper as she passes a table full of her classmates.
"You can tell Diana's dress is homemade. It looks like atablecloth," one of the girls sneers.
Even though she can feel her distress building, Diana resolves not to cry out in the open. Instead, she walks out of the cafeteria, but rather than continuing to the playground doors, she ducks into the nearest bathroom.
Locking herself in a stall, Diana finally lets her tears fall. The first grade is supposed to be fun and exciting and grown-up, but it's really just a disaster. The teachers are mean, the students are mean, and the work is hard.
A knock on the door of the stall startles Diana, and she quickly wipes at her eyes, embarrassed that she's been caught crying. She hasn't even realized anyone else entered the bathroom.
"What is it?" She calls, trying to stop her voice from shaking with her tears.
A pause, and then a girl's voice. "I heard you crying. Are you okay?"
Swallowing, Diana opens the stall door. Standing before her is a very pretty girl with curly blonde hair who Diana recognizes from her class.
"I'm okay," she confirms, distracted from her misery by the other girl's fine clothes.
Diana thinks the girl looks beautiful. Her dress reminds Diana of a princess; it's light blue with lots of ribbons and has a long and ruffly skirt. Her socks have ruffles, too, and her white shoes have beads and look like they're made from lace. Combined with the girl's glossy golden hair that's held up with all sorts of sparkling pins, the girl looks like a doll come to life.
A twinge of jealousy pierces Diana. The girl is very lucky to have such beautiful clothes and walk around looking like a picture from a magazine.
Just as Diana looks at the other girl, the other girl looks at her. When Diana notices the inspection, the other girl holds out her hand, a gesture that strikes Diana as very grown-up.
"I'm Jane Sammael," the girl introduces herself.
"I'm Diana Lynch," Diana says, shaking Jane's hand. "Sometimes people just call me 'Di,' for short."
"Why were you crying?" Jane asks.
Hugging herself, Diana decides Jane seems nice and she can trust her. "Some girls made fun of how my dress looks," Diana confesses.
Jane looks at Diana's dress and doesn't answer, and for a moment, Diana feels her tears growing again. But then Jane takes off her headband, a beautiful white one decorated with a bow and beads, like the type in store windows.
She offers the headband to Diana. "Would you like to wear it? If you do, maybe no one will talk about your dress."
Astonished, Diana takes hold of the headband, barely daring to believe she would be allowed to wear the beautiful item. "You'd let me?"
"Sure," Jane says. "You can keep it forever, if you want. I have lots at home."
Awed, Diana dons the headband and races to the mirror. "I look so pretty!" She twirls before the glass, loving the way the headband's beads catch the light.
Following, Jane smiles at her. "Would you like to play with me on the swings, Di?"
"Sure!" Diana says eagerly, pleased that this princess-like girl wants to play with her. Then she hesitates. "But- aren't you worried about your skirt flying up?"
"I wear shorts beneath my dresses," Jane tells her. "That way, I can always play on the swings. And don't worry, because I can show you how to tuck your skirt into your legs so that nothing shows."
Sadness forgotten, Diana grins. "Let's go!"
A friend from kindergarten, Trixie Belden, meets them outside. Like Diana and Jane, she's dressed up for the first day of school, in a gingham dress with church shoes, lacy socks, and a ribbon in her sandy corkscrew curls. However, at midday, her ribbon is askew, her socks are drooping, and her shoes are smudged with dust.
"We're gathering a group for tag!" Trixie declares. "You want to play?"
"For sure!" Diana enthuses. Then she remembers she already promised to play on the swings. She glances guiltily at Jane.
"It's all right," Jane says understandingly. "We can play tag with Trixie."
"Won't your skirt be too heavy to run in?" Trixie points out.
"Probably," Jane admits, looking downcast. Then she brightens. "I can sit on the grass and cheer for all of you, though!"
Giggling, Diana grabs the hands of her two friends, one new and one old, and pulls them towards the grass where a group is gathering for tag. Maybe school won't be as fun as she's hoped, but she's glad to be with Trixie and Jane.