Things settled back into a routine after the Lucy-induced fiasco of a dinner party. The weather was getting a bit cooler, and Maria began to
fuss if she saw Charlie slipping outside in her bare feet.
A new teacher had been hired-a woman from the East-named Miss Hummle. Charlie thought that was a funny sort of a name, and
when Murdoch was talking of it one evening, Charlie was tucked up against his side in his oversized chair.
"What's her first name?" she asked, curiously.
"Let's see," Murdoch said, pausing to think. "It seems as though it was Barbara-I think that's it."
"Is she old? I hope not," Charlie asked.
"And what would be wrong, if she did happen to be an older woman?" Murdoch asked her, his brow lifted menacingly.
Charlie recognized that for what it really was-an attempt on Murdoch's part to seem fierce and disapproving, but really, underneath,
he was amused.
"Well, I guess it might be alright if she's old," Charlie amended, teasing him right back. "Maybe she might fall asleep in her chair,
and we won't have to do as many lessons."
"We're fortunate to have found a teacher, this late in the school term," Scott spoke up, from his spot on the settee, resting his glass
of bourbon on his knee.
"You're right about that," Murdoch said. He tugged one of Charlie's braids gently with the hand that was wrapped around her shoulder.
"Whether she's young and beautiful, or old and sleepy, you need to be the best student that you can be," Murdoch said.
"Yes, Murdoch," Charlie said, but she let her eyes smile at him, in a secret exchange.
L
Charlie had thought that she would be beyond excited whenever school began again. She missed seeing her friends every day, and she did
enjoy most aspects of the school day experience.
Johnny drove her into school the first day. He had feed and supplies to pick up, and Gurth had been favoring a sore foot of late,
so it was decided it would be best for Charlie to ride along with Johnny, and then be picked up in the afternoon. Riding, and holding
onto her lunch pail, full of goodies that Maria had packed, Johnny gave her a nudge.
"Excited?" he asked.
"Yes. Now that it's here, I am. It will be fun to see all the kids again."
Johnny pulled the wagon up, and brought it to a stop. Charlie gathered all her things up, and gave him a bright smile.
"Bye, Johnny," she said, climbing down.
"Bye, pequeno. I'll wanna hear all about your day, later."
"Okay!" Charlie said, and, seeing Rebecca, she ran up to greet her.
L
Midway thru the first morning with the new teacher, and Charlie already felt discouraged. Downtrodden. The new teacher
was a bit older, all joking aside, and she had none of Miss Susan's effervescent personality. She was staid, and dowdy, and it seemed
to Charlie that she was unnecessarily curt with her replies to questions.
And, for another thing, she insisted upon calling Charlie by her full, true name. Charlotte. In her past time, of course, Katherine
had always addressed her that way. And now, as always, Mr. Beets still said Charlotte when speaking to her. That was okay, Charlie didn't mind it so much
with Mr. Beets. But-for some reason it really irked her with the new teacher.
She'd tried to explain early in the morning, when asked her name, that she preferred to be called Charlie, as opposed to Charlotte.
Miss Hummle's reply was a curt, "I don't believe in shortened names, or nicknames. In this classroom you will be addressed as
Charlotte at all times."
After checking with several students on their skills in spelling and arithmetic, she shortened the recess, saying that the entire class
was woefully behind, and they would shorten the recess by ten minutes each day, until students began to catch up to where she thought they
should be in their studies.
So, it was a disgruntled group of children who gathered at the shortened outside play.
"We hadn't oughta stand for it," Monte volunteered hotly.
"What can we do?" asked another boy, Frank Colby.
"There's nothin' we can do," Jason spoke up, always the voice of good sense, and reason. "We just hafta get along and follow
the rules."
It was there, at that first recess, that the teacher's new nickname was born.
"Hummle," Monte was musing. "Humble, naw, hawk nose, yeah-Humbug, that's it."
"And her first name's Barbara," Charlie chimed in. "So Ba-Humbug! Just like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol-"
Monte burst into fits of laughter, as did most of the other kids in the group. A couple of the younger boys danced off singing
about Ba-Ba the Humbug, and Jason issued a warning. "You shouldn't oughta talk like that in front of the little guys. They might
slip up and call her that where she can hear."
After the first moments of laughter at her and Monte's joke, Charlie had gotten a tight feeling in her stomach, that perhaps it hadn't been
the best of ideas. Jason's words of caution had only reinforced that.
The bell was ringing. Miss Hummel stood there, frowning.
Charlie sighed, and got up, dusting off the back of her dress.
To Monte, she whispered, "We shouldn't have made up that name-"
"Awe, the little boys will be alright," Monte said. "I'll tell John to shut up about it."
"When did John ever listen to you about anything?" Charlie pointed out.
L
The afternoon didn't get any brighter, at least as far as Miss Hummle and her teaching strategies were concerned. By the end
of the day, even Jason seemed discouraged.
"It's gonna be a long, long rest of the school term," Jason said.
L
Johnny's grin was bright and welcoming as he sat atop the wagon seat. He held out a hand and Charlie clasped it,
letting him help pull her up.
"How was your first day back?" he asked, as Charlie set her books and pail at her feet.
Charlie shook her head. "Dismal," she said.
Johnny laughed, and then took note of her face, and said, "You mean it," he realized.
"Yeah," Charlie said.
Johnny flapped the reins and put the horse into motion. After a few moments of gloomy silence, he
prompted, "So-not a good day, huh?"
"No," Charlie said.
"The new teacher's not so good, huh?"
Charlie shook her head again. "Johnny, she's horrid! I don't even think she likes kids!"
"That bad?" he asked, and Charlie nodded, until she saw his smile.
"It is that bad, I think," she said, and scooted over closer to him, hooking her arm thru his.
"How about we stop for some pie at the restaurant? Would that cheer ya up?" he offered.
L
On the way home, after blueberry pie, Charlie told Johnny all about the day and all of its disappointments. Johnny listened
without many comments, only inserting an occasional hmmm or uh huh. When the hacienda was in sight, Charlie spoke
up again, to say, "Johnny, will you do me a favor?"
"If I can, pequeno. You know that."
"Will you-not say anything to Scott about all of this? About what I've told you?"
Johnny turned to fasten his blue eyes on her face. He was clearly surprised. Puzzled.
"You don't wanna tell him?"
"No. I don't think so."
"Why not?"
Charlie considered her words. "Because-Scott thinks education is so important. He won't think it's right-to talk about a teacher
like that."
"Hmm," Johnny said, and Charlie looked up at him.
"Will you not tell him? He specially wouldn't like it that Monte and me made up that nickname about Miss Hummle."
"You can explain about that. Scott's got a sense of humor, ya know." Johnny said.
"I know he does. It's just-" Charlie hesitated. "I don't want to disappoint him. It's only the first day. Maybe things will get better
with school. I want to try more before I complain to him."
Johnny gave a brief nod. "Alright, pequeno. If that's the way ya want it."
L
At supper, Maria had prepared some of Charlie's favorite foods, in celebration of her return to school. Charlie appreciated that,
and told Maria so, giving the older woman a hug of thanks. Still, she found that her appetite was not as robust as was usual.
She ate only one small piece of the crispy chicken, and picked at her remaining food, refusing seconds on even the sweet bread.
"Are you feeling alright?" Scott asked. "You're not eating much."
"I feel alright," Charlie said, and made an effort to finish her vegetables.
"We had pie at the restaurant," Johnny said. "Probably took the edge off of her appetite."
Charlie recognized his comment for the help that it was meant to be. She gave him a small smile.
When she'd first seen Scott, after she and Johnny had arrived back at the ranch, he'd greeted her, asking how her first day back had gone.
Charlie had answered truthfully, but without much details. She'd told him that the teacher was strict-appearing, and that the students
had reservations about how things were going to go.
Scott had looked sympathetic to a certain degree, and said, "Well, maybe she was feeling a bit nervous, herself. Could be she'll get more
comfortable and things'll get better."
Charlie had said only, "I hope so."
At the supper table, Murdoch asked, "Is the teacher young and beautiful?" with a smile.
"Oh, no," Charlie said, immediately, and Murdoch's smile grew wider.
"So, she's old and sleepy, then?" he asked, amused, referring to their conversation from a few days earlier.
"I don't know about the sleepy part," Charlie said, without a smile in return.
The absence of her usual cheerful demeanor did not go unnoticed.
"I imagine Miss Hummel will find her feet," Murdoch said, sounding calm.
"What's that?" Charlie asked, pausing with her fork of mashed potatoes halfway to her mouth.
"Ah, that means that she'll find her way-get accustomed to things," Murdoch explained.
"Oh," Charlie said, and resumed eating.
At bedtime, Scott read from 'Tom Sawyer' and then, when he was finished, and Charlie had scooted down under the quilt,
there was a few moments of quiet between them.
"New beginnings are usually strange feeling," Scott said.
Charlie knew he was referring to school, and to the new teacher. She gave a nod in answer.
"You say the other kids think she's too strict," he said, then. "You feel that way, too?"
Charlie hesitated, and then nodded again. She wasn't going to complain, but she wasn't going to lie, either.
"She says she doesn't believe in nicknames," Charlie shared, looking up at him. "She says she'll only call me Charlotte."
For a long moment Scott was silent, and then he said, "Hmmm. Well."
Charlie was quiet, too, watching his face. She couldn't tell what he thought about that. She figured as he wouldn't think it was
such a thing to be too upset about. But, it was important to her.
"Some teachers are more formal than others," he said.
Charlie didn't know why she felt a bit let down. But she did. She wished that Scott would have been adamant. She wished that he
would have said that it was just darn ridiculous-the fact that Miss Hummel wouldn't call her Charlie.
She gave Scott a hug goodnight, wrapping her arms around his neck, and then, when he'd turned down the lamp and
gone out, leaving her bedroom door slightly ajar, Charlie thought to herself, that she could hope for Miss Hummel to
'find her feet', as Murdoch had said, and find them fast, too.
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