That night, after Scott had read nearly a chapter of 'Eight Cousins', he closed the book, and Charlie snuggled closer to
his side. She wasn't ready to let him go just yet.
"Everything go alright with Lucy this afternoon?" he asked her, then. His tone was casual, but Charlie couldn't help the
leap of natural concern at his question. After all, there was that dratted rhyme to consider.
"Nothing ever goes absolutely right with Lucy," Charlie said, grimly. And also, truthfully. It wouldn't hurt to tell Scott that much. He would
think it odd, most likely, if she said that Lucy had been perfectly agreeable.
Scott nodded slightly. "Ah," he said, in acknowledgement. "But you came out to greet her, spend time with her." He studied Charlie. "That
was nice of you. And, a bit surprising, I'll admit. Murdoch and I figured as you'd stay as hidden as you could."
Charlie gave him a half-smile. "I might have," she admitted. "Except she was on my swing."
Scott chuckled. "Well, you kept her entertained, anyway."
He seemed to turn more serious, then. "When you were in the library, and heard Lucy's father talking about the school board's
visit to school, well-I want to talk to you about that."
Charlie looked up at him, curiously.
"What you heard-that's not meant to be talked around. It should stay as private as it's able to," he said.
"Why?"
"Because-" Scott hesitated, looking as though he was searching for words. "Well-it's something that should be spontaneous. More of a
surprise."
"Oh," Charlie said, wrinkling her forehead, puzzled. "Spontaneous? That means on impulse, right?"
"Well, in a way."
Still puzzled, Charlie tilted her head at him. "Why does it have to be a surprise, though?"
"To hopefully see the classroom as it's been," Scott said.
"The kids will just be good while the men are there, and then act up again once they leave," Charlie predicted.
"Maybe so," Scott acknowledged. "That's not really the part I wanted to stress to you, though. I think it's best that you don't let
on to any of the other kids about the visit."
"Lucy knows, though. And, she'll probably tell," Charlie said.
"It shouldn't surprise me that she knows, and she might tell," Scott said, looking thoughtful. Then he patted Charlie's leg, and said, "Well, anyway, best to
keep your own counsel."
"What's that?"
"It means to keep what you know to yourself," he explained.
Charlie was still somewhat puzzled, but she figured that if Scott was asking it, then she could do it.
She nodded at him. "Okay."
He smiled at her in approval. "Good girl," he said.
Charlie felt a pang of guilt. She should tell Scott right now, about the rhyme she'd penned. Just come clean about it. Scott moved a bit,
as if to stand, and Charlie kept hold of his arm.
"Did you want to talk about something else?" he asked, sitting again.
Not entirely one hundred percent sure that she did want to talk to him about what she'd done, Charlie hesitated, debating.
"I've been trying to do what you and Murdoch said to do-about not misbehaving at school," she said, as a round-about way of
leading into her tale.
"I know that you have been," Scott said. And, the way that he said it, as if he really believed in her, it made Charlie feel even more guilty.
"She's not a good teacher, though," Charlie reminded him.
"We've talked about that," he said. "You're going to have teachers that are wonderful, and you're going to have teachers that you
don't feel that way about. It's what you do to continue learning, and how you conduct yourself that's important. Remember?"
"Yes," Charlie said, with a small sigh. "I remember." She was still struggling to find the words of admission, when Johnny called
to Scott from the bottom of the stairs. Something about needing help with the expectant mare.
"I'd better go," Scott said, getting to his feet.
"It's not time for the foal to come, is it?" Charlie worried.
"No, it's not time yet. I don't think it's that." He turned to gesture to her. "Under the covers."
"Can I come down with you-to see what's happening?" Charlie coaxed.
"No." At the crestfallen look on her face, Scott added, "I'll let you know if there's anything really wrong, alright?"
"Well, okay," Charlie said, reluctantly.
"Under," Scott said, gesturing again for her to lie down. Charlie slid under the quilt and he pulled it up around her, tucking
in the sides. He turned down the lamp, and rested his hand on her cheek for a moment.
"Get to sleep," he said.
"Will you leave the door open?" Charlie asked, looking up at him in the dusky light. She was hoping to be awake and hear Johnny
when he came upstairs later, so she could ask him about the mare.
"For a bit," Scott said, and then let her know he knew what she was up to when he added, "But, no reading or trying to stay
awake. Alright?"
"Okay," Charlie said.
"Okay," Scott echoed. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Scott went out, leaving the door just very slightly ajar, and Charlie looked at the hallway light, just squeezing thru the crack, and tried
to stay awake.
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The next morning Charlie let Gurth meander a bit on the ride to school, which resulted in her being very nearly late. She made it thru
the doors of the school just as Miss Hummel was beginning to close them.
"Tardy, Charlotte," Miss Hummel scolded, with a scowling expression.
"No, ma'm, I'm not," Charlie responded, without thinking.
Miss Hummel's face looked set in granite. "You very certainly are," she snapped. "The bell has been rung, and the doors were closing. That
is tardy."
"I'm inside, though," Charlie insisted. She knew she should stop contradicting Miss Hummle, but somehow she just couldn't. Some of the
other students, still moving about, and not yet at their desks, came to look and listen in curiousity.
For a long, long moment, Charlie and Miss Hummel faced off. Then the teacher turned very abruptly, and clapped her hands.
"Take your seats, students," she said, sharply.
Rebecca's eyes were large as Charlie came to take her seat beside her, and a look towards Monte, and Charlie saw that he was
grinning widely. As though he was proud of her.
Charlie sat down, trying to calm herself. Through the morning, Charlie tried to concentrate on her lessons, though it seemed to her
that at times Miss Hummle seemed to glare at her. Which Charlie felt was a bit ridiculous, since the boys continued to whisper and
scrape their feet, and occasionally toss something across the aisle at one another. She should, Charlie thought, in resentment, focus
on the kids that were relentless in their mischief.
The morning passed by-without any visit from the men on the school board. In some way, Charlie felt let down. It was sort of
hard, waiting for it to happen, and then it didn't. Miss Hummle took away the morning recess, saying they had not earned it. They would use
the time to makeup for the morning's lack of concentration and effort, she said.
While the voices hummed around her, Charlie exchanged a look with Rebecca and felt discouraged. Miss Hummle might as well
have saved her breath, she thought. The punishment of no recess only fueled the agitation of the majority of the classroom.
It got even noisier, if that was possible.
Finally, after what seemed like the longest morning ever, it was finally lunch time. Children burst thru the door, shouting and
spilling over into the school yard to find places to eat their lunch.
Sitting with Rebecca, Charlie dug into her lunch. It seemed forever since she'd had Maria's sweet rolls
for breakfast.
Rebecca confided that she hadn't wanted to come to school that morning. "If I'd known it was gonna be this bad, I would have
really not wanted to come," she said.
"Yeah," Charlie agreed. "Did you ask your mother if you could stay home?" she asked.
Rebecca nodded, biting into her sandwich. "Ma might have let me-but Pa never would. He says that he had to quit school when he
was young, and that us kids need to be grateful for gettin' an education."
Charlie nodded in sympathy. It sounded like something Scott would say. Well, sort of. He hadn't had to quit school, in fact he had gone to college,
but Charlie didn't want to say that part to Rebecca. It might sound as though it was bragging. But, the part about needing to be grateful for
education and all that-that part sounded like Scott.
"So-if Pa had found out that Ma let me stay home when I wasn't sick-well he would have been mad at both me and Ma," Rebecca said.
"It is really bad, though," Charlie said, lowering her voice so as to not be overheard. "It's hard to concentrate."
Rebecca nodded glumly.
Charlie hesitated. Scott had said not to say anything to anybody about the school board visit-but Charlie was fairly certain that he
wouldn't mind if she told Rebecca.
So, she did. Tell Rebecca. The other girl's eyes grew large in her face.
"Jiminy," she whispered, properly awed.
A shadow behind them, and then an uttered, 'Boo!' and Monte was there, with neither one of them having heard him approach.
"You shouldn't do that," Charlie informed him, after both she and Rebecca jumping, startled.
"Sorry," Monte said, not looking sorry, and grinning widely.
Charlie gave him a stern look, but he remained unbothered.
"Did that lady that cooks for ya'll make any of those cinnamon things?" he asked Charlie, looking hopeful.
"They're called churros," Charlie informed him. "And, no, not today."
"Those sure are good," Monte said, looking disappointed.
After that several of the other boys wandered over to join their small group.
The boys began plotting revenge on 'the witch' of a teacher.
Charlie bit her lip, hesitating. She genuinely liked the boys-at least she did Monte, and a couple of the others she didn't mind so much, either.
She really didn't want them to get into trouble, or be exacting revenge by misbehavior when the school board members might arrive at
any given moment.
Still, she hesitated. She had the feeling that Scott would be-if he was sitting here beside her-would be shaking his head at her, or
at least raising an eyebrow in deterrent.
Then, before she could make a final decision, the dreaded rhyming song began to ring out across the school yard.
'Old Hummie, please go back-
Until then, SIT ON A TACK!'
The front and side door of the school building were both open for air, and there was no way at all that Miss Hummle could help
but hear-
"Noooo," Charlie said, distressed, and feeling her recently eaten lunch take a wrong turn in her stomach. Rebecca, too, looked
horrified, and Charlie swept her glance to Monte.
"Make them stop," she begged him.
"Awe, it's alright-" Monte began to console her.
"No, Monte! Please!" Charlie begged, feeling panicked.
Seeing the depth of Charlie's distress, Monte's face softened, and he nodded. Within minutes he was sprinting across the
school yard, to hush Bobby Crooks and Leo Carter from their off-key singing.
A movement at the side door of the school caught Charlie's eye. Monte's help came too late. Miss Hummle stood there,
and she'd heard the words of the taunting song. Her face looked like a thundercloud.
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