The summer flew by for Craig, Crale and Ami, Rose had been right about Mr. Jacobson. While he actually wouldn't let Ami sell newspapers, feeling that it wasn't appropriate for a girl to do so, he let Ami come and be the messenger girl at the newspaper office. The reporters were at first surprised by the small girl who came around with messages from the editors but soon they all got use to her and the nickname from home Kitten was shortened up to Kit.
The boarding house that the cousins stayed at was different from what they had expected. Mrs. B loved all three of the children and doted on them. When they first came in they were the only boarders. But as summer came to a close many college students came to live at the house. Many of Mrs. B.'s college students were studying to become ministers, lawyers or teachers. Ami ended up being the only girl staying in the house and because of this she was treated like a princess by many of the boarders.
Life in the summer wasn't just working and playing with the boarders, all three of the children had to take tests to place them with in the school. Ami's ability to soak up all information given her in school the pervious school year had caused Mr. Larson to give her special lessons that had moved her through the first reader in just one year, which usually took two years. The principle at this new school had been skeptical of Ami's knowledge of the first year and spent a week testing her and the boys to insure they were all placed some where they would be tested. It ended up with Ami being placed in the second reader class, Craig placed only one class a head of her and Crale two classes up.
Summer finally came to an end and it was time for the cousins to head to their new school. Ami hated having to be up so early but Crale said they wanted to make a good first impression on their teachers and made them all get up an hour earlier than they really had to. This gave them time to have a slow walk to school, and time for the boys to tell Ami about what they had done the previous weekend with their newsie friends.
They had gone away for the weekend on a trip that Mr. Jacobson arranged every year before school started. Ami hadn't been able to go along since she was a girl, which bugged her to no end. "So Ami it wasn't that big of a thing, we just went fishing and swimming stuff. It wasn't all that interesting." Craig was trying to get Ami to talk to them again, as she was giving the silent treatment for leaving her behind.
"If we do it again next year you can come okay?" Crale tried soothing her feelings.
"You not just saying that?" Ami looked up at him with cautious hope.
"No if we do it again we'll take you along we promise."
Ami thought about it, "Okay if you promise." She gave Crale the sweetest grin as he left her and Craig at the door to their classroom. Even though they were in different classes they shared a classroom. They went and hung their hats on a peg near the door and put their lunch pail, which Mrs. B had made for them, on a shelf.
As they entered the classroom they discretely looked around as they went to sit in a desk together. The teacher, who had been busy with lesson plans, looked up as they entered. "Hello, I'm Miss Carlson. Who might you be?"
Craig spoke for them both, "I am Craig Swanson and this is my cousin Ami Oberg."
Miss Carlson looked over her class list, "Oh there you are. Well let's see where did I put you both." She glanced again at the class list. "Ami you are to sit in this desk here and Craig I would like you to sit there by the window. The rest of your classmates should be coming in soon, why don't you go and sit in your seats to get settled."
That was the start of a boring day for Ami and Craig. The class started out like their previous school had but this time lessons were done for half the class at a time. Ami's seatmate's name was Grace, but Ami soon learned that her name didn't fit her personality.
At recess the teacher on duty told Ami very shortly that she couldn't play ball with the boys because it wasn't lady like. As the teacher walked away Ami began to mumble, "Well who wants to be lady like. I'd rather play ball."
Grace and a couple of her friends came up then, "So country you wanna play hopscotch with us?"
Ami looked at Grace as if she had grown another head. "Hopscotch? No thank you." Ami turned and walked toward the side of the building to sit down.
Behind her, Grace and her friends started talking in a loud voice, "Well I heard that they were brought here because no one else would take them."
"Do you see the length of that skirt? Her mother should at least have made sure it was the right length, you can see her knees."
"You know what I saw? Her cousin and his brother were selling newspapers on the corner this summer. We are going to school with a bunch of newsies."
"No wonder the room smells funny this year. It must be because they don't know how to wash."
"Now girls that isn't very nice." Grace calmed her friends down, "They just don't know any better, I mean they are from the country where they play in the dirt all the time." This brought a renewed round of giggling from the girls. Ami ignored them stoically as they walked away losing interest in teasing her when she hadn't given them the reaction they wanted.
"Stupid girls I'll show them." Ami thought as she sat watching Craig try to play ball. The boys weren't much nicer than the girls, they just were more subtle in their dislike. They would throw the ball far over his head on purpose and then yell at him for missing it. When it was his turn to hit the ball they would throw it directly at him trying to take him out of the game. Thankfully recess ended before he could be seriously hurt.
Ami was glad to be back in the classroom and when it came time for recitation she rattled off her lesson. This surprised all the students in the class. As Miss Carlson asked others in her group questions that they couldn't answer Ami would automatically answer for them. Finally they sat down and the next class was called, as they recited their lesson Ami recited along with them. It was reviewing not a new lesson but it caused her to become the center of attention.
"Ami can I see you for a minute?" Miss Carlson called Ami over as the class went for recess.
"Yes ma'am?"
"Do you really know the lessons for the other class?"
"Yes ma'am, I learned them last year." Ami didn't even try to disguise the pride in her voice.
Miss Carlson nodded and sent the class back to their seats, she then called both Ami and Craig up to her desk. "Where exactly were the two of you when you finished school last year?" She held out a reader and Craig flipped through it first.
He stopped near the middle of the reader, "We were right here." Miss Carlson took the reader from him and nodded.
"Alright then I want you to do your next lesson from here to here." She pointed at the appropriate places and Craig nodded and went back to his seat. She then handed Ami the reader. She repeated the process and pointed about a forth of the way through the same book as Craig. Miss Carlson hid her surprise at where Ami was and gave her a lesson that fit where she was. Ami went back to her seat where Grace gave her a dirty look.
Nothing more was said in the classroom as they sat memorizing their lessons for afternoon recitation. At noon Miss Carlson dismissed her class for lunch and they filed out through the cloakroom and into the schoolyard again. Ami and Craig sat off to the side and were not surprised when Crale came to sit with them.
"So how has your day gone?" Crale sat reaching into the lunch pail.
"Well the first part was pretty boring but Miss Carlson gave us both something we haven't had yet." Ami answered first. Craig considered the question before answering.
"Well I guess Miss Carlson is nice enough but I really don't like the kids here. I think the feeling is mutual."
"Yeah they don't like us much." Ami agreed as she ate an apple.
"Well we just have to act like we don't hear their comments." Crale said with some authority. Before Ami or Craig could respond Grace came up, ignoring the boys and looked Ami straight in the eye.
"Don't think you can get away with this brain thing. You and your friends are just stupid country hicks. Don't act innocent. I am at the top of the class and you better not try to change that. You will never be good enough to stay here. I am going to talk to my daddy and he is on the school board. He can throw you out of here faster than you can blink." Ami looked the other girl up and down before answering.
"That is fine by me." Ami turned her back to the other girl and went back to eating. The boys looked as if they wanted to soak the other girl but followed Ami's example and turned their backs to her. Grace huffed and stomped off mumbling under her breath.
"Well Kitten looks like you made yourself an enemy." Crale commented after Grace was out of earshot.
"Yeah and what's worse, she sits next to me. I ain't ever gonna get any rest from her." Ami said as the bell rang. "Meet you here after we get out?"
Crale nodded as they walked back to the building and went inside for the rest of the afternoon.
Classes went by as quickly as any school day does and by mid afternoon all the students were ready for the bell to ring. When it did the class broke for the door and for freedom. Ami and Craig weren't as quick to leave and were in the cloakroom searching for something when Miss Carlson came up to them.
"What is wrong Ami, I thought you would be gone by now."
Ami pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips. "Craig and me are looking for my sunbonnet. I put it here after we got back in from lunch but it isn't here."
"Maybe one of the other students picked it up by mistake. I am sure it will be back tomorrow. But you have to head home, I am leaving and going to lock the door."
"Maybe, but it was my good sunbonnet. My momma isn't gonna be happy if I've lost it." Ami said as she searched the cloakroom one last time with her eyes.
"I am sure we'll find it." Miss Carlson patted Ami on the shoulder as they stood outside of the room in the small entryway.
"Hope so. Well see you tomorrow Miss Carlson." Ami and Craig waved as they ran over to where Crale was waiting for them.
"Hey Kitten where's your sunbonnet?" Crale asked as so as they came up.
"Don't know I couldn't find it before we left." Ami shrugged as she reached up to grab Craig's straw hat, "I'll wear Craig's till mine shows up."
"Hey give that back." Craig reached for his hat but Ami evaded his grasp as she took off toward the boarding house. Craig chased after her, dropping his books. Crale picked them all up, adding them to his stack before taking off after them calling for them to stop running like Indians.
The school days started running into each other and Ami's sunbonnet was never returned. She noticed that other small things were disappearing too. Her slate pencil disappeared one day after a recess. Miss Carlson tsked and told her to be more careful after giving her a new one. A few days into the new school year Ami took all of her things she took to school and marked all of them. Mrs. B sew a small purple and green flower on the under brim of her new sunbonnet. She scratched her initials into her slate and lunch pail, along with the boys' initials. They never disappeared but Ami wasn't taking any chances. She knew who had stolen them and kept a close eye on Grace and all her giggling girlfriends.
The boarding house that the cousins stayed at was different from what they had expected. Mrs. B loved all three of the children and doted on them. When they first came in they were the only boarders. But as summer came to a close many college students came to live at the house. Many of Mrs. B.'s college students were studying to become ministers, lawyers or teachers. Ami ended up being the only girl staying in the house and because of this she was treated like a princess by many of the boarders.
Life in the summer wasn't just working and playing with the boarders, all three of the children had to take tests to place them with in the school. Ami's ability to soak up all information given her in school the pervious school year had caused Mr. Larson to give her special lessons that had moved her through the first reader in just one year, which usually took two years. The principle at this new school had been skeptical of Ami's knowledge of the first year and spent a week testing her and the boys to insure they were all placed some where they would be tested. It ended up with Ami being placed in the second reader class, Craig placed only one class a head of her and Crale two classes up.
Summer finally came to an end and it was time for the cousins to head to their new school. Ami hated having to be up so early but Crale said they wanted to make a good first impression on their teachers and made them all get up an hour earlier than they really had to. This gave them time to have a slow walk to school, and time for the boys to tell Ami about what they had done the previous weekend with their newsie friends.
They had gone away for the weekend on a trip that Mr. Jacobson arranged every year before school started. Ami hadn't been able to go along since she was a girl, which bugged her to no end. "So Ami it wasn't that big of a thing, we just went fishing and swimming stuff. It wasn't all that interesting." Craig was trying to get Ami to talk to them again, as she was giving the silent treatment for leaving her behind.
"If we do it again next year you can come okay?" Crale tried soothing her feelings.
"You not just saying that?" Ami looked up at him with cautious hope.
"No if we do it again we'll take you along we promise."
Ami thought about it, "Okay if you promise." She gave Crale the sweetest grin as he left her and Craig at the door to their classroom. Even though they were in different classes they shared a classroom. They went and hung their hats on a peg near the door and put their lunch pail, which Mrs. B had made for them, on a shelf.
As they entered the classroom they discretely looked around as they went to sit in a desk together. The teacher, who had been busy with lesson plans, looked up as they entered. "Hello, I'm Miss Carlson. Who might you be?"
Craig spoke for them both, "I am Craig Swanson and this is my cousin Ami Oberg."
Miss Carlson looked over her class list, "Oh there you are. Well let's see where did I put you both." She glanced again at the class list. "Ami you are to sit in this desk here and Craig I would like you to sit there by the window. The rest of your classmates should be coming in soon, why don't you go and sit in your seats to get settled."
That was the start of a boring day for Ami and Craig. The class started out like their previous school had but this time lessons were done for half the class at a time. Ami's seatmate's name was Grace, but Ami soon learned that her name didn't fit her personality.
At recess the teacher on duty told Ami very shortly that she couldn't play ball with the boys because it wasn't lady like. As the teacher walked away Ami began to mumble, "Well who wants to be lady like. I'd rather play ball."
Grace and a couple of her friends came up then, "So country you wanna play hopscotch with us?"
Ami looked at Grace as if she had grown another head. "Hopscotch? No thank you." Ami turned and walked toward the side of the building to sit down.
Behind her, Grace and her friends started talking in a loud voice, "Well I heard that they were brought here because no one else would take them."
"Do you see the length of that skirt? Her mother should at least have made sure it was the right length, you can see her knees."
"You know what I saw? Her cousin and his brother were selling newspapers on the corner this summer. We are going to school with a bunch of newsies."
"No wonder the room smells funny this year. It must be because they don't know how to wash."
"Now girls that isn't very nice." Grace calmed her friends down, "They just don't know any better, I mean they are from the country where they play in the dirt all the time." This brought a renewed round of giggling from the girls. Ami ignored them stoically as they walked away losing interest in teasing her when she hadn't given them the reaction they wanted.
"Stupid girls I'll show them." Ami thought as she sat watching Craig try to play ball. The boys weren't much nicer than the girls, they just were more subtle in their dislike. They would throw the ball far over his head on purpose and then yell at him for missing it. When it was his turn to hit the ball they would throw it directly at him trying to take him out of the game. Thankfully recess ended before he could be seriously hurt.
Ami was glad to be back in the classroom and when it came time for recitation she rattled off her lesson. This surprised all the students in the class. As Miss Carlson asked others in her group questions that they couldn't answer Ami would automatically answer for them. Finally they sat down and the next class was called, as they recited their lesson Ami recited along with them. It was reviewing not a new lesson but it caused her to become the center of attention.
"Ami can I see you for a minute?" Miss Carlson called Ami over as the class went for recess.
"Yes ma'am?"
"Do you really know the lessons for the other class?"
"Yes ma'am, I learned them last year." Ami didn't even try to disguise the pride in her voice.
Miss Carlson nodded and sent the class back to their seats, she then called both Ami and Craig up to her desk. "Where exactly were the two of you when you finished school last year?" She held out a reader and Craig flipped through it first.
He stopped near the middle of the reader, "We were right here." Miss Carlson took the reader from him and nodded.
"Alright then I want you to do your next lesson from here to here." She pointed at the appropriate places and Craig nodded and went back to his seat. She then handed Ami the reader. She repeated the process and pointed about a forth of the way through the same book as Craig. Miss Carlson hid her surprise at where Ami was and gave her a lesson that fit where she was. Ami went back to her seat where Grace gave her a dirty look.
Nothing more was said in the classroom as they sat memorizing their lessons for afternoon recitation. At noon Miss Carlson dismissed her class for lunch and they filed out through the cloakroom and into the schoolyard again. Ami and Craig sat off to the side and were not surprised when Crale came to sit with them.
"So how has your day gone?" Crale sat reaching into the lunch pail.
"Well the first part was pretty boring but Miss Carlson gave us both something we haven't had yet." Ami answered first. Craig considered the question before answering.
"Well I guess Miss Carlson is nice enough but I really don't like the kids here. I think the feeling is mutual."
"Yeah they don't like us much." Ami agreed as she ate an apple.
"Well we just have to act like we don't hear their comments." Crale said with some authority. Before Ami or Craig could respond Grace came up, ignoring the boys and looked Ami straight in the eye.
"Don't think you can get away with this brain thing. You and your friends are just stupid country hicks. Don't act innocent. I am at the top of the class and you better not try to change that. You will never be good enough to stay here. I am going to talk to my daddy and he is on the school board. He can throw you out of here faster than you can blink." Ami looked the other girl up and down before answering.
"That is fine by me." Ami turned her back to the other girl and went back to eating. The boys looked as if they wanted to soak the other girl but followed Ami's example and turned their backs to her. Grace huffed and stomped off mumbling under her breath.
"Well Kitten looks like you made yourself an enemy." Crale commented after Grace was out of earshot.
"Yeah and what's worse, she sits next to me. I ain't ever gonna get any rest from her." Ami said as the bell rang. "Meet you here after we get out?"
Crale nodded as they walked back to the building and went inside for the rest of the afternoon.
Classes went by as quickly as any school day does and by mid afternoon all the students were ready for the bell to ring. When it did the class broke for the door and for freedom. Ami and Craig weren't as quick to leave and were in the cloakroom searching for something when Miss Carlson came up to them.
"What is wrong Ami, I thought you would be gone by now."
Ami pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips. "Craig and me are looking for my sunbonnet. I put it here after we got back in from lunch but it isn't here."
"Maybe one of the other students picked it up by mistake. I am sure it will be back tomorrow. But you have to head home, I am leaving and going to lock the door."
"Maybe, but it was my good sunbonnet. My momma isn't gonna be happy if I've lost it." Ami said as she searched the cloakroom one last time with her eyes.
"I am sure we'll find it." Miss Carlson patted Ami on the shoulder as they stood outside of the room in the small entryway.
"Hope so. Well see you tomorrow Miss Carlson." Ami and Craig waved as they ran over to where Crale was waiting for them.
"Hey Kitten where's your sunbonnet?" Crale asked as so as they came up.
"Don't know I couldn't find it before we left." Ami shrugged as she reached up to grab Craig's straw hat, "I'll wear Craig's till mine shows up."
"Hey give that back." Craig reached for his hat but Ami evaded his grasp as she took off toward the boarding house. Craig chased after her, dropping his books. Crale picked them all up, adding them to his stack before taking off after them calling for them to stop running like Indians.
The school days started running into each other and Ami's sunbonnet was never returned. She noticed that other small things were disappearing too. Her slate pencil disappeared one day after a recess. Miss Carlson tsked and told her to be more careful after giving her a new one. A few days into the new school year Ami took all of her things she took to school and marked all of them. Mrs. B sew a small purple and green flower on the under brim of her new sunbonnet. She scratched her initials into her slate and lunch pail, along with the boys' initials. They never disappeared but Ami wasn't taking any chances. She knew who had stolen them and kept a close eye on Grace and all her giggling girlfriends.
