By The Sea

Chapter Two: School

“ Thats nice! You live on the orchard, right?”

“ Yes.”

“ I’ll walk home with you! I live only a bit further than the orchard.” Adelia did most of the talking, Winnie only answering questions.

“ I used to like Hugo, but now I like Theodore Davis more, he’s cute, but he is not as annoying Hugo. My brother is getting married to Evelyn Mcallister this fall, shes the older sister of Abby Mcallister. Abby is real pretty. She’s the one with the raven black hair, I’m pretty sure Theodore likes her, because they’re the same age, and she’s way prettier than me, and I think Hugo likes Audrey Jones, you know, the beautiful curly brown haired girl? I don’t actually know, but I think Audrey likes him.” Adelia babbled on and on. “ Miss Brooks is sooo pretty, don’t you think? I heard she’s engaged to Mr. Banks. They’ll probably get married soon, and then we’ll get a different teacher, but I like Miss Brooks, she’s so sweet and pretty. And her name is so pretty. Adelaide Brooks. If I picked my name, it would be Adelaide. What would your name be if you could pick it? Is Winnie a nickname, or is it your real name?”

“ I would name myself Constance.” Winnie said. “ I always thought it was a pretty name, better than Winifred, which is my full name. I go by Winnie because it sounds nicer. I think Constance Eloise MacFarlan would be a nice full name to have, don’t you think?”

“ I think that is a very pretty name. I would like my full name to be Adelaide Charlotte Davis. That is a nice and proper name. I would go by Mrs. Theodore Davis. And Theo and I would have three kids, One boy and two girls, and name the girls Florence Olivia and Abigail Edith. I would name the boy Otto Bernard, or maybe Bernard Otto. No, I think Otto Bernard sounds more distinguished, don’t you think?”

“ Those are three very nice names.” Winnie said. 

“ What would you name your kids?”

“ I don’t know if I would want kids, it’s a little to early to think about having children. I would rather enjoy my early life without the burden of getting married or having children to take care of. I would get married and have a kid or two later in life, maybe when I’m 26.”

“ Why, you’d be an old maid if you didn’t get married until then!”

“ Miss Brooks is practically an old maid. She’s in her mid 20’s, right?”

“ I guess so. I would still like getting married and having kids early, though. Maybe when I turn 19, and have a child when I’m 20.”

“ Hmm.” Winnie said. 

“ Well, we’re at your house already.” Adelia sighed. 

“ I’ll see you tomorrow,” Winnie said.

“ Let's walk together!”

“ Okay!” They went their seperate ways. Winnie walked up the path to the house, and opened the door. Arthur was out working in the orchard, and Eleanor was baking a pie in the kitchen.

“ How was your first day?” Eleanor asked. “ Who was that girl you were walking with? She looked familiar.”

“ That was Adelia Evans. Her older brother is getting married this fall.”

“ Ah, an Evans.” Eleanor nodded. “ They’re a nice family.” 

The next day at school, Adelia and Winnie sat together. Hugo started throwing pebbles that he had collected from outside the schoolhouse and began throwing them at the girls. A particularly large stone hit Winnie in the back of the head. She slapped her hand to the spot. A moment later, a pebble hit Adelia on the shoulder, and tears sprung to her eyes. Clutching the rock that had hit her, Winnie looked at the teacher. She had her back turned to the class. Winnie got up and walked towards the back of the class. She hurled the rock back at Hugo, and it struck him on the forehead, right by his hairline. He cried out.

“ Ow!” Miss Brooks turned around.

“ What in tarnation is happening?” Hugo dabbed his forehead, where a little trickle of blood was seeping out. Winnie marched back to her seat.

“ Winnie MacFarlan!” Miss Brooks said. “ How dare you!”

“ He was throwing pebbles at the girls!” Winnie said.

“ Don’t you dare talk back to me!” The teacher walked to the back of the classroom, where Theodore Davis and Samuel Wilson were staring, awestruck, at Hugo Barlowe’s bleeding forehead. Miss Brooks hurried back to her desk, where she pulled out a bandage. 

“ Miss Winnie, please go stand in front of the board.” The teacher said as she was bandaging Hugo’s forehead. Winnie held her head up high, and glanced at Adelia as she passed. Adelia was staring at her with a look of terror on her face. Winnie stood by the board, staring at the back of the classroom. Miss Brooks marched back up to the board, and took out her ruler. 

“ Hands on the desk, please.” She said stiffly, and Winnie obeyed. She rapped Winnie's knuckles hard, and twice on each hand. Winnie was determined to keep a straight face, and not burst out crying. She was sent back to her seat. Winnie blushed as she walked down, all the pairs of eyes fixed on her. Hugo smirked as she sat down, as if the rock hitting him hadn’t hurt at all. 

The rest of the day passed quickly, and then Winnie finally was able to go home. Later, at dinner, Winnie repeated the story to Arthur and Eleanor. They sent her to her room without dessert, and told her to think over what she did. The next morning, she told Eleanor, 

“ I will never, ever, do anything bad in school again.”

Long chapter! Yay! This one was about six pages! I hope you liked it! There's some serious stuff going on between Hugo and Winnie. Next chapter is to be skipped ahead to the fall, and Adelia's brother is going to get married.