By The Sea

Chapter Three: Snowstorm

The rest of summer passed quickly, the leaves fell off the trees, the weather turned colder, and Miss Brooks was leaving to get married.

“ It's a shame,” Adelia said as they were walking home from school. “ Miss Brooks was so nice.”

“ I wonder who the new teacher will be.” Winnie said.

“ My father was talking about some man from a big city coming to teach.”

“ Hmm.” Winnie said. “ I wish Miss Brooks wasn’t going anywhere.” At that moment, the sound of someone running made them turn around. Hugo appeared over the hill in the road. The girls turned around again, annoyed. Suddenly, Winnie’s braid was practically torn from her head when Hugo flashed by and pulled it. He threw a handful of dust at her, and then sprinted off. Winnie picked up a handful of pebbles, and chased him, chucking them at him. 

“ You horrible rat!” She yelled after him.

“ Winnie!” Adelia sounded flabbergasted. Winnie marched into her house, Adelia close behind.

“ Winnie!” Eleanor said once they entered. “ What have you done to yourself?”

“ That dirty rotten Hugo pulled my braid and threw dust at us!”

“ Winnie! Don’t talk about someone that way!”

“ He is! He is a dirty, rotten, boy!”

“ Who is this Hugo again?” Eleanor asked as she hurried the girls into the kitchen to get the stains out.

“ Remember the Hugo who threw rocks and sticks at the girls?”

“ The one that you made bleed?”

“ Yes.”

“ I thought you promised to not make trouble at school again!”

“ I wasn’t at school!” Winnie protested. Eleanor sighed.

The next week went like a blur, and one day, Adelia asked, 

“ My mother wants your family to come to my brother's wedding next week on Wednesday. Will you come?”

“ I’ll talk to Eleanor.” And so she did. They were coming to Adelia’s brother's wedding. 

The following Wednesday, after school, Winnie and Eleanor got into their best dresses, and Arthur into his suit. They drove the carriage to the church, and went inside. Adelia waved for them to sit by her. The ceremony went fast, and afterwards Adelia went to stay the night at Winnie’s.

“ Did you know Madison Taylor likes Hugo?” Adelia asked.

“ That pretty girl at school, the kind of snobby one?”

“ Yes.”

“ Hmm.” Winnie mumbled, and they went to sleep.

A few weeks later, it snowed. Winnie bundled up in her winter clothes, and went out to meet Adelia. As they were walking through the cold, fluffy, snow, a snowball hit Winnie right smack in the face. She brushed it off angrily, and looked for the culprit. She spotted Hugo snickering over a snow berm.

“ Hugo Barlowe!” She yelled. “ Must you always annoy me?” His face disappeared. They got to school a moment later, Winnie’s face cold and red. They put their coats and mittens by the fire, and sat down in their usual seats. Madison Taylor and her little sister Lilith entered, along with Theodore Davis.

“ Oh, isn’t he dreamy?” Adelia murmured, looking at Theo. The new teacher entered, a young man named Mr. Lewis.

“ Attention, students!” He rapped his ruler against the board. “ As you all know, Miss Brooks has left, and I am now your teacher. I know there are several troublemakers in here,” Several giggles broke out. “ If anyone disobeys me, you will be punished. Now, as some of you may know, exams are coming up this spring, and I will talk to the top students in the class separately.” The lessons started.

When lunchtime came, Mr. Lewis called for Winnie and Hugo.

“ You two are the smartest in the class, Hugo, I am not moving you up any further, because Miss Brooks already moved you up to the 4th reader. As for you, Winnie, I am moving you up to the 4th reader. After lunch, Winnie, you will sit by Hugo. You are dismissed.” Winnie walked down towards the door, and met Adelia.

“ What did he want to see you for?” She asked.

“ He’s moving me up to the 4th reader.” She said sadly. 

“ That’s great!”

“ I have to sit by Hugo.” She grimaced.

“ Oh, no,” Adelia’s shoulders drooped sadly. “ I’ll probably have to sit with snobby Madison.”

Adelia indeed had to sit with snobby Madison, and Winnie had to sit by Hugo. Halfway through a lesson, Hugo viciously stomped on Winnie’s foot.

“ Mr. Lewis,” She called, and the teacher turned around.

“ Yes?”

“ Hugo stomped on my foot.”

“ I do not appreciate tattletales, Miss Winnie.” She blushed. Hugo gave her a lopsided grin. “ I believe I have found the troublemakers.” Mr. Lewis added, and Winnie blushed even harder as the class chuckled. 

Later that night, when Winnie was eating dinner, she explained everything to Eleanor and Arthur.

“ And then he said that he didn’t appreciate tattletales!” Winnie finished, and swallowed her bite of potato.

“ First of all, try to eat before speaking. Don’t talk while your mouth is full.” Eleanor said, bringing out a strawberry pie she had made earlier that day. “ I’m glad you’re in the 6th reader, and ask Mr. Lewis if you could change spots.”

“ I will tomorrow.”

The next day was so cold that Hugo didn’t risk throwing snowballs at Winnie, or else his hands would freeze. The schoolhouse was freezing, and Mr. Lewis was trying to make the fire hotter. Everyone kept their coats and hats on that day, and everyone stayed inside during lunch. It started to snow late in the morning, and by the time school was out, an extra foot and a half of snow had accumulated. Mr. Lewis sent everyone home in pairs, those who lived closest to each other walked together. Winnie and Adelia had no choice but to walk home with Hugo. The snow was coming down fast, so they had to hurry, and two more inches had added on to the snow. Winnie and Adelia were both so cold that Adelia stopped by to warm up for a few minutes.

“ Oh dear, the snow is really coming down, isn’t it?” Eleanor said. “ Winnie, I will lend you my fur coat to wear to school tomorrow, I don’t want you to risk getting frostbitten.”

Hope you enjoyed this one! Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors, and will someone please comment? Or even read the story? Thanks.
—chaoselephant