Ednor Scardens (Charm City Chronicles), Volume One

Chapter 16 - The Fair

CHAPTER SIXTEEN – The Fair

Unlike the year before, our group attended the Christmas dance at school as a unit. Although Gabe was included in the group, it wasn't like a date. The five of us danced in a circle like his personal harem. We went to movies en masse without worrying about being paired up with a date. We sledded and hurled snowballs at each other with as much abandon as first graders. It seemed we were unconsciously wringing out every bit of sweetness before the storms that were to come. Every one of us had the singular goal of becoming an eighth grader. I rarely went anywhere alone, usually sticking with Gabe and my friends. My multiple experiences of male exposure that year had made me wary of being alone with any boy, even one as innocent as Gabe. I craved the comfort and safety of our group.

In the spring, our school unleashed a new requirement for passing into the eighth grade. Each of us was expected to hold a 'Fresh Air Fair' in our yard to raise money so the parish could send poor children to a week of camp in the summertime. The church had put together a kit that included signs and boxes of candy to sell. Our parents were supposed to supply the cups and drinks. Any of the candy that wasn't sold could be returned to the church, but we had to account for each piece with the appropriate amount of money collected. The biggest mistake that the church made was not setting some sort of minimum that had to be raised by each student to satisfy the requirement. We were appalled at the indignity of having to hawk candy. Our parents didn't have enough money to send us to camp, so why should we have to raise money for some other kid to go? We were such mini-Republicans then, reflections of our parents.

Several days of our walks to and from school were consumed with figuring out how to complete the assignment with the least effort. Anita came up with the solution, following the letter but not the spirit of the requirement. We scheduled all of our fairs on the same day and time, setting out signs in places where most people wouldn't notice them. Our row houses had small backyards with a concrete alley running across the back that was just big enough for a car to drive through. Across the alley were our back lots, unusually large, and great for family gatherings, parties, crab feasts or just about anything. We had already picked up our fair kits the day before with the permission slips which we had forged with our parents' signatures.

Pulling together the two picnic tables on my back lot, we set out the boxes of candy. We set out drinks in Dixie cups, stolen from our family bathrooms, filled with plain water. Anita brought a radio and some folding chairs. We sat listening to music with our feet propped on the picnic table, and bought candy for ourselves with our allowance money. Other than a couple of little kids from the block who discovered us by accident, we sold virtually nothing to anyone but ourselves. At the end of the fair, we pooled the profits and split them four ways, with a penny difference so they wouldn't be the same. We were now officially the top dogs at Holy Sacrament – eighth graders.

The school principal, Sr. Berlinda, taught the girls for eighth grade and Sr. Earle still taught the boys. From the very first day of that last year at HSS, our high school choices dominated our conversations. We had to consider where our parents wanted us to go, where they could afford to send us, where our friends were going, and so on. Our parents were focused on academics while we were giving the social scenes our priority. Tuitions were ravaging family budgets, and many of my classmates would be going to public high school as a result. Every weekend brought a new application to complete and submit. Who knew where we would be accepted, even after we made our initial choices?

"So, let's go around the table and everybody list their top choices," Anita suggested at lunch one day.

Missy and Ellen had Seton at the top of their lists, while Anita and I chose Catholic Girls' Institute. I secretly wanted St. Mary's Prep, but there was no way my family could afford it.