Chapter Two

          It was the first day of school and the sun had just risen over the line of pine trees at the edge of the property. Hetty and Alec walked quickly to school along the road, although Hetty would have preferred to take the long way, down by the shoreline. They had spent more time than usual getting ready that morning, because Eleanor always insisted that her children look perfect for the first day, and Hetty knew that she would be late if she went by the other route. Alec sang loudly as he walked and swung his tin lunch pail until his sister was afraid it would drop its contents. He could be quite mischievous, but he was a cheerful boy and that was what saved him from getting into as much trouble as he might have. Hetty was embarassed at his singing, but it was no use to try and silence him. He would just keep on singing whenever he felt like it and Alec did have a fine, if loud, voice.

          The schoolhouse was tiny and painted blue and white, with the Union Jack flapping in the breeze above the door. Children played and chattered excitedly in the fenced yard and Hetty caught sight of the oldest girls standing in a group and giggling. Rachel McNab and Marilla Cuthbert were both there. This would be their last year at school and Hetty wondered what they would do afterward. Marilla had always been a homebody and Hetty couldn't imagine her doing anything but cleaning house and cooking. Her brother Matthew was two years older than her and had been working on the family farm at Green Gables ever since he left. Some folks said that John Blythe had his eye on Marilla, but she smoothly deflected any questions about the matter. Marilla was not pretty, but she had a calmness of spirit which Hetty appreciated, just as she appreciated her beloved sea. To be sure, Marilla also had her stormy side. She would hold everything in, but when someone drove her to extremes, she came up with a tirade that could freeze your blood.

          Rachel McNab was a plump, comely girl with dark blonde hair and a quirky smile. She was outspoken and determined, which was why Thomas Lynde liked her so much. He was a shy, diminuitive boy of seventeen who stared at her wistfully from across the yard. Rachel didn't care much for Thomas, but she appeared to admire Romney Penhallow, even if he was a year younger than her. This annoyed Hetty, because she knew that Rachel was more attractive than herself and closer to his age. Romney Penhallow wasn't exactly the most eligible bachelor in town, either. He was a rather comical-looking boy with round glasses which earned him the nickname "Owl Eyes". Nevertheless, he was witty and entertaining at sixteen and he enjoyed sending the girls into gales of laughter at his jokes. He also knew how to draw caricatures and had been scolded numerous times during his educational career by teachers who found themselves rudely cartooned on the back of his slate. Hetty was constantly at war with him and they enjoyed playing practical jokes on each other.

          At this time, Romney was engaged in a game of catch with Muriel Stacey's older brother Jefferson, which was quickly turning into a game of keep-away against some of the younger children. Hetty noticed a small boy of six who she didn't recognize slouched up against the schoolhouse and reading From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne. She found this fairly odd, but didn't say anything to him. Muriel was already talking with Rachel, Marilla, and a fat, blowsy girl named Eulalie. Muriel was younger than all of them, but they readily allowed her into their circle and she amused them with her ladylike behavior. Hetty approached the group determinedly, while Alec ran off to play with Gerald Sallow and Ed Lawson.

          "Hello, Hetty!" Muriel greeted her in a friendly voice.

          "Good day, ladies," Hetty began. Rachel laughed.

          "You needn't try to sound so grown-up, Hetty! We're just a lot of schoolgirls."

          "Are we, now?" Eulalie giggled, elbowing Rachel in her ample bosom. "Marilla Cuthbert wasn't acting much like a schoolgirl yesterday evening, now was she?" Marilla turned an interesting shade of pink and stalked off into the classroom. John Blythe had called on her on Sunday and as luck would have it, Rachel and Eulalie had passed right by Green Gables while they were sitting on the porch together. Rachel let out a guffaw and went into an imitation of Marilla.

          "There is nothing between myself and John Blythe. He is handsome enough, I suppose, but I didn't ask him to call. I never encouraged him in the slightest! Ha!" she chortled. "Never encouraged him , my auntie! She only batted her eyes at him in church every week and pretended to be so indignant when he sat next to her. It was obvious that she wanted him to."

          Hetty just watched them laugh and thought about how stupidly they were behaving. Muriel didn't seem to think it was very funny, either, but she smiled a little. Rachel was such a busybody! She was going to grow up to be a terrible gossip. At that moment, the school bell clanged and they all filed inside under the benevolent smile of Miss McCormick who had returned for another term. Hetty took her seat across the aisle from Muriel and leaned lazily on the desk. Her friend was sitting up delightedly and examining the contents of her brand-new pencil box with pride. Alec was engaged in a scuffle with Bert Potts over a desk, but a fiery glance from Hetty soon settled the matter. She took it upon herself to keep her younger siblings in line, as a way of upholding the family name that was so dear to her.

          Miss McCormick wrote her name in fine script on the chalkboard for all of the new students and welcomed the little ones who were just starting out in school. The scholarly boy who had been reading From the Earth to the Moon was both. When she asked him for his name, he blushed slightly and stammered out, "Jasper D-d-d-d-dale, ma'm." A pocket of laughter erupted and scattered giggles could be heard throughout the room. Hetty smirked.

          "Welcome to the Avonlea school, Master Dale," Miss McCormick responded warmly, ignoring the derisive noises. "How old are you? Six?" she guessed, trying to eliminate the need for further embarassment. Jasper nodded. "All right then. Now, class," she began, clapping her hands together and silencing her pupils with a stern look, "your first assignment will be to write a short composition on responsibility. All students in the third reader and higher will work on their papers in class this morning and my younger pupils will have studies with me. I will be passing out books as you work and, as you know, you will be responsible for taking care of your own. At the end of the year, they will be collected and examined for signs of damage."

          Hetty set to work in her composition book immediately. Writing was one of her strengths and one of the few pleasures of school, in her opinion. She dipped the nib of her pen in the inkwell, scratched out an introductory sentence, paused with her head inclined for a moment, and went back to her task. After a while, she glanced up to see how the others were getting on and watched in amusement as small Jasper Dale explained to Miss McCormick that he already knew how to read. She smiled as she returned to her work. Responsibility was something she knew a lot about, especially after her recent conversation with Mama, and the composition was coming along nicely.

          The afternoon seemed longer than the morning, but Hetty listened patiently as Miss McCormick taught the first day's lesson. She was twelve years old, too mature to be caught squirming in her seat or swinging her legs as the six-year-olds were. She had once been a very restless child and she found it difficult to sit still for long periods of time, now that it was required. Rachel and Eulalie whispered in their back seats when the teacher was occupied, but they were careful and the soft noises immediately stopped when she looked up. Hetty fixed her eyes on the small clock sitting on Miss McCormick's desk and watched the second hand as it ticked, slowly, slowly around the face, mocking her with its restrained travel. Romney Penhallow was drawing something on his slate which was hidden in his desk, but looked up regularly and put on an intensely interested expression. He probably was not fooling the sharp-eyed schoolmistress, but Romney was taller than her now and wasn't causing any real trouble.

          When three o'clock came, the children gathered up their belongings and a chatter of relief flooded the room. Miss McCormick remained at her desk to go over the compositions which had been handed in earlier as the crowd bustled out the door, through the gate, and out onto the red roads or through the fields stretching in all directions. Alec chased Ed Lawson toward the woods and his hat flew off of his head. Hetty picked it up and ran after them, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Alec King, get back here! We're going to be late getting home and Mama will worry!" Alec didn't hear her (or pretended not to) and continued until he overtook his friend. The two of them wrestled wildly until Ed was pinned under Alec and shouting angrily at him. Alec laughed and grabbed something from Ed's pocket. As he was examining it, Ed leapt on top of him and grabbed his head in a stranglehold. Hetty jumped on top of both of them and pulled them apart. "Stop it!" she screeched. "Alec, give Ed back his marble."

          "It's not his, it's mine!" Alec retorted.

          "No it's not, I won it fair and square!" Ed shouted, making another lunge for Alec.

          "Alec, if you don't want to lose your marbles, don't gamble with them," Hetty instructed him.

          "That's what they're for!" he said disgustedly, turning to look at her. "But I didn't lose that marble, Ed cheated! He's a lousy player and he knows it." Hetty closed her eyes.

          "Fine! Then I'll go home without you and when Mama asks where you are, I'll tell her that you're fighting on your first day of school."

          Alec's brow furrowed and he looked at the marble in his hand. Suddenly, Ed grabbed it and ran away before Alec could catch him. He made an attempt, but Hetty grabbed the back of his shirt and he was unable to escape. He wriggled out eventually and whirled around to face her. "Hettyyy!" he whined.

          "Let's go," she replied shortly. Alec followed reluctantly as she led the way back to the road and toward Rose Cottage. When they returned, Roger and Ruth were playing in the yard while Mama pulled weeds away from the flower beds. Mama's dress had little red flowers on it and she was covered with a ruffled apron whose folds spread beautifully over the abundant skirts. She looked exhausted, so Hetty put her books down on the porch and set to pulling the weeds herself.

          "Thank-you, Hetty," Mama said, sitting back on the balls of her feet and turning to check on Roger and Ruth. She smiled at Alec who was rocking himself on the porch swing and humming a tune. "How was your first day of school, Alec? Are you glad you're not the one of the littlest ones anymore?"

          "I guess, Mama," Alec shrugged. Then he laughed, thinking of his stammering classmate. "There was a new boy at school today. His name's Jasper Dale and he's six, but he already knows how to read. You oughta hear him talk!"

          "I've been meaning to welcome the Dales to Avonlea, but there have been so many things to do lately," Eleanor sighed. "And whatever do you mean by 'I oughta hear him talk'?"

          Hetty rolled her eyes. "He has the most awful stammer, Mama. He just makes you want to scream at him when he-"

          "Hetty, I don't like to hear you speaking this way about people. Or you, Alec," she put in for good measure as he gave the swing a particularly strong push.

          Alec's face looked like a rain cloud. "Aw, Mama..."

          "Don't you be talking back to you mother, son," Abraham King warned, appearing with a pitchfork over his shoulder. Eleanor stood up and approached him with a curious expression. "I'm going into Summerside tomorrow. I received this from the postmaster himself," he added, handing her an envelope. She opened it and read the letter slowly.

          "Great Aunt Jane has passed on? I didn't even know she was ill," Eleanor murmured.

          "She was an old woman," Abraham replied shortly. "In any case, I need to help organize her affairs and...well, I hate to leave you here alone with the children."

          "We'll be fine," Eleanor assured him, with a gentle hand on his shoulder. He smiled faintly into her strong face and put his hand to her cheek. Alec stared at them intently, waiting to see something, but Abraham was well aware of the little eyes watching and quickly headed back to his work. Hetty kept pulling weeds. She was angry with her father, but dared not show it. He didn't have to go off like this. Surely one of his cousins could have settled matters. They barely even knew Great Aunt Jane! She pulled at a stubborn root until it ripped recklessly from the earth and sent up clods of dirt.

          Father left early the following morning, shortly before Hetty and Alec began their walk to the schoolhouse. Romney Penhallow was leaning on the gate and chewing a wad of gum when they reached the yard. "You look like a cow," Hetty told him, striding through the opening and holding her head high.

          "I like to chew gum," Romeny replied airily. "I like to have it handy for when you insult me, Hetty King. What would you say if I did this?" he asked, pulling it out of his mouth and attempting to stick it in her hair. She whirled around, putting her hands protectively over the wavy abundance.

           "Romney Penhallow!" she screeched so loudly that everyone in the schoolyard turned to watch them. She kicked the gate fiercely and Romney laughed. "I hate you," she whispered.

          "Oh, no you don't!"

          "Yes I do! How dare you embarass me like that?"

          He leaned conspiratorily toward her. "You were the one who screamed," he said in a low, irritating voice. Hetty's eyes flamed, but before she could do anything, Miss McCormick rang the bell and called everyone in to class. Hetty gave him one more withering glance before marching inside and slapping her books down on the desk. Muriel smiled at her with a knowing look in her eye.

          "Muriel Stacey, you stop that," she hissed.

          At lunchtime, Hetty went down to the shoreline with several of the other girls where they could eat and gaze out at the water. Rachel Lynde was spreading her skirts neatly on the grass when she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Good Lord, what is that smell?" she asked. They began searching the area and came upon a dead seagull, decaying on the ground not far away.

          "Ooh! Oooh! How disgusting!" Eulalie squealed, pulling her dress away. Hetty grinned and turned to Muriel.

          "Didn't Miss McCormick tell Romney to stay behind and finish up that arithmetic before going to lunch? I suppose he's still in there."

          "Hetty..." Muriel trailed off, not knowing what her friend was getting at. Hetty took the large cloth servillette out of her lunch pail and wrapped the seagull in it, with Rachel and Eulalie protesting loudly the whole time.

          "Oh, hush, you geese!" Hetty exclaimed. She climbed up the hill and made her way to the school entryway, where she found Romney's lunch pail sitting by itself. She smirked at the back of his head as she deposited the gull and put the lid back in its place. The other girls were waiting for her when she came back down to the shore.

          "What did you do?" Muriel asked, her eyes wide.

          "She put that nasty thing into Romney's lunch pail...didn't you Hetty?" Rachel couldn't stop laughing.

          "Yes, I did!" Hetty replied proudly, going down to the water to wash off her hands.

          "Hoo, hoo, hoo!" Rachel giggled.

          Marilla nudged her. "Calm yourself, Rachel."

          About fifteen minutes later, Miss McCormick came striding toward them and Muriel looked at Hetty. "You're going to be in trouble now!" she said in hushed tones.

          "Oh, don't be ridiculous." Hetty bit her lip nervously. "Romney got what he's been deserving for a long time and he's nothing but a little coward if he told on me."

          "Miss King? I'd like to speak to you in the classroom right now." Miss McCormick didn't sound angry at all and Hetty grew more curious by the second as they walked back to the schoolhouse. She stood in front of the teacher's desk, stiffly waiting for what was to come. Miss McCormick took out Hetty's composition from the day before. "This is excellent work," she stated seriously. "I believe it is one of the best compositions I have ever received." Hetty beamed, half from relief and half from pride. "You have made some very wise observations about responsibility...so tell me, Miss King..." Hetty held her breath. "...why would you put a dead seagull in Mr. Penhallow's lunch pail? Did you believe this to be a mature, responsible action?"

          "Did he-" Hetty blurted, forgetting her manners.

          "No, I saw you walking past the window shortly before an unsettling scent permeated the room. I'm giving you an A on this composition. You are a very talented young lady, but your writing should be sincere."

          "Yes, ma'm."

          "Now I want you to go outside and apologize to Mr. Penhallow." Hetty's head snapped up. Apologize! Miss McCormick went on. "And then I want you to take that seagull back down to the shore." Hetty didn't have any choice. She approached Romney reluctantly and did as she was told. He smiled his usual sardonic smile.

          "Where's the...the seagull," Hetty muttered.

          "Oh, I already disposed of it," he explained.

          "Good." Hetty looked at Miss McCormick, who nodded. She realized she had gotten off awfully easily and supposed it was because Miss McCormick was impressed with her writing abilities. She didn't notice the young teacher's shaking sides as she went back inside and finished reviewing her afternoon lesson.

Index