"And don't you see how much feeling there would have been in the class?
I would much rather be vice-president and be elected unanimously the
way I was, than to be president twenty times over. We can't afford to
start our Freshman year with factional feelings, can we, Mary?"
Dolly was in the habit of appealing to Mary whenever she was present.
She had discovered that Mary Sutherland had a great fund of common sense,
and then, too, she did not like her room-mate to feel ignored. She
noticed that of late Mary was trying to do her hair up as Dolly had
done it for her that first night. She had not yet become expert in the
process, but the result was much more satisfactory than before. Dolly
noted, too, little changes in dress that softened the harsh outlines and
lent a little color to her face. She longed to offer advice sometimes,
but the remembrance of the first night restrained her. She would not
invite any snubs. If Mary Sutherland wished her help, Dolly would give
it willingly, but she was not going to make any advances again. And yet
that was just what her shy, diffident room-mate was longing to have
her do. She had not meant to repulse Dolly that first night, but she
had been feeling hurt and grieved then, her ideals were all shattered,
and out of the depths of a heart loyal to her poor hardworking mother,
had come the remark that made Dolly draw back, and that kept her from
ever proffering assistance or suggestions now.
She and Mary saw comparatively little of each other, considering that
they were room-mates. Both were Freshmen, but while Dolly and Beth were
taking the classical course, Mary was taking the scientific. Mary's
recitations, for the most part, came during Dolly's study hours. Of
course there were the evenings, but some way Mary was very seldom in
the room during the evening. Dolly often wondered where she spent the
time, for she had no intimate friend. She was careful, however, not to
question her. They had never reached a degree of intimacy that would
permit that.
Today Mary seemed more companionable than usual, and Dolly found, to her
astonishment, that her taciturn room-mate had been quite as disappointed
as Beth over the outcome of the elections. However, she was more ready
than Beth to acknowledge that Dolly had done the only thing that
could have secured class harmony and good fellowship.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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