She was feeling quite left out in the cold, and wishing heartily that
she was back in the home-nest. Only for a moment, though. Her hand
was cordially taken, and she turned to find herself addressed by a
sweet-faced little woman, much shorter than Dolly herself, with gray
hair and kindly eyes.
"I think this must be Miss Alden. Am I right?"
"Quite right, but I do not see how you knew."
"Your father telegraphed that you would come by this train, and you
see, my dear, that you are the only Freshman in the crowd, so that it
did not require much shrewdness on my part to pick you out. Now let
me introduce you to some of the girls. You will soon feel acquainted
here, I know. Margery," and as a tall, rather handsome girl turned
around, she added; "I want you to meet Miss Alden, one of our new
girls. Miss Ainsworth--and here are Miss Rummel, Miss Paterson and
Miss Graves. Margery, will you show Miss Alden to 77? Your room-mate
will not be here for several days yet. She is detained by her sister's
marriage, which will occur this week. I hope you will like her; we
tried to do our best in the arrangement of room-mates; next year, you
can select your own. Excuse me now." And she turned to another newcomer,
and Dolly followed Miss Ainsworth down the long corridor.
"You will like Westover, I'm sure," Miss Ainsworth remarked sedately;
she evidently thought it her duty to make small talk, and act as Dolly's
temporary guardian. "Of course, you'll feel lonesome at first until
you get fitted in; all the girls do, but that soon wears off."
"Are you a Senior?" queried Dolly innocently. Miss Ainsworth seemed
so very old and so very superior, that Dolly could only think of her as a
Senior.
Her companion's cheeks flushed perceptibly as she answered stiffly;
"No, I am not a Senior yet. Here is your room, Miss Alden. The bedroom
on the right will be yours, I suppose, as I see that they have put your
trunk there. The one on the left will be your room-mate's, and you
will use this sitting-room in common."
After a few more words Dolly's companion passed on, and the unfortunate
Freshman wandered dolefully into her bedroom and sat down on the edge
of the bed where we first saw her.
As a rule, Dolly and tears were strangers, but just now poor Dolly felt
unutterably miserable. Not only was she homesick, but she felt outside
all the college fun and good camaraderie of the place.
"I ought to unpack that trunk and take off my things," she told
herself, but she felt more inclined to run out of the door, back to the
depot and on board the first train bound for her home.
"Well, of all the forlorn damsels I ever saw, you certainly are the
worst, and I thought you looked so full of fun when I noticed you
downstairs."
Dolly glanced up in surprise, to see a merry face regarding her from the
doorway. The newcomer was much below medium height, with a very freckled
face, very red, curly hair, and a very good-natured expression.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account