Miss Hart was still not a favorite in the school, and no one seemed to
realize this more keenly than did Miss Hart herself. At all events, as
the days passed, she grew thinner and paler looking, and more nervous
and worried in her manner. While none of the Happy Hexagons deliberately
set herself to making trouble, certainly none of them tried to cause
matters to be any easier for her. The girls themselves had long since
forgotten their brief day of unpleasantness regarding O. B. J. Holmes,
and were more devoted than ever, after this, their first quarrel.
In the Kennedy home, too, matters had settled into their usual routine.
Miss Jane had returned, and the days, for Genevieve, were full of study,
practice, and the usual number of lessons in cooking and sewing.
As the crisp October days came, every pleasant Saturday afternoon found
the Hexagon Club off for a long walk or ride, sometimes by themselves,
sometimes with Harold, Charlie, O. B. J. Holmes, or some of the other
boys and girls as invited guests.
O. B. J. Holmes had long since ceased to be the "new boy." He was not,
indeed, exactly a favorite with some of the young people, but he was
included frequently in their merrymakings--chiefly because Genevieve
declared openly that she thought he ought to be. He was not called
"Oliver" except in the classroom. Outside he was known usually as "O. B.
J." slurred into "Obejay." Sometimes, it is true, Tilly's old "O Be
Joyful" was heard, but not often--perhaps because the lad appeared not
to care if they did call him that, specially if Genevieve were near to
join in the good-natured laugh with which he greeted it.
Undeniably, this frank friendliness of the most popular girl in school
had much to do with the way the others regarded him; though they were at
a loss, sometimes, to account for a certain quality in that friendship,
which they could not fathom.
"It's for all the world as if you'd known each other before," Harold
explained it a little aggrievedly one day to Genevieve, when O. B. J.
Holmes had just thrown her one of his merry glances at a sudden revival
of Tilly's "O Be Joyful" name. "Say, _have_ you known him before?"
Genevieve laughed--but she shook her head.
"No; but maybe I do know him now--a little better than you do," she
answered demurely, thinking of the name that Harold did not even
suspect.
School this year, for Genevieve, was meaning two new experiences. One
was that for the first time class officers were elected; the other, that
a school magazine was started. In both of these she bore a prominent
part. In the one she was unanimously elected president; in the other she
was appointed correspondent for her class by the Editor-in-Chief. By
each, however, she was quite overwhelmed.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account