It's Sunday.
Chapter 5. THE HUNDRED DRESSES
The next day it was drizzling. Maddie and Peggy hurried to school under Peggy’s umbrella. Naturally on a day like this they didn’t wait for Wanda Petronski on the corner of Oliver Street, the street that far, far away, under the railroad tracks and up the hill, led to Boggins Heights. Anyway they weren’t taking chances on being late today, because today was important.
“Do you think Miss Mason will surely announce the winners today?” asked Peggy.
“Oh, I hope so, the minute we get in,” said Maddie, and added, “of course you’ll win, Peg.”
“Hope so,” said Peggy eagerly.
The minute they entered the classroom they stopped short and gasped. They were drawings all over the room, on every ledge and windowsill, tacked to the tops of the blackboards, spread over the bird charts, dazzling colors and brilliant lavish designs, all drawn on great sheets of wrapping paper.
There must have been a hundred of them all lined up!
These must be the drawings for the contest. They were! Everybody stopped and whistled or murmured admiringly.
As soon as the class had assembled Miss Mason announced the winners. Jack Beggles had won for the boys, she said, and his design of an outboard motorboat was on exhibition in Room12, along with the sketches by all the other boys.
“As for girls,” she said, “although just one or two sketches were submitted by most, one girl --- and Room 13 should be very proud of her – this one girl actually drew one hundred designs – all different and all beautiful. In the opinion of the judges, any one of her drawings is worthy of winning the prize. I am happy to say that Wanda Petronski is the winner of the girl’s medal. Unfortunately Wanda has been absent from school for several days and is not here to receive the applause that is due her. Let us hope she will be back tomorrow. Now, class, you may file around the room quietly and look at her exquisite drawings.”
The children burst into applause, and even the boys were glad to have a chance to stamp on the follow, put their fingers in their mouths, and whistle, though they were not interested in dresses. Maddie and Peggy were among the first to reach the black-board to look at the drawings.
“Look, Peg,” whispered Maddie, “there’s that blue one she told us about. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yeah,” said Peggy, “and here’s that green one. Boy, and I thought I could draw!”
While the class was circling the room, the monitor from the principal’s office brought Miss Mason a note. Miss Mason read it several times and studied it thoughtfully for a while. Then she clapped her hands and said, “Attention, class. Everyone back to his seat.”
When the shuffling of feet had stopped and the room was still and quiet, Miss Mason said, “I have a letter from Wanda’s father that I want to read to you.”
Miss Mason stood there a moment and the silence in the room grew tense and expectant. The teacher adjusted her glasses slowly and deliberately. Her manner indicated that what was coming – this letter from Wanda’s father – was a matter of great importance. Everybody listened closely as Miss Mason read the brief note:
“Dear teacher: My Wanda will not come to your school any more. Jake also. Now we move away to big city. No more holler Polack. No more ask why funny name. Plenty of funny names in the big city. Yours truly, Jan Petronski.”
A deep silence met the reading of this letter. Miss Mason took her glasses off, blew on them, and wiped them on her soft white handkerchief. Then she put them on again and looked at the class. When she spoke her voice was very low.
“I am sure none of my boys and girls in Room 13 would purposely and deliberately hurt anyone’s feelings because his name happened to be a long, unfamiliar one. I prefer to think that what was said was said in thoughtlessness. I know that all of you feel the way I do, that this is a very unfortunate thing to have happen. Unfortunate and sad, both. And I want you all to think about it.”
The first period was a study period. Maddie tried to prepare her lessons, but she could not put her mind on her work. She had a very sick feeling in the bottom of her stomach. True, she had not enjoyed listening to Peggy ask Wanda how many dresses she had in her closet, but she had said nothing. She had stood by silently, and that was just as bad as what Peggy had done. Worse. She was a coward. At least Peggy hadn’t considered they were being mean, but she, Maddie, had thought they were doing wrong. She had thought, supposing she was the one being made fun of. She could put herself in Wanda’s shoes. But she had done just as much as Peggy to make life miserable for Wanda by simply standing by and saying nothing. She had helped to make someone so unhappy that she had had to move away from town.
Goodness! Wasn’t there anything she could do? If only she could tell Wanda she hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings. She turned around and stole a glance at Peggy, but Peggy did not look up. She seemed to be studying hard.
Well, whether Peggy felt bad or not, she, Maddie, had to do nothing. She had to find Wanda Petronski. Maybe she had not yet moved away. Maybe Peggy would climb the Heights with her and they would tell Wanda she had won the contest. And that they thought she was smart and the hundred dresses were beautiful.
When school was dismissed in the afternoon, Peggy said with pretended casualness, “Hey, let’s go and see if that kid has left town or not.”
So Peggy had had the same idea as Maddie had had! Maddie glowed. Peggy was really all right, just as she always thought. Peg was really all right. She was okay.
