William began to dislike her
intensely. Her voice, and her smile, and her ringlets, and her blue
dress began to jar upon his nerves. And when anything began to jar on
William's nerves something always happened.
It was not till about a week later that he noticed Bettine Franklin.
Bettine was small and dark. There was nothing "angelic" about her.
William had noticed her vaguely in school before and had hardly looked
upon her as a distinct personality. But one recreation in the
playground he stood leaning against the wall by himself, scowling at
Evangeline Fish. She was surrounded by a crowd of admirers, and was
prattling to them artlessly in her angelic voice.
"I'm going to be dressed in white muslin with a blue sash. Blue suits
me, you know. I'm so fair." She tossed back a ringlet. "One of you
will have to hold my train and the rest must dance round me. I'm
going to have a crown and--" She turned round in order to avoid the
scowling gaze of William in the distance. William had discovered that
his scowl annoyed her, and since then had given it little rest. But
there was no satisfaction in scowling at the back of her well-curled
head, so he relaxed his scowl and let his gaze wander round the
playground. And it fell upon Bettine. Bettine was also standing by
herself and gazing at Evangeline Fish. But she was not scowling. She
was looking at Evangeline Fish with wistful envy. For Evangeline Fish
was "angelic" and a May Queen, and she was neither of these things.
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