Central High School - Red and Black Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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'IlT- if I ,gf I ' e -if 'Sf-aewffaasf' r e- f 4 ...Q .g g A nfl f lujryvwt- 4-egg: 'I 1,1 5 I ND, .-K 8752,- '- 'S I. -' L- I 0.7 5 7, ' . f . '-w ' -- ' ' , - M Y ,. 1+--.L- - 0 21 ' el- L, ' :'ffE'..'I Q4fd f 535- fl ' '- Weil' f ii. .1 1 THE RED all ruffles and lace is just as bad. There must be more workers than entertainers and beautifiers. But the world would be a gray, ugly place if it wasn't for us. The girl ha.d finished two ruffles dur- ing this long speech. Alice watched her, dreamily. '- Still, I feel so sorry for the poor, hum- drum common workers. And I'm so glad that I won 't ever have to be one, that God meant me for the trimmings. The girl had scorched a tiny spot on a ruffle. She bent over it coneernedly. I11 doing so she touched her finger with the iron. She muttered something under her breath which Alice eouldn't hear, and sucked the burn with her lips. Alice was solieitous and remained silent a moment, but when the girl turned once more to her work l1er face was as sweet as ever, and Alice re-settled herself on the stool and continued her prattling brightly. You people ean't really ever be un- happy, can you? Because every night you must get up before that audience and be happy, and when you make yourself appear happy you really become so, don't you? Oh, I know getting up in front of an audience makes you happy, Fife been in front of lots of audiences and I'm hap- pier then than at any other time of my life. I feel so nice and homey when I get ou the boards. I adore half-seeing that big audience out there, knowing that every one of them is looking at me and watching every move I make. I adore looking up, up, straight into the limelight and being blinded by it and not being able to see for a whole minute after, nothing AND .'. BLACK but red and green. She was rhapsodiz- ing now, quite lyrically. But I guess once you get used to acting noneof those things mean anything to you, she fin- ished half apologetically. The girl was about a third through with the ruffles. She drooped a. little over the board but she worked on patiently. There were so awfully many ruffles to be ironed. Alice began to be a little abashed by them. She heard a cheery whistle and a light footstep out in the hall and a young man came into the room and greeted the girl at the board with a Hello, Sis! Alice 's heart gave a jump. She recognized the other partner of the act. Then the young man caught sight of her. Well, look at the little queen, he said, giving her a starelof thelfrankest admiration. Alice flushed -happily. If one is going to make one 's living by- one 's beauty, it is good to be assuredtliat one has that asset. A - , . The young man planted himself in front of her with his legs well apart. Some baby-doll, I'l1 say! he said, and the look he fixed on her was one of approval. Alice began to grow uneasy. Won't yuh introduce? he said, evi- dently addressing the girl behind him but keeping his eyes on the now confused Alice. But the girl at the board who was hidden from Alice evidently did not intend to do so, for she saidnothing. I suppose she doesn't like him to look at me like that, Alice thought. You al- ways read of actresses being jealous. 'fNVhat do you think of.her'? said the girl finally. She's gonna become one of us. - . ,. Twrniy-tl1rf'e

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F- E..- N-B,-vf S .-if v , ' f .,, .' h.Q,qggQ3:'i,g5:f ' , WL., ,IN 4 , vw., gt-,-L -, I I - 5' ' . I - J Zi' 'Wi-if ,V '-S lE-.if-'le- , . . ffsraffk-T ?Wmfv'-'fc'-,ffffl '.?-'rife-4 1.if?.:y W THE READ AND' BLAICK ing board a yard or t.wo away from her! You see, said Alice confidingly, I Petted as she had been all her life, Alice was not very timid about acting on her impulses, and so, after she had stopped, and given a, little gasp, and had seen the girl at the board lift her head toward her, she said, flushing at her own boldness : May I come in a little while? The girl at the board had a very sweet face, a trifle worn, and pale, but sweet. She smiled at Alice, and her smile was very pleasant to see, and saidi Certainly. Come right in, and Alice walked in. She deposited her suitcase on the floor, seated herself on a little stool, and watched the worker in silent enjoyment. The young actress was 'very carefully ironing the first of the many ruffles, with uicety putting the point of the iron into each fold and removing every wrinkle. Alice followed the process attentively, and then she settled herself back comfort- ably and said with a bright little air of good' fellowship: I saw you last night. You did? The actress looked up and smiled, and then bent over her work. Yes, and I liked you the best, the very best, on the program. 77 The actress 's smile was pleased. Oh, said Alice again, you can't imagine how I've always wanted to see a real actress from near. And then to see the actress you want most of all to see l-It 's-it 's just thrilling l Again the exceedingly sweet smile of the girl at the board. She had started on the second ruffle and was working as carefully on it as she had on the first. '1'zs.'er1!y-Iwo mean to be an actress, toof' Yes'Z smiled the girl at the board. Oh, yes. Ever since I was a baby I've wanted to be one. I can't remem- ber a time when I didn't mean to act. My parents were always real nice about it and let me take up dancing and sing- ing and elocutiou-and I guess I'll be able to become an actress. Assurance in that last, but you could forgive it in look- ing at Alice's radiant face. People sometimes laugh at you, or sneer at you, when you tell them you want to be an actress,'but I don't see why. It 's a noble work, too. r Alice was nursing a knee now, and her face wore a look of seriousness that made you want to pinch her cheek. She made a charm- ing picture. The girl at the board began on the third ruffle. You know, it's al- ways struck me like this: the world, or people, or civilization, or S01H6tlllllg,'2ll- ways seems to me like a dress. And busi- ness men and farmers, and housewives, and workers seem to me like the stuif the dress is made of, and weiactressesf' fthe girl at the ironing board smiled at that, tool and musicians, and artists, and writers seem like t.he ruifles, on the dress, the lace, the little fancy collars and euifs. Of course, the goods the dress is made of is the most important because it's the dress itself, and we ruffles are just the trimmings. But who would want a dress without any trimmings? A person like- like Aunt Miranda in 'Rebecca of Sunny- brook Farni' would. fWtIS the girl iron- ing familiar with that work? Her smile was as sweet and noncommittal as ever.j Of course, said Alice wisely, a dress

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?'+fL'- I if tfpigvr 'tfif'?..Z ' o 'M T- ,y . .,,,,, 'rf' ' 7 iWQ?Q,,11 - h 1 '1-' ' 1' . . - - e , 2,1 T-at 911257- L, . ..p:,v 1 1, ' f 'vgfK F ffl' I . ...lin-1 ' N5 THE RED AND BLACK One of us? repeated the young inan. lVhaddya mean? Us actor folks. 0-ohl VVelI, all l've got to say is you eonldn't have picked out anything worse if you 'd tried, he informed Alice eheer- fully. The life's rotten, girlie, rotten. They always speak like that, thought Aliee, And yet they picked out the life. If they want to they can go back to of- iiees and stores, but I don't see them doing it. NVell, kiddie, l'll bet you'll get to be a headliner, too, with that face of yours. Ifle gave her a last admiring look. Then he turned to the girl at the hoard. Just dropped in to see what was keeping you. llurry up and finish and don 't tire y0lll'- self out. S'long. Silong, kiddie. He saluted them, eomieally, and strode out whistling again. thought a little wistfully, It, Alice must be heavenly to sing and dance every night with a man like that. He 's the best, looking lllilll I ever saw outside of the movies. I wonder it she really is his sis- ter. Or maybe they 're married. Or may- don't care a, snap about each other, though I don't see how that can be they be. Alice gave her attention to the girl again. I-ler face had neither lighted up nor grown darker at the entrance and exit of the handsome youth. She still worked at those rutfles. She was only half through. lt troubled Alice, for some reason or other. Fnriously she had noth- ing more to say. The girl worked o11 dnmbly. The smile on her face had grown rather faint but that had not made it lose any of its sweet- Tweu ty-four' ness. I'Ier baek was rounded over the board and her head hung wearily to one side. Aliee tilnidly offered to help but the girl shook her head, while the smile came back, as beautiful as before, though it went out soon. Alice almost felt as if she were in the way, then, besides, it began to be dull, watching the actress iron those interminable ruffles. So she said goodbye, picked up her suitcase, and took her leave. She almost felt relieved when she was out of the room. The girl at the board worked on. From time to time she stopped to rest, but only for a short while. Finally she brought over the stool Aliee had been occupying and sat upon it while she worked. Revo- lution after revolution made the dress over the narrow board, and ruffle after ruffle came out from beneath the iron neatly pressed. The last ruffle was fin- ished and she slipped the dress off the board a11d hung it up. 'There was no look ofpride on her faee for the finished work, only tiredness. She seated herself on the stool. She dropped her faintly perspiring faee on her arms on the board. She said, Oh, God I with a, long, shuddering intake of breath that sounded like a sob .... Then she got np, took a modish wrap from a hook on the wall, and slipped it carefully over her shoulders. Before the tiny mirror she arranged a. daring little red turhan at a still more daring angle over her curls-hairdresser's curls. She applied a powder puff vigorously to her nose, and something pink.t.o her cheeks. For after all, she had her business in life. -She turned out the light and left theroom. 4