Central High School - Aglaia Yearbook (Manchester, NH)

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IUNE AGLAIA NUMBER OF THE ORACLE 9 SCENARIO SHORTS I The Last Bomb SCENE: A shell-wrecked Belgium vil- lage during the World War. It is late after- noon, yet the sun is bright, becoming dim- mer, until finally it is twilight. Through- out the play, muffled Firing can be heard. There are three or four small houses and a church clustered together. These have been bombarded with the result that only fragments are left. The miserable little village seems abandoned. Evidently, the Germans have recently passed through here, driving the inhabitants before them. A child crawls from a cellar window of a wreck on the right. The boy, a six-year- old, creeps along the ground and looks about himj CHILD: All right, Granny, come on! QA shrunken old woman in rags crawls out of the window. She sits down, rocks back and forthj GRANNY: Oh, dear! Oh, dear, what are we going to do, now? What are we going to do? CHILD: Granny, I'm hungry. GRANNY: Yes, yes, of course, child, we must look for some food. It won't do us any good to sit here crying. They're all gone now, all gone. QPause-then briskly, Come, we'll look for some berries. fShe goes into the house and brings out some things clutched in her apron, from which she hands the boy a partly brok- en bowl., GRANNY: Go pick some berries, child, while I make the buns. fThe child skips off, humming, while the old woman busies her- self making a Hre and mixing something in a bowl. The child comes running back from the fields with the berries.j CHILD: Granny, oh, Granny, the .,.. the ..., GRANNY: Don't hurry so, child, you might spill the berries. CHILD: fBreathlesslyj Granny, hurry, some men are coming from over there. fPoints toward left of stagej GRANNY: Quick, put the fire out. Q Both throw sand on the fire and stamp on it until it is completely out. The grandmother slides backwards into the cellar windowj Now, hand me those things quickly. Hurry, hurry, child, before they come. CThe child hands the berries, buns, plates, etc. to her. He then starts crawling into the window. A voice is heard commanding the men to search the place, and just as they come into sight, the child disappears. The men begin looking through the houses.j PRIV.: No one is here, Lieutenant. LIEUT.: Is every hovel searched? PRIV.: No, sir. LIEUT.: Well, search them all. fThc private goes into the house on the right, but comes out shortlyj Priv.: No one there, sir. QAII have rc- turned from their search with a negative answer., . Lieut.: Attention, March! fThey march off. Their footsteps sound fainter and faint- er until all is quiet. The old woman and her grandson come out of the window. She sets out two bowls, then divides the berries into them.j CHILD: That was close, Granny, wasn't it? GRANNY: Yes, dear, but we can thank the Lord that grass was there. Even at that, I thought he would find us. Were there many berries left, child? CHILD: No, not many, Granny. GRANNY: We had better save some of these for tonight. fThey finish eating and set the bowls aside. The old woman sits in the shade of the house while the child lies near by. The sounds of firing are heard more clearly, and now, also the sounds of air- planes. One appearsj CHILD: Granny! fShaking her, for she had fallen asleepj Look, what's that? GRANNY: Ah, quick, into the cellar. Itls a plane. If they don't see anything mov-

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8 IUNE AGLAIA NUMBER OF THE ORACLE two in store for us. The plays that night were good. Afterwards we were shown the high-spots of the town. We discovered a stand where one could buy three scoops of ice-cream for one nickel. Enchanted by such a bargain we bought some, and also a box of pop-corn to eat in our room later. Saturday noon we again ate bountifully, and our spirits rose when we saw the mob of loyal Centralites who had come down. Manchester certainly did itself proud. The applause was deafening as the curtain descended. Saturday night everyone dressed formally, and we ate our last meal at the school. At eleven o'clock came the judges' decision, and Manchester was unanimously given first place. The balcony Cwhere we were seated, sounded worse than a home- town football game. A formal dance of about forty minutes followed, and we again went for ice-cream, but not to the bargain stand. Our enthusiasm had been slightly dampened when discovering that the ice's chief consti- tuent was cornstarch. We regretted deeply to leave Sunday mor- ning, but were highly entertained fand so were the rest of the passengersl by our male trio who gave us many touching selections, including Seven Years With The Wrong Woman, Take Me Out To The Ball Game, etc. It was not until we saw the Manchester station and a group of welcomers fthe only thing missing was the bandj that we real- ized There's no place like home! NELLIE RASSIAS. TO CANADA, 1936 Some people think that Canada is an im- mense open tract, dotted only here and there with large farms. Such persons are wrong. Of course, in some parts, Canada has many farms, but not so many as there used to be. Everything is very serene, however, and they have but few amusements. In general there ar no theatres, dance halls, or restaurants. The countryside is quiet and peaceful. Montreal is one of the chief places that I thought really interesting to see. It was just what I had imagined it wasn't going to be. It is as modern in its ways as many cities in the United States. There are dance halls, luncheonettes, theatres, and a considerable number of amusements that we don't have, even here in Manchester. One thing certain- ly surprised me, and that was the way the people speak the English language. They speak more of it than they do French, and speak it Huently. Manchester's English is often not so good as that of Montreal. I also visited the Academy Roussan, in Quebec. It's just one of those places that you can't imagine exists. It's a college for boys only, and they go there to study for priesthood. It is situated on a hill, and is very pleasant in there. I was talking to a young man who was to be ordained a priest three days after we left and asked him if he were not lonesome at times. They are al- lowed to leave the grounds only once a month in care of two brothers. He told me that he had no time in which to get lonely. They are all perfect tennis players. An interesting part of our trip was the crossing of Three Rivers. It was night, and I could see the outline of boats in the dis- tance, making way or at anchor. While going across, I met a few people from Manchester, who were there at that time, also on a visit. While conversing I found out that they were close friends of my father's whom I had nev- er met before. There was only one thing that bothered us, and that was the heat. It is frightfully warm in the summer time. I don't know if it was the different food that we ate, or change of climate. At the end of our visit, we came to the conclusion that no matter where you make your voyage, there is no- thing like the good old U. S. A. RITA CHAREST.

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10 IUNE AGLAIA NUMBER OF THE ORACLE ing they won't fire. CBoth hasten through the window. The plane passes over the vil- lage, dropping two bombs. One hits the house where the two are hidden. It is blown to pieces. As the wreckage and sand settle, one sees the howls and other remnants from the lunch lying where they had been left, un- disturbed. A dim light is shining on them. It becomes brighter and brighter. The firing grows more distant until all is in silencej BEATRICE DUBOIS. II BRAVING THE STORM SCENE ONE: Aboard a large ocean liner shortly after a nationally known ship disas- ter. Mr. and Mrs. George board the ship at ten-thirty in the evening and are shown to their stateroom by the stewardess. A thick fog is hovering over the harbor as they pre- pare to retire. When Mrs. George is sure that her husband is asleep fsnoringj, she crawls quietly out of bcd and places two life pre- servers at its foot. Back under the covers, after much tossing and turning, she finally drops off to sleep. In the middle of the night she is awakened by the loud din of a fog horn. She sits up in bed as the ship rocks to and fro. Mrs. G.: Bill, wake up! I think something has happened. ' Mr. G.: What did you say? Mrs. G.: Wake up, Bill. Please get up, somethings wrong. Mr. G.: Oh, all right. fHe is in the act of standing up when the boat lurches, and he is thrown to the Hoor.j Mrs. G.: Oh, Bill, are you hurt? Answer me, Bill. Oh, dear, what ...... P Mr. G.: I'm all right, Mary, don't baby me so. I just lost my balance-that's all. QHe goes over to the port-hole and opens it wider. A voice is heard from the deckj STRANGER: Yes, sir, it's mighty tough wind. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there was trouhle at sea tonight. It was just such a night as this, when the ....., went down. What a calamity that was, I never ..,... fMrs. George gets up, closes the port-hole, and goes over to Mr. George who is sitting upon the edge of his bed, his head in his handsj Mrs. G.: Bill, did you hear that? I told you I didnit want to go to Europe. I'd be just as satisfied in Florida. Let's get off now, I know the boat will go down. Mr. G.: fHalf smilingj All right, Mary, get on your swim suit and we'll start. Mrs. G.: Oh, Bill, do be sensible. Mr. G.: Go to bed, Mary. If anything hap- pens I'1l let you know. CH1: gets into bed and is soon asleep.-Mrs. George has a mind of her own. She puts on her deck costume and sits in a chair close to the doorj SCENE TWO: It is dawn. Mr. George awakens to Hnd Mrs. George fully prepared for any emergency, sitting in the chair sound asleep. He dresses and goes out on deck. A few minutes later he comes back, laughing so hard that Mrs. George awakens and looks around. Mrs. G.: What are you laughing at, Bill? I think you're mean to laugh at me. What if the boat didn't go down last night! That's no sign it wonit tonight. Oh I ........ Mr. G.: lust a minute, Mary. The boat didn't even leave the harbor last night. It was so rough at sea they didn't put out. QHe sits down and rocks with laughtenj IANE CLARK. THE OLD STORY Every student impatiently awaits the com- ing of a vacation. No matter how brief it is to be, everyone has plans and 'mental pic- tures worked out as to how it will be spent. A certain celestial radiance appears on the countenance of those who, like caged pan- thers, await the flinging open of the door to Freedom! The day comes--the First day of vacation.