Girls High School of Brooklyn - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 14 text:

Special Providence For l3am-- ELLEN STATON, Grade Six T seemed io Pam 'rhai ii' was ever Thus. So Allan had sprained his ankle! Pam's nose weni info a dozen wrinkles. I+ was iusl like Allan +o do lhai' 'rhe week of Car1'er's dance . . . when he was faking her! Forfune never smiled on her, Pam +old herself as she walked, 'rhe one armful of books making her body sway sligh+ly wifh each sfep. And Pam had 'l'Old Allan whal' she ihoughf of him for leH'ing a ihing like Thai happen, in fhe nofe, 'rhaf scafhing liHle nofe 'lhaf she had sen'r him when she heard of Jrhe accident He dese.rved if. He deserved . . . suddenly fhe world came +o an end, and somelhing wiihin Pam's head began 'ro sing The S+ars and S+ripes Forever. Buf in a minufe she realized 1'ha+ she was semi-prosirafe on an unbelievably cold pavement Very romanfic, she reflecfed acidly: Then she fhoughi beffer of it For was noi' ihar a sfrong, muscular a.rm fha? supporfed her? Yes, she realized, when, looking upward, she saw fhai' +he arm belonged fo someone wi+h an undeniably fine head, dark, 'rwinkling eyes, and curling, brown hair. Slowly she rose, wifh fhe aid of 'rhe Hero. And The Hero was falking +o her. Are you hurl? he asked. Pam wasn'i' so sure. She wondered momeniarily if Cupid's arrows were painful. l d'on'1' believe so, she murmured vaguely, buf I fhink my heel is down 'rhai' gra'l'ing. You +ook a nas+y bump on The head. Righi' on 'rhe cement A fleefing fhoughi' made Pam wonder if 'lhai' was a wise-crack. Buf she decided againsf if. He wasn'+ 'rhe +ype. Is +ha+ wha+ hir me? she asked in a quiei' surprise. He laughed and gave her her hai. While she arranged il' on rumpled blonde curls, he looked ruefully a+ fhe sca++ered confenfs of her purse. l'm afraid your mirror's broken, he said apologefically. Tha+'s supposed +o mean seven years of bad luck.' I don'+ believe in signs, said Pam. Bad luck! Mee+ing him! lnvolunfarily her nose wrinkled, buf she siraighfened ii oui' quickly. Her books were once more in her arms, arranged wifh ques+ionable skill. Thanks a million, she found herself saying. Then somehow she sfood fhere. noi' wan+ing +0 leave wifhouf knowing somefhing of 'lhe Hero's name. By ihe way, she said nonchalanfly, +o whom do l owe 'rhe 'thanks for fhis gallanf ad? Lee Mansfield, fullback, he announced, his manly chesl swelling wifh manly pride. Pam was ready for fhaf. Noi 'l'he Lee Mansfield, she babbled, +he one who won all ihe games for-for--for who won all fhe games lasi' season? This is a +hrill. l've always wanied 'io see you. If Lee could buf have known how many games Pam had seen, having been 8

Page 13 text:

cially fhe Pefer Rabbif books which impnoved fheir minds fo an almosf im- measurable degree. I had never seen Mr. Thompson again, for a cerfain em- barrassmenf had prevenfed me from calling on him. One day, however. I found myself regreffing never having revisifed him, for in fhe liffle counfry newspaper. was announced fhe deafh of Arfhur Thompson, funeral Thursday. l decided +ha+. ouf of mere grafifude for his generosify fo my cause, I oughf fo affend fhe services: buf when I arrived, l was asfonished fo find so large a crowd. So greaf was fhe affendance fhaf I only succeeded in gefling a seaf in fhe parlor, sfill economically dim. because of my posifion as Teacher of English af fhe school. I looked around af the ofhers presenf and found fhem oddly assorfed. Here were fhe Mayor and his wife af my leff, and af my righf, Jack Smifh who lived down by fhe railroad in a shanfy scarcely large enough fo accommodafe his eleven children. Upon lookinng for 'rhe cusfomary flowers. I found only a preffy bouquef of field flowers gafhered by fhe children. I had nof 'lime 'ro observe farfher because fhe minisfer rose fo begin fhe service. The Bible reading was shorf and simple, buf fruly beaufiful and affer if fhere was a momenf's silence. Then fhe minisfer began slowly. There is liffle I can say abouf 'rhis man who lies before us. All of us have felf his sympafhefic hand. have heard his voice in fime of frouble. There is no one here who could nof fell of a genenosify. bounfiful as if was unobfrusive. There are here, families who could call fhis man fheir sole comforfer in fime of sickness or dislress and if is a fifring 'rribufe fo his unfailing kindness fhaf so many of his friends are presenf foclay. Any words fhaf I mighf say would be fo fhem buf echoes of whaf is in fheir hearfs. Therefore I will say only fhis: I-le walked wifh God upon earfh, and now he has gone away wifh Him info heaven. In fhe reverenf silence which followed fhis conclusion someone sfepped fo fhe melodeon and began fo play Abide wifh me . Af fhe firsf nofes some woman bursf info loud, blafanf sobs. a sharp confrasf fo fhe chokey silence of fhe resi- of us. I furned fo sfare af a huge, red-faced woman in heavy. rusfling black silk. and knew insfincfively fhaf fhis was his wife. - Breakfast The fanfalizing sharpness of grapefruif which makes lips pucker in, Buffer seeping info wanm, brown slices of foasf dainfy and fhing The crackling crispiness of cereal flakes in milk pure and whife, A well-scrambled egg fhaf is browned iusf righf: Fruif-filled, nuf-cresfed cakes, Iusciously sweef, Finally, rich. syrupy chocolafe fo make fhe breakfasf complefe. NAOMI WEINER. Grade Six 7

Page 15 text:

dragged fhere by force, and how much she knew abouf foofball, he mighf have been less flaffered. As if was, he smiled af her wifh charming condescension, and Pam was challenged fo furn on fhe heaf full-pressure. l-ler lips suddenly spread info fhaf come-hifher, personalify smile, and he wilfed. She wafched his resisfance shrivel up, and his condescending smirk change fo an adorably friendly grain. Pam fell fwice fhaf day. And fo whom, he asked, clo l owe fhe honor of fhis . . . er . . . conversafion? , Pamela Taylor, generally known as Pam. A devilish liHle curve fo her moufh complefely disarmed him. Buf Pam was cruel, fhough her hearf pounded. Toodleoo, she said, and +hanks. Waif! he called, fhen looked digusfed. Why didn'f l meef you sooner? l could have asked you fo go wifh me fo Ca.rfer's dance on Safurday. l . . . wasn'+ going . . . buf if I could fake you . . . buf everyone who's going is dafed now. You are dafed, aren'+ you? Of course! Well, fhaf is . . . in a way. You see, my dafe has a sprained ankle, which is rafher a difficulfy when if comes 'ro dancing. Then you aren'+ dafedl Miss Taylor . . . Pam . . . may l fill up your program nexf Safurday? Well, af leasf, Pam fhoughf, flinging her books on her desk, she was going. Buf she wished Silver hadn r bounded up fill she was mo.re sure of herself. Oh Pam! gasped Silver. Guess who's faking me Sa+urday! l couldn'f, Pam muffered saccharinely. Frank Mansfield, younger brofher of Lee Mansfield,J'he scholasfic hero. Even going wifh Lee's brofher is an honor, fhough of course, Lee is 'Hue cafch. Buf he's never been caughf. He's a woman hafer. Then he .really is a hero, Pam murmured medifafively. Good heavens! Of course! Foofball. Why? Because l'm going wifh him. The expression of complefe and undilufed amazemenf on Silver's face was delicious. You . . . you . . . you . . . whaf? l'm going wifh him lf I wene a caf, Pam, l'd hafe you. As if is, l . . . l . . . well, how did you do if? No, don'+ fell me. l've gof fo lef fhe girls know abouf fhis. So long and . . . congrafulafionsln Medifafively, Pam gazed affer Silver. Apparenfly 'lhere was a cerfain degree of imporfance in knowing Lee Mansfield . . . despife fhaf idiofic name. Buf liffle did she realize fhe exfenf of fhaf imporfance. From fhaf momenf she was fhe supreme obiecf of admirafion, hafe, and envy, from every girl in fhe prep school. And when Pam, a shimmering cloud of peach-colored lace, glided ouf onfo fhe dance floor on fhe arm of Lee Mansfield, she was conscious of fhe various emofions mirrored in fhe eyes of her schoolmafes. She realized wifh 9