Newtown High School - Newtowner Yearbook (Elmhurst, NY)

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THE PACT IT WAS a picture that would have delighted Norman Rockwell's eye. The frilly feminine dressing table had never been in such disarrangement -its drawers open revealing very personal things of all different colors which must have been a mystery to the small dirty nine-year-old boy who was perched on the satin-covered stool, his legs twisted little-boy like around the rungs. But what was he so absorbed in . . . his face wreathed in delighted smiles? A little pink book, bulging, and spilling letters . . . oh-h-h a diary! The picture was suddenly charged with actiong a glimpse of long' blond hair, swing skirt and flashing eyes. A math and a French book went flying across the room-and J anie's voice, shrill with fury, Bobbie l After the dirty little boy had dashed from the room-dropping every- thing as he went, Janie sat down on the bed and forgetting her dignified sixteen-year-old front began to cry in angry sobs. She stared at all her secret dreams so nakedly revealed as they lay on the floor. Suddenly some- thing caught her eye, and she gasped. Jumping off the bed, she picked up a photograph and stared at it although she knew very well that it was a very bad shot, taken into the sun, of a boy in a football helmet, with freckles and a grin. Oh, he wouldn't-he wouldnft tell ! Janie whispered in anguish. Then she thought of the mischievous glint that Bobbie wore in his blue eyes, and to what lengths he would go to get the attention of his football hero. The look on J anie's face then, I will not attempt to describe. Bobbie had never grinned so engagingly across his plate at his sister before. His parents looked suspicious, and silently decided that something was a-brew. But Janie ate her supper in lumps that night, her heart sink- ing lower and lower. ' Her plaid skirt lacked some of its usual swing, the next day, as she turned away from the group of boys clustered about the steps of South Side High. Gosh, how they'd tease if they knew . . . knew that a silly little sopho- more has a lot of secret dreams about a football hero-a senior, too-who could have the cream of the crop. She looked down, not seeing the scuffed toes of her saddles, but seeing only her carefully built-up front cracking, smashed to bits. - Suddenly she stopped, staring across the street in unbelieving amaze- ment. She shaded her eyes against the sung sure enough, there was her brother walking with his usual swagger. But at his side was a small mite of 21

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COMMUTING BY BUS naar ggi 521Mi9 ' 3' f fvim Q M! 'Mfr e fag gifffla fggki f I' k pl! A V G..D-.Nn-l.2u.. HAVING nrnnnn on the bus to and from Newtown many times, I feel I am qualified to acquaint those fortunate few who haven't, with the facts of a ride home from school. As the bus appears in the distance, the rush is on. The question of who will be the fortunate one to have the door open in front of him is quite evident as each tries desperately for this position. The bus comes to a halt and three or more find that only one body may occupy a given space at a given time. The lucky one jumps in as the other two hit the sides and bounce back. The few empty seats are soon occupied and then comes the fight for position, everyone refusing to move to the rear, each struggling for a place near the exit. Soon the last one is packed neatly in and the bus starts. We then come to the one and only advantage, provided you wish to classify it as such. You find, to your amazement, that falling is impossible without the cooperation of the other commuters or passengers. You finally adjust your breathing to the tempo of the majority and you realize your destination is nearing. Now the herculean task of getting off confronts you. You finally see an opening and dart towards it. You natural- ly knock a few of the unwary and unprepared off their feet, but that is just a matter of course. You finally reach the door and stagger out. After put- ting yourself together again and making sure you are still in one piece, you reach the decision that it would have been easier to walk. Ronnivr SN'nnxEn 20

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a girl with long red braids, smiling up at him. And he was carrying her books, looking a. bit embarrassed. A slow smile crept across J anie's face. She stopped at the corner and called sweetly across the street, Hello-o-o Bobbie ! He stopped, recognizing the tone in his sister's voice, and his face turned a. slow, painful red, The boys on the team--if they ever found out! They were the town's acclaimed women-haters and he was the ringleader! The smile left J anie's face and she stared across the street into Bobbie's eyes. Neither of them said a word, but they knew that in that moment a silent pact had been made. Janie turned down the block. The swing in her skirts reappeared and a weight fell from her shoulders. A sisterly smile flitted across her face. He was sort of a cute little fellow . . . her brother. MARY STERLING Kn.sUs The Miracle THE BUS pulled out of New York, headed for Chicago. All the people aboard were laughing and chatting gaily with one another. At the first stop, a woman and a child got on and took their seats. Next a man got on, and because it was the only seat left, he sat down directly opposite the woman and child. The people in the bus were quiet now, for this man was not like the other men on the bus. His clothes were patched and he was badly in need of a shave. Sensing that something was wrong, the man became very uncomfortable. Then the child spoke, Do you think it will rain tomorrow, mister? she said. I hope it won't,,' replied the man, and before long both man and child were engrossed in conversation. Slowly the people began talking and laugh- ing again and once again the bus was full of laughing and joyous noise. In a suburb of Chicago the bus stopped and a woman and a child got off, but before she left the child turned to the man seated across from her and said, You know mister, I like you. No rags did the child see, but a human being with a heart like herself. , When the bus pulled into Chicago and a man left it, with head high, everybody on the bus knew it was because of a child's words-I like you-I like you- BERNARD J. MCSHANE 22