Betty was quite willing to go down-town, but she smiled mournfully at Eleanor’s careless suggestion that she should speak to Jean. Asking Jean Eastman a delicate question, especially after the interview they had had that morning, was not likely to be a pleasant task. Betty wondered if she needed to feel responsible for Jean’s mistakes. She certainly ought to know on general principles that conditions keep you out of everything nice from the freshman team on.
A visit from Helen Adams that evening threw some new light on the matter.
“Betty,” Helen demanded, “isn’t Teddie Wilson trying for a part in our play?”
“Helen Chase Adams,” returned Betty, severely, “is it possible you don’t know that she got a condition and can’t try?”
“I certainly didn’t know it,” said Helen meekly. “Why should I, please?”
“Only because everybody else does,” said Betty, and wondered if Jean could possibly belong with Helen in the ignorant minority. It seemed very unlikely, but then it seemed a sheer impossibility that Helen should have sat at the Belden House dinner-table day after day and not have heard Teddie’s woes discussed. At any rate now was her chance to get some information about Miss Carter.
“While we are talking about conditions,” she began, “does your friend Anne Carter tutor in French?”
Helen nodded. “It’s queer, isn’t it, when she has so much money? She doesn’t like to do it either, but mademoiselle made her think it was her duty, because all the French faculty are too busy and there was no other girl who took the senior course that mademoiselle would trust. Anne thinks she’ll be through by next week.”
“Were many people conditioned in French?” asked Betty.
“Why, I don’t know. I think Anne just said several, when she told me about it.”