“No, she’s not!” cried Bobby Hargrew. “She only had one mood—the imperative—and we girls are all subject to that,” and she sighed, for Bobby was frequently in trouble with the very strict assistant principal of Central High whom she disrespectfully referred to as “Gee Gee.”
Jess and her friend had left the others now and were approaching Market Street. Like everybody else on the walks, they had to be careful how they stepped, and it was with many a laugh and gibe that Bobby Hargrew beguiled the way. Jess, however, was serious once more.
“Are you really going in for that prize Mrs. Kerrick is going to put up for us?” demanded Bobby.
“Do you know what it’s for?”
“No—I haven’t heard that,” said the younger girl. “But for two hundred dollars I’d learn tatting—or darn socks. Daddy says I ought to learn to darn his. What’s it all about, anyway? I suppose Laura knows?”
“Yes. It’s a play. The girl who writes the best one, that can be acted by us boys and girls of Central High, is to get the prize.”
“Gee! won’t that be nuts for Miss Gould?” cried Bobby. “You know, she tried us out in blank verse the other day, and I made a hit. My stately lines were spoken of with commendation. And when she told us to bring in a rhyme, or poetry—whichever we had the courage to call it—I wanted to read mine out loud. But she wouldn’t let me. She said she had not intended to start a school for humorous poets.”
“What did you hand in?” asked Jess, smiling.
“Want to hear it?” cried Bobby, eagerly, digging into her pocket which—like a boy’s—was always filled with a conglomeration of articles. “Listen here!” she added, drawing forth a crumpled paper. “This is called ‘Such is Life’ and really, I was hurt that Miss Gould considered it so lightly,” and she began to read at once:
“‘William Wright was often wrong
And Thomas Goode was bad;
While Griffith Smiley, odd to state,
Was almost always sad.
Jedediah Rich was very poor,
While Ozias Poor was rich,
And Eliphalet Q. Carpenter
Earned his living digging ditch.
Tom White was black Jim Black was white,
And Jose Manuel Green was brown;
While Ching Ling Blu was yellow,
As was known all over town!’