“I don’t know. But at least I can tell her how I was questioned, and everybody knew that you had to stay after school, so how can you help telling her?”
“I’ll tell her that I was questioned, too.”
Betty however, had started to school as late as she dared. In consequence lessons and the day’s program were upon them. At lunch she remained in the room until after Carolyn and the rest of those going up to lunch had gone, and pretended to be detained by some notes she was writing. Perhaps it was not a pretense either, she thought, for she needed the notes. But she would not have taken them then if she had not wanted to avoid being with the rest of the girls. A few who were not going to lunch were nibbling crackers or chocolate bars and stirring about the room a little. The colored girl in her Latin class was there and Betty wondered if she had enough money for the lunch, little as some of it cost.
Sure enough, there were some chocolate bars and an apple in her locker! She had the chocolate bars in her sweater pocket and the apple had been presented to her in the hall by no less a friend than Budd LeRoy. She, too, would miss lunch and divide with Sally. Quickly she ran out to her locker, rifled the pocket of her sweater, discarded since the early cold morning, and brought her apple and her pocket knife.
“Have a bar with me, Sally,” she said, “if you are not going to lunch either, and I’ll cut this apple in two.”
“Why–thanks, Betty. That looks good. No, I thought I wouldn’t go to lunch today. But you’d better keep all of your apple.”
“It’s too big and it looks awfully juicy,” added Betty as she cut the apple in halves. “With my compliments, Miss Sally,” and Betty assumed quite an air as she handed the fruit to Sally, who laughed and thanked Betty again.
“Have you always lived in this city?” asked Betty for something to say, as Sally sat down in her own seat which was opposite Betty’s, by chance, just as in the Latin class.
In the soft voice and accent peculiar to her race at its best, Sally answered this question and asked Betty how she liked this and that teacher, Miss Heath among others. Miss Heath had not met her class that morning, to Betty’s deep disappointment.
“I saw Miss Heath come in the uppah hall,” said Sally, “jus’ befo’ the last class. She hurried into the office and I suppose she couldn’t get here this mawnin.’”