“That is dear of you, Lucia, and I would, only it would look too much like crowing over her because I was put in in her place. Besides, she’d be happier anyway for you to think of her—by yourself.”
Lucia’s dark eyes surveyed Betty thoughtfully. “You always think of everything, Betty. How do you do it? I like you, Betty Lee!” and Lucia turned to find Mathilde, who was limping away with a small group of sophomores.
“You’re pretty nice, yourself, Lucia,” Betty sent after her, and Lucia waved a deprecatory hand.
[CHAPTER XIII: LIGHT ON THE SORORITY QUESTION]
Betty had to decide what she would do about “sororities.” She had discussed them frankly with a few of the girls, those she knew well, perfectly sincere girls and her good friends. Outside of that little circle she had been careful what she said. She had been included with Lucia, Mathilde, Carolyn and Peggy in attentions from the juniors of the Kappa Upsilons. That there was a small addition to that “chapter” in process of being made among the sophomores she knew. If the other girls joined, especially Carolyn, would it make a difference in their friendship? Yet Kathryn, while she had been invited to Marcella’s party, that glorious Hallowe’en party, had received no further attention. Perhaps it was a matter of numbers.
Now Marcella had come right out and asked her what she thought of Kappa Upsilon and whether she had any objection to a high school sorority that “really complied with the rules you know.”
Fortunately the question came at the close of school when Betty was rushing home to let her mother go somewhere without Amy Louise. Betty was going to get the dinner that night. “Why, Marcella, I think anything that you belong to would have to be all right,” she answered. “I’ve got to rush, Marcella, to catch that car!” and Betty scampered as fast as she could, noting from Marcella’s smile and nod that she understood. More than one important conversation was sometimes interrupted because one of the participants had to hurry to orchestra practice or a Dramatic Club meeting or a meeting of the Lions’ Roar reporters or editors, or merely to catch a car home, as in the present instance.
All the way home, the people in the car were as shadows to Betty as she sat squeezed in between a fat lady and one of the senior girls until the car reached her stop. She vaguely recalled answering a few remarks from the senior girl, whom she did not know, but her mind was chiefly concerned about what she should do.
She nearly put sugar instead of salt into the potatoes when she mashed them, and when she finally took up the supper and was sitting in her mother’s place, fixing Amy Lou’s milk, she answered a question from her father, with such a blank, “What, sir?” that Dick looked up from his plate to say rudely, “What’s eating you Betty?” and Doris said “Are you mad at anybody?”
Betty waked up immediately and came back to the present scene. “Oh, no, Doris! I’ve just been thinking about something.”