“Oh, that was all right, Billy. It was great fun to have it and I’m wearing the shamrock, you see, on my coat. I see Nan coming now and I’ll just stroll back to meet her, I think. There goes Danny. Do ask him if Bess told him anything startling last night. I thought I heard her say ‘S. P.’”
So Jean’s handling of the situation saved her from walking to school with Billy and probably, as she thought, saved him from some embarrassment. It would also give Billy a chance to say to Danny that he “knew it already,” if, as she thought, Bess had told. Jean had not exactly planned it, but instinctively she felt a situation when it occurred.
The seven S. P.’s felt a little undercurrent all day, but they avoided being together except as they would usually meet, in twos or threes. Once or twice conversation, not upon the S. P.’s at all, was suddenly stopped, as they had planned.
Jean had really forgotten about having promised to tell Billy about who belonged to the club, till after school that afternoon Billy caught up with her before she had left the school grounds and took her books as Jimmy had just taken Clare’s in front of them. He copied Jimmy’s nonchalant air and said, “Excuse me, Nan,—I’ve got to see Jean about something.”
Bess was just coming up behind them and caught Nan’s arm, drawing her aside as Billy and Jean walked on. Well, thought Jean, maybe Billy hadn’t liked it that she hadn’t walked to school with him that morning.
But Billy made no reference to that. “Jean, it’s all over school about your club. The other girls must have let it out.” So Billy began in a low voice. “Before I said a word to Danny he said, ‘So the girls have got a secret society, too; I heard last night.’
“‘What did you hear?’ I asked. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘they’ve started something and all Bess would tell me was the initials of their name, the S. P.’s, and I suppose it stands for Sweet Pickles or Sour Grapes or something like that.’
“I told him, of course, that I had heard about it before, and that he’d better go slow on ‘Sour Grapes,’ because they were mighty nice girls all right. But do tell me who they are, so I’ll not be so ignorant the next time.”
Jean laughed heartily. “I don’t mind a bit. That was cute of Danny. Why it’s Fran and Bess and Molly, Phoebe and Leigh, and of course Nan and I are in it. There are exactly seven of us now, though it might be possible that we’d take in some more girls later on. I sort of think we ought to, when we carry out one of the things I’ve been thinking of. I’m president, Billy, and that’s everything I can tell you.”
“I thought you would be, Jean,” said admiring Billy. “You are great at getting up things.”