"My sakes! Mister Shepherd must've turned school out early!"
"Mama! Guess what! School's out! We're getting a holiday!'' Wiley yelled, long before he and Mierd got to the gate. "Teacher said we ought'a celebrate stopping the war! November 'leven's gonna be a big day to remember! Always!"
"Yeah, Mama!" Mierd hollered. "Mister Shepherd said they'll put it in the history book! But he assigned us so much arithmetic it ain't gonna be no holiday a-tall! Me and Wiley'll be up till midnight!"
"Maybe not."
"Mama, I gotta run tell Grandpa the war's over! He won't have to save no more peach seeds!"
"Son, he knows it. Your papa phoned us the news just a few minutes ago."
"Peach seeds? What's Grandpa and peach seeds got to do with the Armistice?"
"Good grannies, Mierd, you heard Grandpa talking 'bout saving 'em not long ago. The Government wanted folks to all start saving up peach seeds and nut hulls for the soldiers."
"Are you crazy, Wiley?"
"No, silly. They was gonna use seeds to get carbon for them gas masks—that's what soldiers wear on the front line."