There were several monitorial desks in the hall, which were slightly elevated above the others, and so placed as to overlook them. They were usually assigned to the oldest and most trustworthy pupils, and were regarded as posts of honor. The one to which Jessie was transferred was near the teachers’ desks, and was the principal monitorial desk on the girls’ side of the room. With a modest blush she gathered up her books and took possession of her new dignity; but it was a long time before she could muster courage to look up, and meet the battery of as yet idle eyes that were directed towards her.
The organization of the school occupied most of the forenoon. At twelve o’clock the morning session closed, and the scholars were released for an hour and a half. About a score of them, who lived at a distance, remained, and either singly, or in little scattered groups, were for a time very busy over the contents of sundry small baskets and tin pails. The boys quickly found the bottoms of their dinner receptacles, and impatiently sallied forth, with a half-eaten apple, dough-nut or slice of bread in one hand, and a sled or pair of skates in the other.
“Good riddance to you!” cried one of the girls, as the last boy-muncher—one of the slow sort—closed the door.
“Look here, now! I’m not gone, yet,” replied the boy, opening the door.
“Well, you’d better go,—and tell your mother not to put you up so much dinner to-morrow, will you?” responded the girl.
“There, now, I’d come right back, and stay all the noon with you, only I don’t want to humor you so much,” replied the boy, who was as “slow to anger” as he was slow in eating—and none too slow in either case, after all, I suspect.
“O do come—we should be so delighted with your company,” retorted the girl; but the tramp, tramp, tramp of a stout pair of boots down the stairs was all the reply she got.
And now the girls seemed determined to have a good time among themselves. The little groups gradually enlarged, the tongues wagged in a more lively manner, and sundry choice tit-bits were transferred from one basket to another. There were two or three “new girls,” however, who did not venture into any of the social circles, but demurely sat at their own desks. Jessie was a favorite in the school, and quite a number of the girls gathered around her, among whom was Abby Leonard, who sometimes stayed at noon, by way of change, although her boarding-place was not far off. Abby, notwithstanding the foolish speech she made about associating with such poor girls as Jessie, a few months before this, was far from shunning the company of that young lady. On the contrary, she seemed to court it.
“Have a pickle, Jessie?” inquired Abby, holding out a good-sized cucumber.
“No, I thank you, I seldom eat pickles,” replied Jessie.