There was a little less evening now in late August, a warning of summer’s end. Joseph took that warning to heart and was determined to live every day twice over before he lost his freedom to the schoolhouse. Lily thought he was being dramatic. She couldn’t understand how anyone couldn’t like school. Joseph kept himself scarce from the house, where Mama was sewing up a storm of new school clothes.
The first day of school came on a beautiful sunny morning. Lily could hardly wait. She held the silky white curtain back with one hand as she stood by the living room window, waiting for her cousins, Levi and Hannah, to walk down the road. All summer long, Lily had looked forward to having Levi and Hannah join school.
Bong, bong, bong . . . She turned and glanced at the clock. Eight bongs. What if Hannah and Levi were late? It would be terrible to be late on the very first day of school. Lily peered out the window and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Levi and Hannah round the bend. Lily grabbed her bonnet and lunch pail and darted out the door. She tossed a goodbye over her shoulder to Mama.
Joseph was outside, swinging on the porch swing. He was trying to squeeze every last drop out of summer, not at all excited about school starting. Lily did not understand that brother of hers. Slowly, he picked up his lunch box and trailed behind Lily to the end of the driveway. They waited for Levi and Hannah to catch up to them.
The first thing that went through Lily’s mind was that Hannah’s new purple dress was much prettier than her own brown one. But she knew what Mama would have to say about that:
Lily, can’t you think about how wonderful it is to have your cousin here instead of what you are wearing?
Yes, Mama.
But she couldn’t. She wanted Hannah’s purple dress. “Hannah, are you excited for school?” Lily asked.
“Not really,” Hannah said. “I want to help my mother bake pies and cookies today. And I’d rather play outside than have to sit at a desk all day.”
That was shocking news to Lily. Baking cookies and pies was fine but then came washing dishes. Lots and lots of dishes. Besides, how could anyone not love school? She reminded herself that Hannah hadn’t attended school in two years, and the last teacher she’d had was Teacher Katie . . . who was horrible. “School is lots and lots of fun. We get to learn new things. Teacher Rhoda is a very nice teacher. We play with our friends at recess. We can read library books when we get done with all our lessons. And we get to eat special lunches that Mama packs every day. Best of all, we don’t have to wash dishes.”
Lily skipped a few steps. “I like helping Mama work, but school is so much more fun.” She didn’t think that now was the time to mention two individuals who made school very stressful: Effie Kauffman and Aaron Yoder. At any given moment, Lily could be minding her own business and one or the other would create some horrible mischief that was often targeted at her. “This year will be even better. You’re here! We’re both in fourth grade so we’ll get to sit together, eat together, have recess together.” In other words, Effie and Aaron wouldn’t bother Lily as much. Naturally, she didn’t say that to Hannah. There would be plenty of time for the terrible truth.
“What are you having for lunch today?” Hannah asked.
Lily opened her lunch box and peered inside. “I’m having a sandwich, a banana, and two oatmeal raisin cookies. What’s in your lunch?”
Hannah opened her lunch pail, frowning. “Carrot sticks and an egg sandwich.” She snapped the lid to her lunch box shut again.
Uh-oh. Carrot sticks were a problem. Too crunchy. Aaron Yoder often teased Lily when she had carrot sticks in her lunch. “Egg sandwiches are my favorite.” She tried to encourage Hannah, but that lunch of hers was a worry. Levi’s bragging was another worry. He never missed a chance to puff himself up.
By the time the two girls arrived at school, almost all the other children were already there. The first thing Lily wanted to do was to find her desk. She hoped, hoped, hoped that, this year, Aaron Yoder would not be sitting right across the aisle from her.
Lily found her desk and then looked at the desk across the aisle. “Hannah, come look!”
Hannah hurried over to see her name on a small tag. Lily was so happy. The school year was starting out well. Hannah would sit right next to her. No Aaron Yoder!
The girls set to work arranging their new pencils and school supplies in their desks. Then they checked name tags on the other desks. Lily read the one behind hers and groaned. “Noooooooo!”
Hannah looked up. “What’s wrong?”
“Aaron Yoder is sitting right behind me.” How awful. She didn’t want to sit right in front of that terrible boy all year long.
But then she brightened. She wouldn’t have to actually look at Aaron, unless she turned around, and she decided she would never, ever do that. Aaron was invisible to her.
“Children, time to come in!” Teacher Rhoda rang the bell on the school steps and the students scrambled to find their seats. As soon as the class settled down, Teacher Rhoda read a Bible story. And then the new school term began.
Lily opened one of her brand-new books and admired how crisp and clean the pages were. She hoped she could keep it looking nice all year long.
“Fourth grade,” Teacher Rhoda said, “work on assignment one in your math workbook.”
The first assignment of the year! Lily got right to work. It was so good to be back in school and even better to be a fourth grader. She wiggled happily in her seat and picked up her pencil, but it slipped through her fingers and dropped on the floor. She bent down to retrieve it. As she pulled herself up, her head bumped against something. She couldn’t sit up—something was pressing down on the back of her head. She glanced behind her and saw Aaron Yoder with a big goofy grin on his face. He was holding his hand above her head. Lily ducked out of his reach and sat straight up, furious. She reached up to check her prayer covering and try to pouf it where Aaron had squashed it. How infuriating!
Lily glanced over at Hannah, embarrassed and mad. At least, this year, she had an ally against the monkeyshine of Aaron Yoder. But Hannah sat there with a big smile on her face, as if it was funny!
Anger flooded through Lily. “It’s not funny!” she snapped at Hannah, and her cousin’s smile faded.
This was only the first day of school and already Aaron was being difficult. And Hannah was not being an ally at all. Despite Lily’s rule to never turn around in her desk, she turned around. She meant to stick her tongue out at Aaron, but as she turned, her elbow hit her brand-new book on top of her desk and knocked it to the floor. Before she could pick it up, Aaron put his dirty bare foot on it.
Teacher Rhoda noticed. She came back to their seats to see what the commotion was all about. “Aaron, get your foot off of Lily’s book,” she said sternly. Aaron slowly lifted his foot and tucked it back under his desk while Lily picked her book up. She looked at it sadly. It had Aaron’s big, dirty bare footprint on it. He was an awful boy.
The morning melted away. By midafternoon, an autumn haze drifted across the stifling schoolroom. Lily was relieved when school was dismissed. What a disappointing day. She plucked her bonnet from the hook at the back of the schoolhouse, pulled her lunch pail off the shelf, and headed out the door with Hannah.
Levi and Joseph started to run, but Lily didn’t feel like running home from school. She trudged alongside of Hannah.
“I take back every bad thing I ever thought about school,” Hannah said in a far-off voice. She had a strange dreamy look on her face and Lily worried if she might be getting sick. “Isn’t Aaron Yoder the most wonderful boy in school?”
Wonderful? Wonderful? Why, Lily was just this moment thinking he was the worst boy in the state. The world. The universe.
Hannah swung her lunch pail at her side. “He can run faster than any of the other boys at school. And his eyes are such a pretty blue and his hair so nice and curly.” She sighed a little. “Lily, do you think he likes me?”
Lily stopped in her tracks. “Why would you want him to like you? He isn’t nice to any girls. Didn’t you see what he did to my covering?” Her black covering was still squashed. “And don’t forget my book.” How terrible! To have to live with Aaron Yoder’s dirty footprint on her beautiful new book, all year long. “And his hair looks like a wren has moved in and is building a nest.”
Hannah giggled. “You should have seen how surprised you looked when you couldn’t sit up because he was holding his hand above your head.” She giggled harder. “It was so funny!”
Why was Hannah sticking up for Aaron? Lily shot her a look of irritation.
“You were right, Lily. School is exciting,” Hannah said. “And the best part is that Aaron Yoder sits across the aisle from me, and I can look at him whenever I want to.”
Lily shook her head in despair. How sad. Poor Cousin Hannah. She had been without school for so long that she had lost all logic.
All of Lily’s wonderful plans for this school year were evaporating, like a wisp of steam over a teacup. She was so sure that everything would be better this year with Cousin Hannah by her side. Instead, everything was worse.