Part 12 (1/2)

The tables did look tempting. ”First lunch” saw the whole array of pretty salads and desserts, the chief temptations to the pupils, the steaming meats and vegetables, so good in cold weather. Cafeteria fas.h.i.+on, the long line pa.s.sed, choosing what to put on their trays, and oh, the noise, within the concrete floors and walls! Sue said to Janet, as they walked along, that she was fairly deafened; but she had no sooner sat down with the other girls at the table where places had been successfully held for them by Mary Emma, then she began ”shouting” with the rest to be heard.

Betty saw to it that her guests had a good selection of viands, for neither Sue nor Janet were inclined to take enough, not wanting to run up the price for their young hostess. ”Mer_cee_, Betty, do you want to kill us?” asked Janet as Betty placed a particularly toothsome looking fruit dessert in her tray, in addition to the modest piece of pie which she had herself selected.

”Oh, no, not yet, Janet. Remember the turkey we're going to have tomorrow; but you must have nourishment!”

Carolyn's tray was slimly furnished, Janet thought, and she wondered if she could not afford to get more; or did she just like desserts? Peggy had meat, dressing and gravy and a fruit salad, of which she began to dispose with some haste, though daintily enough. Sue and Janet concluded that they must not look around too much, though the surroundings were so interesting, but apply themselves to the contents of their trays, not a difficult task, since everything was so good.

”Is there anything else you'd like, girls? I can go back as easily as not,” said Betty, pouring milk from a bottle into her gla.s.s.

”No, indeed,” answered both the girls together. ”We have too much now,”

added Janet.

”If you can hear what I say,” called Carolyn across the table, around whose end the girls had gathered, ”will you, Janet and Sue, come with Betty to our house Friday evening after dinner? Say about half-past seven or eight o'clock? I'll call up, too, Friday some time. I'm going to have a few of the boys and girls to meet your cousins, Betty.”

”Oh, how lovely, Carolyn, but I should have the little party myself. I can't let you do it. I was going to ask you and Peggy and Mary Emma and several other girls for Sat.u.r.day. I had to wait to make sure that the girls really got here, you know.”

”Well, that would be just as nice as can be, Betty. I'd love to come, but I know such a lot of the boys and girls, so please come to our house.”

”We could do both, then,” said Betty.

”All right, we'll see about it, then,” a.s.sented Carolyn. ”Oh, yes, Chet, see you right after school!”

Carolyn had turned to answer Chet Dorrance, who spoke to her, tipping his chair and leaning back from the next table. A crowd of boys there were not uninterested in the little group of girls, whose demure glances had been cast in their direction occasionally.

”That's Budd, Janet, next to Chet,” Betty was saying, ”and Kathryn's brother Chauncey is right across at that other table, the boy that just sat down there with his tray. They're all soph.o.m.ores. But there's a freshman bunch at the next table. I told you about Budd and Chauncey and some of the rest when I wrote you about Carolyn's house party, didn't I?”

”Maybe you did, Betty, but I can't remember, only about those you 'rave'

about, like Carolyn.”

”I imagine that you'll meet a lot of them at Carolyn's. Isn't it wonderful of her to entertain for us? I think I did say to her not to have too much planned for Sat.u.r.day and that I was hoping that nothing would happen to keep you girls from coming. I was pretty scared about it when I heard from Sue that her mother was half sick; but you did come, thank fortune!”

It was more easily possible for bits of conversation with one person to be held, since when more were included it was necessary to raise the voice. The general conversation and laughter, the jingle of silver and the clatter of trays and dishes seemed to be louder than the numbers served would justify, although there was no special carelessness among the boys and girls, and oversight made rude scuffling or trick playing impossible, had there been any temptation or time for it. ”It's just this big, echoing room, Sue,” said Janet, for both visitors noticed it.

”But it's lots of fun, and such good eats for next to nothing, according to what Betty says.”

”They just charge enough to cover expenses, of food and help and so on,”

said Betty, who had turned back from talking to Kathryn in time to hear this last. ”How was the pie, Janet?”

”Grand; good as home-made.”

”It _is_ 'home-made.' I wish we had time to go back and see all the place they have to cook and bake. Well, we can't do everything in one day, can we?”

”We are doing enough,” replied Janet. ”My brain is whirling as it is, going from one thing to another and trying to remember who is who and what is what.”

”Don't try,” said smiling Betty. ”I'll tell you again, or remind you. I felt the same way at first, and remember that I had to learn to live it and do itthemeverything!”

On the way out Betty had a chance to point out, figuratively speaking, both Freddy Fisher and the ”Don” of football fame, and she almost ran into Ted Dorrance in the hall. ”Say,” said he, catching Betty's shoulder for a moment, ”we seem to run each other down, don't we? Oh, beg pardon!” The last expression was addressed to Janet, whom he had brushed against in avoiding Betty and a crowd of teachers that were coming from the opposite dining hall, sacred to the instructors of youth.