The blood raced to Laura’s cheeks. "I may disagree with Mr. Blair in class," she said, trying to keep the tremor from her voice, "but I’m not a poor student." Her tone became defensive. "Mr. Blair dislikes me because I’m associated with the suffragists."
"Hmmm." Mr. Cole leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing and making a pyramid of his fingers. "I must admit," he said dryly, "I don’t have much love for them myself."
Laura’s heart sank. There would be no justice at the hands of an antisuffragist!
"Nonetheless," he continued, "the suffragists have nothing to do with this."
Miss Emerson spoke up. "Let me tell you about Laura Mitchell, Mr. Cole."
Mr. Cole swiveled his chair around and gave Miss Emerson a piercing look.
Miss Emerson, attractive in a dark dress with a large red bow at the throat, smiled reassuringly at Laura, and then calmly addressed Mr. Cole. "Laura is an excellent English student and does very well in every subject except history. In fact" — she dug into her briefcase — "here’s a sample of several of her papers."
Mr. Cole took them and leafed through them, nodding approvingly.
"Laura is also a very caring person," Miss Emerson continued. "She’s involved in other activities besides the suffragists, such as a motorcade unit and the Red Cross."
Laura looked down at her hands to hide the pleasant glow brought on by Miss Emerson’s praise.
Mr. Cole cleared his throat. "I respect your opinion, Miss Emerson, and I don’t think cutting one day of class warrants an expulsion hearing before the Board."
Laura’s head jerked up, and she was unable to hide her broad smile.
"But," Mr. Cole proceeded sternly, "you must serve a week’s detention, and any more incidents with Mr. Blair will be severely dealt with." He paused. "Do you understand, young lady?"
"Oh, yes, sir," she said softly, happiness bursting inside her like fireworks. Mr. Cole was actually giving her another chance. How wonderful! She couldn’t wait to tell her mother and Sarah.
"Very well, then," Mr. Cole said firmly. "We’ll expect exemplary behavior from you, Laura." He gave her a nod. "You’re dismissed."
She jumped up, wanting to hug him, but she only backed toward the door and said, "Thank you, sir," and as she turned the knob, she repeated, "Thank you, sir."
When Miss Emerson came out a few minutes later, Laura couldn’t contain herself. She hugged Miss Emerson and exclaimed, "I have you to thank for helping me. You don’t know what this means to me."
"Nonsense," Miss Emerson said with a twinkle in her eye. "You could have persuaded Mr. Cole on your own, but one thing I’m not so certain about…."
"And that is?" Laura asked.
"Being an exemplary student." She grinned. "Think you can manage that?"
"Just watch me," Laura promised, and she laughed gleefully.
After school Laura raced toward Cassie’s locker, eager to share her news.
Down the hall, Cassie was opening her locker.
"Cassie!" Laura shouted. "Cassie! It’s all right! I’m allowed to stay in school!"
Cassie spun around, dropping her books and, even in her hobble skirt, managed to run and hug Laura. "You’re not going to be expelled?" she asked. Usually so dignified, she was fairly jumping up and down. "Tell me what happened."
The two girls walked back, picked up Cassie’s books, and went out the double doors.
Laura squeezed Cassie’s arm. "I still can’t believe it. Mr. Cole was very stern, and I thought he would no more listen to me than to a mop. When I saw that he was intent on what I had to say, I relaxed a little."
"Was Mr. Blair at the conference?"
"No, thank heavens, but Mr. Cole read a list of grievances that he’d sent." She grimaced, glancing at Cassie. "You should have heard them. Mr. Blair kept mentioning class attitude. Fortunately Miss Emerson spoke up in my defense, and she refuted every charge Mr. Blair made against me. I wish you could have seen her — she was sincere, vital, and humorous. She even had brought in several of my A essays.
"What a week for you, Laura. I’m glad it’s almost over, not only for you, but also for the suffragists!"
"Yes, worrying about leaving school was the worst part. Today, when we read that phrase from James Russell Lowell in English class, I thought how well it fit me. Remember the line, The misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never come?"
Cassie turned to face Laura. "I’m so glad for you." She gazed steadily at Laura, her eyes warm. "You know, I should have been in Mr. Cole’s office with you." She slightly moved her elegant, broad shoulders. "But you know Father forced me to attend school on Monday."
"It’s okay," Laura said gently. "I’m glad to have you as a friend. We always seem to agree, and no one will ever separate us. I could have been dragged to school, too, that day, if I’d confided in Mother. But that’s all behind us. Now we’ve got to get through history. At least we’re facing Mr. Blair together. I don’t think I could stand another day of his class if you weren’t there also, Cassie." Her eyes softened. "It’s a good feeling to know you’re in this whole thing with me, and I don’t mean just Mr. Blair but the suffragists, too."
"And what would I do without you?" Cassie said, smiling. Then she glanced at her watch. "In fact, I’m supposed to be on duty right now, from four to six o’clock. The pickets will want their coffee right on the dot of four-thirty." She shifted her books, glancing at Laura. "What are your hours?"
"From six to eight." Laura sighed, feeling it was all about to end. "Just think, at midnight it will all be over, and Chief Bentley has promised to leave us alone."
"Why are you headed toward the White House? Aren’t you going in the wrong direction?" Cassie asked curiously.
"I promised to meet Shawn for a cup of tea at the corner of Fifteenth Street." She caught her breath. "In fact, there he is now," she said, pointing.
"Hmmm," Cassie said, observing the soldier leaning against a lamppost. "He’s handsome." Just then Shawn turned his head and saw them.
"The way he’s rushing to meet you, it looks like you two are long-lost lovers." Cassie’s laugh lingered in the warm May air. "It looks serious between you two." She gave Laura a sidelong glance beneath long, dark lashes. "What about Joe?"
"Joe’s still special." Laura paused. "Both boys are special but in very different ways." Her pace picked up, and so did her heartbeat, as she returned Shawn’s wave.
"Well, the main thing is that you’re enjoying them. Just stay out of trouble so you can keep on enjoying them," Cassie warned. "I don’t want you taking any more trips to Mr. Cole’s office."
"Believe me, that’s one place I want to keep away from! In fact, if I’m sent there again for my suffragist activities, Mr. Cole personally threatened to take me before the Board."
When Shawn crossed the street and caught up to the two girls, he was breathless. "Laura, hi!"
"Oh, Shawn. It’s good to see you," Laura said, her face beaming. "Everything is all right," she said, almost bubbling over. "I’ll be able to stay in school."
"Great!" He gave her that old familiar grin, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pecked her on the cheek. Lifting his head, he peered quizzically at Cassie.
"Shawn, this is my good friend, Cassie Whiting. Cassie, meet Shawn O’Brien."
"Well, hello," Shawn said in a low voice, stepping forward and holding out his hand. "Where has Laura been hiding you?" Folding his arms across his chest, he gazed approvingly at Cassie’s tall, lithe figure. "I’ve heard a lot about you from Laura."