Chapter Eighteen: The New Day
By Jason Goldtrap
On Monday morning, Sarah awoke with the rooster’s crow. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and saw a lone, delicate ray breaking through a gap the shades. She felt as if the world was new, the biggest present beneath the Christmas tree with a bright red ribbon. ‘For Sarah’ embossed on the delicate tag, outlined in silver.
At school, she fidgeted with her papers to occupy her mind. She was lost in thought, wondering what would happen next. The other young men and women meandered into the classroom. Emily scurried in, she did not say anything aloud but her concern for Sarah was quite evident. Sarah mouthed,
“I’m ok.”
A spelling test, history of the world, geometry and, there was the bell, lunch. As the young men and women alit from their posts, Mrs. Grayson approached Sarah and Emily’s desk.
“Sarah?,”
she said in a soft tone, “Might I speak with you, alone?”
Emily conceded.
“I’ll be outside.”
Mrs. Grayson waited until Emily had left the room. “For reasons she did not need to explain, Lynn Watson has withdrawn from the rhetoric competition in Helena this Saturday.”
Sarah’s head popped up.
"Huh?"
Mrs. Grayson smiled.
“She was going to go with her mother, but, well, now we two extra tickets. I should give them to the runner-up. Is there anyone you would like to take with you to Helena?”
Sarah grabbed her hand.
“Oh,”
she laughed.
“absolutely.”
Mrs. Grayson winked. “I thought you might.”
Sarah bolted from her bench and scrambled down the hall, through the door of the schoolhouse to the shaded spot which Emily had affectionately named, Solitude.
“Em? Em? What are you going to wear?”
Emily shook her head. “What am I going to wear when?”
“When we board the train Friday at 3 pm for Helena!” She held aloft the prized tickets.
“Sarah? Sarah?” She touched the tickets. “I don’t believe it!” They grabbed hands and danced back and forth.
“A long ride, in style, out of Crummy Creek?”
Emily looked side to side.
“A dinner car, Sarah, a dinner car?”
Sarah looked at her itinerary.
“A Pullman, with bunk beds!”
“Croissants with strawberries for breakfast? Sarah, I am in heaven.”
She continued reading,
“Your train will arrive at the Great Northern Railway Station at exactly 9:02 am.”
“Give me that itinerary,” Emily almost pushed her hand aside.
“You will check in at the Grandon Hotel… which will have a large banner, ‘Welcome Miss Emily Clementine, the most beautiful girl in the world!’”
Sarah grabbed the paper and scanned it with her eyes, half expecting it to be true.
“Funny, Em.”
“The rhetoric competition will begin at 4:00 pm at Jennings University, just a few blocks south of the Grandon. The subject, blah, blah, who cares, afterwards there will be,” Emily paused and then sighed. Her eyes were open wide and her voice drew to a crescendo. “A banquet and a dance!”
Sarah, snapped the piece of paper, they tussled and agreed to each examine it carefully.
Emily continued,
“The Chrysanthemum Ball! A dance! Oh Sarah, we’re going to a dance at a college!”
Sarah threw her arms into the air as if cheering over the good fortune and fun to come.
Emily sighed.
“Oh Sarah, how can I thank you?”
Sarah replied,
“Remember the Friendship Cake? You deserve this weekend, Emily.”
They hugged again.
When they broke off the embrace, Sarah happened to look across Emily's shoulder.
Lynn waved.
Sarah waved back.
