She sat in the front seat of the Buick and fingered the cream-colored pencil skirt she’d chosen to wear. She wasn’t overly fond of the straight, narrow type of skirt, but according to Marsha pencil skirts were quite stylish. This one happened to be one of Marsha’s hand-me-downs from Allison’s summer trip. Marsha had told her to keep the clothes, that she hadn’t even missed them. Allison had chosen not to wear the matching cream jacket since she thought that might be too dressy. Instead, she’d picked a coral batwing sweater of cashmere, another castoff from Marsha. She hoped it might look more like a high school girl’s outfit, but she still wasn’t sure.
“You look very nice, Allison,” James said as if he sensed her apprehension. “In fact, I’m the one who should be feeling nervous. Any other dad sending a pretty girl like you off to school would probably be packing a shotgun to keep the boys away.”
“Oh, Dad!” she scolded him with a playful smile.
“Hopefully it won’t take too long to fill out the paper work to get your records transferred and all.”
“Dad,” Allison began, “is there any way you could fill out the forms so that it wouldn’t be too obvious who my mother is?”
“You mean you don’t want me to write that she is the famous movie star Marsha Madison, queen of the silver screen?”
“Right. I’d prefer a little anonymity for starters. It would be so nice to just be known for myself. When people find out about Marsha, everything changes. I’ve been imagining life in a normal school with normal kids—just being one of the gang. You know what I mean?”
He nodded. “Sure do. I’ll do everything I can, Allison. To tell you the truth, I’ve never been that comfortable with her fame myself.”
“Thanks, Dad. People like Shirley Jenson would really have a heyday with that sort of information.”
“Don’t worry, she shouldn’t give you any trouble. I’ve never mentioned it to Hal, and I know that your grandpa always kept that part of my life very, very quiet. Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention that Hal invited us to a dinner party on Saturday night. I figured by then you’d have had plenty of time to spend with Heather. I know it’s probably not your idea of a great time, but I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not, Dad. After all, he’s your business partner. Is his mother, Mrs. Jenson, going to be there? I get along pretty well with her. She’s fun.”
“I happen to like her a lot, too, but I doubt that she’ll be there. As much as she loves her son, she barely tolerates her daughter-in-law.”
James pulled up to the front of the school, and suddenly Allison felt her stomach grow queasy. This was it! This was her new school. She tried to convince herself that a new school was nothing compared to some of the things she’d already been through, but somehow she was not able to keep her legs from shaking.
“Grace and I both went to high school here, Allison. Of course, there are probably very few teachers left from my day. As I mentioned, I preregistered you by phone last summer, so I haven’t actually been here in ages. Today you can have a look around while I sign some papers, and maybe you can meet some teachers.”
They entered the big double doors and proceeded down an almost empty hall. Apparently the students were in class.
“James O’Brian?” called a voice. They turned to see a man about James’ age approaching them. “James O’Brian?” he repeated. “I’d know you anywhere!”
“Bob Jackson!” James exclaimed. “Well, I’ll be! What are you doing here?”
“I teach science, if you can believe that.” He grinned mischievously and added in a quiet voice, “Remember when I hid all the dissected frog parts in the girls’ locker room?” He glanced over at Allison. “And who is this?”
“This is my daughter, Allison. We’re here to enroll her in school.”
Bob Jackson’s eyebrows lifted. “Well, then, Allison, I’ll have to swear you to secrecy about that frog bit. Understand?” He grinned, but Allison sensed he was partly serious.
“Sure, uh, Mr. Jackson. Wild horses couldn’t drag that one out of me.”
He slapped her on the back. “I can tell you and I are going to get along fine, Allison.” He turned back to James. “As well as teaching science, I’m also the vice-principal—I have a reputation to maintain.”
“Hi there, Coach Jackson,” said a boy coming around the corner. “Great game last week!”
Mr. Jackson thanked him and waved.
“Coach?”
“Yep, I wear several hats around here. You know how these small schools are, everyone gets into the act. I coach football, and we have a great little team this year.”
“So I’ve heard,” James said. “In fact, a good friend of ours is on your team—Andrew Amberwell.”
“You bet! That Andrew is something! My star quarterback. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if that kid got a college scholarship.”
James grinned. “Glad to hear it! I’ve been out East since the season began. Can’t wait to make the next game!”
“That would be this Friday. Home game, too.” Suddenly, Mr. Jackson grew more serious. “Say, James, I heard you were the one living in the lighthouse all these years. To think that all this time we thought you’d died in the war. Sure glad it wasn’t true!”
“Me too!”
Mr. Jackson laughed and slapped James on the back. “Well, it’s great to see you. Don’t let me keep you from getting Allison all set up.” He turned to Allison. “And welcome to Port View High, home of the Port View Pirates. I think you’ll like it here, Allison.” He turned to make his way down the hall, then paused as if remembering something. “Say, are you still doing your art, James?”
“I’m afraid so.” He smiled sheepishly.
“You remember my older brother, Clyde, don’t you? He runs an art gallery in Portland. Do you have anything you’d like to be shown?”
“Actually, I have quite a collection, and I’ve started placing them in some small shops.”
“Then I’ll give Clyde a call for you.”
“I’d appreciate that, Bob. Thanks.”
The two men shook hands, and James began to move toward what Allison assumed was the office. She was beginning to feel a little more comfortable. It was nice to know that the vice-principal was a friend of her dad’s. Just then a bell rang and kids began pouring from classes, and everyone seemed to be going a different direction. She quickly tried to study the girls to see how they were dressed, but it was just a kaleidoscope of color moving in a fast blur.
“Allison!” exclaimed a female voice with a familiar shrill. Allison didn’t even need to look.
“Hi, Shirley,” she said, determined to be nice, if only for her dad’s benefit.
“Oh, it’s so good to see you,” Shirley gushed. “And you look so adorable! Are those your new school clothes?”
In that split second Allison was painfully aware that she was dressed completely wrong and totally out of place. She did a fast inventory of Shirley’s outfit, not that she wanted to follow Shirley’s fashion lead, but it seemed that even Shirley fit in better than she did. In fact, Shirley didn’t look half bad in her navy blue sweater and matching wool pencil skirt. The skirt was cut like Allison’s but more schoolish-looking. Shirley’s sweater was trimmed in smart-looking bands of red, and she had a matching scarf tied jauntily around her neck. Then Allison glanced down at Shirley’s feet to spy penny loafers and bobby socks turned down neatly.
“I already heard the good news, Allison!” Shirley didn’t seem to be worried about being tardy for her next class as she continued. “I think it’s so great that you’re going to live here. I just know we’re going to be best friends. And Daddy said you are coming for dinner on Saturday. I just can’t wait—” Another bell rang, and the halls grew quiet again. “Oops,” she exclaimed with a giggle, her eyes wide. “I guess I’m late again. See you later, Allison—Mr. O’Brian.”
“Bye, Shirley,” James said with a crooked smile and lifted brows. He turned to Allison and repea
ted, “Best friends?”
Allison laughed. “I’ll try to be nice to her, Dad, but best friends is definitely out of the question.”
“Well, I’m sure Heather will be relieved to hear that.”
It took nearly an hour to fill out the forms and meet several more faculty members. By the time they finished, another bell had rung and Allison stood in the doorway of the office, looking on again as students passed through the hallway to their next class. She saw Heather walk by with a chunky blond girl whom Allison had never seen before, but she decided not to interrupt them. No need to make them late. Besides, she would see Heather later.
As Allison watched the students, she noticed that most of the girls wore simple tweed or plaid skirts, usually pleated or A-line, but very few pencil skirts. On top they wore blouses or sweaters, but she saw no one dressed quite as formally as she was. She didn’t even see anyone dressed like Shirley. Most of the female feet that hurried down the hallway wore brown-and-white saddle oxfords with turned-down anklets. Maybe this wouldn’t be so difficult after all.
“Are you ready to go?” James interrupted her thoughts. “They said you can start classes tomorrow, but I thought you might need a couple days to recover from your long trip yesterday.”
Allison linked her arm into her dad’s and smiled. “Sounds good. And now that I have an idea of what girls wear to high school, I think I’m ready to do a little school wardrobe shopping. Do you think you can handle that, or should I talk to Grace?”
James grinned. “I wouldn’t mind giving it a try myself, Allison. It couldn’t be any worse than fighting the war in Europe.”
“Don’t bet on it, Dad.”
After they got home, Allison took a quick inventory of what she already had to wear to school. Surprisingly, there were a couple of things that seemed suitable, but there were still quite a few holes to fill, and a pair of saddle shoes was a must. She made out a short list, then ran downstairs to tell her father. She knew this would mean another trip to Port View since Tamaqua Point had little to offer other than the general store, post office, gas station, and café.
“Allison.” James was sitting at Grandpa’s desk, and he looked up with a big smile. “I just had a phone call from Mr. Jackson’s brother in Portland, remember the one with the art gallery?”
“You mean Mr. Jackson already called him?”
James nodded. “It turns out that Clyde Jackson is having an exhibit of Oregon coastal paintings this weekend. He has invited me to bring some of mine over.”
“Dad, that’s great! When do we leave?”
James laughed and looked at his watch. “Well, when can you be ready?”
“You mean like right this minute?”
“Sure, why not? Didn’t you say you needed some things for school? Why not kill two birds with one stone?”
“That sounds like something Grandpa would say,” Allison said with a grin.
“Why, thank you.”
“What’s this I hear?” Muriel asked. “Are you two getting ready to run out on me again? Don’t you know I have a roast cooking? I thought we were having the Amberwells for dinner.”
James slapped his palm to his forehead. “I completely forgot. Of course, Muriel, you’re right.” He looked at Allison. “First thing in the morning, then?”
“Sounds perfect. And I wouldn’t want to miss the chance to see Heather and everyone. Muriel, can I help you in the kitchen?”
“How about a nice bouquet for the table, Allison. I think there are still some flowers in your grandmother’s garden. And then perhaps you could set the table.”
“And I’ll go begin wrapping my paintings,” James told them.
Just as Allison finished arranging the flowers, the phone rang.
“Hi, Allison, this is Shirley. You’ll never believe what happened today.”
“What happened?” Allison asked, trying to sound cheerful.
Shirley giggled. “Well, I went into the office right after you left and explained to Miss Sharp, she’s the secretary, that since you and I were such good friends and all, it would probably be nice if she could arrange our schedules so we could have some classes together.”
Allison frowned. “So, uh, what did Miss Sharp do?”
“She gave you the exact same schedule as mine!” More giggling. “Isn’t that fab?”
Allison closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. She didn’t know what to say. She felt sick.
“Allison? Allison, are you still there?”
“Yes, Shirley. I’m here.”
“Isn’t it great news? I knew when I saw you today that we were going to be best friends. I know we didn’t exactly hit it off last summer, but that was before I knew I was going to be living here. Now everything will be just swell!”
Allison sighed. “I sure hope so, Shirley.”
“You don’t sound very excited.”
“I guess I’m just tired.”
“Of course, with all your traveling you probably are. Will you be in school tomorrow?”
“Actually, Dad and I are going to Portland tomorrow to take some paintings and do some shopping. I’ll probably start school on Friday.”
“A trip to Portland sounds like fun. Well, I guess I’ll see you on Friday, then. Good-bye!”
Allison hung up the phone wondering if she was being unfair. Perhaps she had misjudged Shirley. But somewhere deep inside she didn’t think so.
“What’s the matter, Allison?” James asked as he came around the corner with several paintings in his hand. “You look like you just lost your best friend.”
“No, I think I’ve just acquired a new best friend. Not that I was looking.”
“Shirley Jenson?”
Allison nodded. “She has seen to it that we have the same classes scheduled.”
James smiled. “Well, that was thoughtful of her. She probably just wants to help you adjust to school.”
Allison sighed. “I hope that’s all it is.” Then she remembered something. “Hey, I thought Shirley was almost a year older than me, Dad. Shouldn’t she be a sophomore?”
“Hal told me that Shirley had a serious illness when she was young and missed a lot of school, so they held her back a year. I’m sure that was hard on her. She could probably use a good friend, being new and all.”
“I’ll try to be nice to her, Dad, but I can’t promise anything.”
Before long, Allison finished setting the table and stepped back to admire the pretty room. This room, like so many others, reminded Allison of Grandmother Mercury. It was decorated in pale yellow and cream. Allison was fairly certain that yellow was her grandmother’s favorite color.
“It looks lovely,” Muriel said from the doorway. “And now you can do something else for me, dear.”
“Sure, anything, Muriel.”
“I want you to go take a little nap.”
“A nap?”
“Yes, dear. You may not feel like it, but you look very tired to me. You did a lot of traveling, and I know there’s a time difference between here and the East Coast.” Muriel touched Allison’s cheek. “And you have these wee little black shadows beneath your eyes. So I’m not asking you, I’m telling you—go have a little rest.”
Allison smiled. “You’re probably right, Muriel. Thanks.”
Allison hardly remembered closing her eyes, but when she opened them it was getting dusky in her room and her clock said it was almost six. By the time she got downstairs, the Amberwells were coming through the front door. Allison met Heather with a big hug.
“I still can’t believe you’re here, Allison,” said Heather. “I kept thinking that I dreamed the whole thing.”
“I told her this morning that it was real,” Winston said importantly.
“Muriel says dinner won’t be ready for about half an hour,” James said. “I’ve got a nice fire going in the library.”
“How about a quick game of chess?” Andrew challenged.
James laughed. “I was wondering when you would
ask. Just can’t wait to whip me again, can you?”
Allison took Heather’s arm and led her toward the parlor. “You’ll never believe what happened today, Heather,” she said quietly.
Grace smiled. “You two! If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were sisters separated at birth—it’s great to see you together again.”
Allison grinned and continued to the parlor, launching into the story of Shirley and the class schedule.
“You’re kidding?” Heather groaned.
“Nope. I couldn’t believe it, either.”
Heather was quiet for a long moment. “Shirley was quite friendly to me, too, at first. . . .”
“Then what happened?”
“Not much. I’ve always treated her nicely, but I think it bothers her that I can’t see.”
“Well, that’s probably lucky for you, Heather. I hope she gives up on me, too. Hey, I saw you at school today. You were walking with a blond girl—”
“That’s Caroline. She’s very sweet. She was my friend in school last year, too. She volunteered to be my guide in high school, and she has every class with me.”
“Sort of like Shirley and me.”
Heather laughed. “The good news is now I know that I will have two classes with you because I already have them with Shirley. We’ll have home economics right before lunch and then algebra at the end of the day. That will be swell having you in algebra. I could use some help in that class.”
“Then you better not count on me.”
“Math’s not your specialty, either? Maybe we can both have Andrew do some tutoring.”
Allison wondered how Heather managed to keep up with all her classes. It couldn’t be easy, and Allison knew there weren’t Braille books for everything. But Heather was smart, and Grace probably helped a lot, too.
“Is this a private conversation?” asked Grace as she poked her head through the doorway.
“Of course not,” said Allison. “Come into the ladies’ parlor and join us.”
“I think Muriel is about ready to call us to dinner. Allison, James said you were going shopping for some new clothes tomorrow, and I wondered if you’d like me to have a look at any of your other clothes. We might be able to alter some things so they work for school. I got pretty handy doing alterations with all the deprivations during the war.”
Allison O'Brian on Her Own, Volume 2 Page 3