New Horizons

by Lois Gladys Leppard

  “Oh yes,” Mary Lou said. “You see, my father keeps records for quite a few companies, and I’d like to be able to help him. He really has more than he can handle, and if I can learn the basics, he won’t have to hire someone else.”

  Mandie looked at her and grinned. “I’m glad you are. My grandmother says that someday I will inherit lots of business from her, so she wants me to marry someone who would be able to handle everything. But I don’t want to have to rely on that plan, so I have decided I will learn it all myself. Who knows? I may never even get married.” She laughed.

  “Oh, I believe you will marry someday,” Mary Lou countered. “But it is an excellent idea to learn the business yourself.”

  “Well, I know I’d never be able to handle money,” Celia said with a sigh.

  “And I will never know music the way you do,” Mandie said. “And when you get to be a world-renowned pianist or soloist, then I can say I knew you when you were just learning!” She smiled.

  “Oh, Mandie, I’m not aiming for fame,” Celia protested. “I only want to do this for myself and my family and friends, and maybe someday I’ll be able to play or sing for a wedding or a birthday party or such.”

  “And we’ll be right there with you when you do,” Mary Lou said. “In fact, you might need Mandie or me to handle all that money you will make.”

  Celia frowned and said, “But I’m not doing it for money. It’s just for my own enjoyment, because someday I expect to get married.”

  “To anyone in particular?” Mandie teased. “Like someone by the name of Robert?”

  “Well, who knows?” Celia quickly replied. “But I do expect to meet other interesting young men. After all, we are still very young. I know, of course, that Joe Woodard thinks he will marry you, Mandie, but I don’t think that will actually come to pass.”

  “You are both well ahead of me when it comes to boys. I have never had a steady fellow, so to speak,” Mary Lou informed them with a little laugh. “But I’m not in a hurry to find one, either.”

  The registrar at the head of the room tapped the inkwell on her desk as she said loudly, “Young ladies, may I have your attention please?” She waited a moment for the conversations to cease and then said, “If you have no questions regarding your schedules, you are dismissed. You may go by your classrooms, where you will find instructors available to answer any questions you may have about their classes. As you already know, you will report for chapel services every school day after breakfast, and then you will be off to your first class immediately thereafter. Thank you.”

  Everyone got up to leave the chapel.

  Mandie, Celia, and Mary Lou paused just outside the doorway in the hall.

  “Let’s go look and see what the instructor of our business class looks like,” Mandie suggested to Mary Lou. Then turning to Celia she said, “And we’ll go with you to see the music teacher.”

  The girls easily found the business classroom and were surprised to see how small it was. A tall young woman wearing spectacles was sitting behind the desk at the far end of the room. No one else was in sight.

  Mandie led the way across the room toward the woman. “Are you Miss Mooney?”

  “Yes, I am. What can I do for you?” the woman asked.

  “I am Amanda Shaw, and this is Mary Lou Dunnigan and Celia Hamilton. Mary Lou and I have both been assigned to your business class,” Mandie explained.

  “Welcome.” The young woman gave the girls a pleasant smile, then continued. “I hope you will enjoy learning about the world of money. It really is quite fascinating.” Then looking at Celia, the young teacher said, “But, Miss Hamilton, you are not enrolled in my business class?”

  “No, ma’am,” Celia replied. “I am here to study music.”

  “How very interesting,” Miss Mooney replied. “I also studied music in college, but I never seemed to fit into it. My father urged me to turn to business, which I did, and I have found I am much better at it.”

  After a few more minutes with Miss Mooney, Mandie told the young teacher that they had to be on their way, and the girls said good-bye and turned to leave the room.

  When they got into the hall, Celia suggested that they go look at the music classroom. “So I can see who the instructor is,” she said.

  “Of course,” Mandie replied.

  “Lead the way,” Mary Lou added.

  The music room was much more difficult to find than the business classroom was, but they finally found it at the back of the building, way up on the top floor, more or less isolated. There was no instructor there.

  Mandie teased Celia, “They’ve put your class all the way up here so the rest of us won’t be disturbed by all those wrong notes and loud vocal exercises.”

  “Well, naturally they couldn’t have us noisy people disturbing the entire school,” Celia replied.

  The main classroom was huge, and there were three smaller adjoining rooms with a piano in each. No one seemed to be around.

  “I was hoping I’d get to meet the instructor,” Celia said, inspecting the rooms.

  After looking at all of the music rooms, the three inspected other classrooms, too. The English composition class seemed to be large. Quite a few other students were roaming around there. But the girls were surprised to find even more students crowding in to inspect the arts class.

  “Hmm,” Mandie said at the doorway as they looked inside the crowded room. “Seems like everyone is taking art.”

  “I see April Snow and Polly Cornwallis in there,” Celia said.

  “Some of those people may be onlookers only, like us,” Mary Lou said. “So everyone here may not be an art student.”

  “Of course,” Mandie agreed.

  After looking into all the classrooms in the building, the three girls went downstairs to the sitting room on the main floor. A lot of the other girls were already there and moving about the room. Mandie found a vacant settee in the far corner and said, “Let’s get that before someone else does.” She headed to it, and Celia and Mary Lou followed.

  As they sat down, Mandie looked across the room and saw the tall dark-haired girl who had been in line with her the first day for registration. The girl looked directly at Mandie but did not smile or speak. She seemed to be alone and was not talking with anyone else.

  “Don’t look now, but there’s that girl I told you about who was in line with me during registration,” Mandie said to Celia. “And she is staring at me.”

  “Oh, I know who she is,” Mary Lou said. “She got the scholarship that I had applied for. The scholarship offered not only tuition, but also room and board. I didn’t need it since I live so close by and don’t have to stay in the dormitory.”

  “Oh, what is her name?” Mandie asked.

  “Um, I can’t remember right off, but she’s not from Charleston,” Mary Lou said. “I believe she’s from North Carolina.”

  “North Carolina?” Mandie repeated in surprise. “So am I. I wonder where in North Carolina she’s from?”

  “I don’t know, but I can try to find out for you if you really want to know,” Mary Lou promised. “I have spoken a few words with her a couple of times and could ask her next time I run into her.”

  “If you think of it, all right, but don’t go to any trouble to find out,” Mandie replied. “Sooner or later I’m sure I’ll meet her in a class or somewhere, and I can talk to her then.”

  “Are you staying for the noon meal today?” Celia asked Mary Lou.

  “No. I was just going to say that since we are free to go for the rest of the day, I should get home,” Mary Lou replied.

  “I just remembered something,” Mandie said suddenly. “Mr. Ryland is probably out there waiting for us to give him our schedule so he’ll know when we would be free to go somewhere.”

  “Oh, I had already forgotten. Let’s walk outside and see if he’s there,” Celia said, rising as the others joined her.

  “I’ll go with you,” Mary Lou said.

  The three hur
ried out to the road where the carriages were parked, and sure enough, Mr. Ryland was there with their carriage. When he saw them coming, he stepped down from his seat with his hat in his hand.

  “Oh, Mr. Ryland, I’m sorry we forgot that you would be waiting,” Mandie apologized. “We’ve got our schedules, and I don’t think we’ll be needing the carriage in the mornings.”

  “Are you sure, young lady?” Mr. Ryland asked. “The carriage is yours, and I am your driver whenever you would like to use it.”

  Mandie had a sudden idea. She turned to Mary Lou and asked, “Are you leaving now to go home?”

  “Yes, I think I’d better,” Mary Lou replied.

  Turning back to Mr. Ryland, Mandie said, “You could take Mary Lou home since we don’t need the carriage today.” Then she showed Mr. Ryland their schedule of classes, all of which were before noon. “So you see, we won’t be needing the carriage in the mornings.”

  “Then I will be back after noon tomorrow to check with you again,” Mr. Ryland said. “But right now I would be glad to give your friend a ride home, if she needs it.”

  “Go ahead, Mary Lou, and let Mr. Ryland take you home,” Mandie urged. “It will save you having to hire a carriage.”

  Mary Lou stepped up into the carriage and said, “Thank you, Mandie. Let’s all meet in chapel tomorrow morning.”

  “Yes, that sounds perfect.” Mandie and Celia waved to Mary Lou as Mr. Ryland drove the carriage down the street.

  Then the two girls turned and hurried back toward the college to get to the dining hall in time for the noon meal.

  chapter 5

  The next day everything seemed to settle down into a routine. Mandie and Celia went to breakfast in the dining hall and then to chapel, where they found Mary Lou waiting for them. She had saved two seats next to her.

  Mary Lou whispered to Mandie, “I just spoke with the girl you asked about. Her name is Grace Wilson, and she is studying art, in preparation for a career as a dress designer. She is from Raleigh, North Carolina.”

  “That’s way upstate; nowhere near where I come from in Macon County,” Mandie replied. “And she is going to be a dress designer. That’s probably why all her clothes look unfamiliar from anything I’ve seen in the stores; she must make them herself.”

  “Probably. I’m sure it is great practice,” Mary Lou replied.

  Celia leaned across Mandie to speak to Mary Lou. “Mandie and I are in the first class of English composition. Is that the one you are in?”

  “Yes, and since it’s required of all the students, and there are only three classes per day, I imagine it will be a huge class,” Mary Lou replied.

  Reverend Coggins, the school’s minister, stepped up onto the stage, tapped lightly on the pulpit, cleared his voice, and loudly said, “Good morning, young ladies.”

  “Good morning,” came the loud reply from the entire audience.

  Mandie and her friends straightened up and listened as he discussed the Ten Commandments and how they would apply in this school. The young, handsome reverend spoke with a loud, clear voice that held the attention of every girl in the room.

  As soon as they were dismissed, Celia whispered to Mandie, “I do believe the reverend is from Virginia, my home state. Did you hear his accent? It’s just like mine!”

  Mandie grinned at her and said, “I wonder if he is single?”

  “Oh, Mandie,” Celia replied, blushing in spite of herself.

  Mary Lou had overheard Mandie’s comment and said to her friends, “I hear that he is single and lives in the small house way back there in the school’s backyard.” Then she looked directly at Celia and added, “And I hear his mother lives with him.”

  “Oh, come on, we have a class to get to,” Celia said, pushing her way through the crowd.

  The mornings were filled with three different classes before the noonday meal. No classes were scheduled in the afternoons because of the heat and humidity. The girls were expected to stay in their rooms and study then.

  Mandie and Celia walked with Mary Lou again after classes to where Mr. Ryland was waiting with the carriage.

  “Mr. Ryland, we are not going anywhere this afternoon,” Mandie told the man. “However, if you would please take Mary Lou home again today, we would appreciate it.”

  “Yes, miss. My pleasure,” Mr. Ryland replied.

  “Mandie, you can’t keep doing this,” Mary Lou protested. “I am supposed to get a hired hack to go home when my father is not coming for me.”

  “I believe Mr. Ryland goes home near where you live, so it’s not really out of his way,” Mandie said, then spoke to Mr. Ryland. “Isn’t that right?”

  “Yes, miss, I go down the very street where the miss lives on my way home each day,” Mr. Ryland replied.

  “Well, all right, Mandie. I really appreciate the ride,” Mary Lou told her. “However, my mother has already said you and Celia must come to our house one Saturday and spend the day with us.”

  “Oh, that would be nice,” Mandie said.

  Turning to Celia, Mary Lou added, “And I have a player piano.”

  Celia’s eyes opened wide. “You really do?”

  “Yes. My great-aunt gave it to me last year. And I have lots of rolls of music to play on it.”

  “I would really love to come to see you, Mary Lou, and see that piano,” Celia said.

  “Well, what about next Saturday?” Mandie asked Mary Lou. “Would that be suitable for your mother?”

  “I’m sure it would be, but I’ll ask anyway and let you know tomorrow,” Mary Lou promised.

  As Mr. Ryland drove the carriage off, another carriage came up and stopped in the parking space. Mandie saw the British fellow, George Stuart, and a dark-haired young man step down to the street.

  Mandie looked at George Stuart just as he looked at her. She blushed and told Celia, “Come on, let’s hurry.” She started walking back toward the college. The two fellows were following, and she heard George say, “I’m sorry that I cannot speak to the young lady, because I have not been properly introduced.”

  The other fellow laughed and asked, “Since when does that matter?”

  Mandie felt her face turn red, and she urged Celia on toward their dormitory, where she knew young men were not allowed.

  “We’d better get ready to go to the dining room,” Celia remarked.

  “We have a few minutes, I believe. Let’s see if we have any mail,” Mandie replied. She walked over to the alcove where rows of mailboxes were, though she wasn’t really expecting any mail.

  Both girls twirled the combination knobs on their individual boxes and both were surprised to find mail inside.

  Quickly pulling out a large envelope, Mandie said, “Oh, I have a letter from my mother.”

  “So do I.” Celia removed a smaller white envelope from her box.

  “Let’s go up to our room to read these,” Mandie said, leading the way up the marble steps.

  Mandie was examining the envelope instead of watching where she was going, causing her to nearly collide with another girl at the top of the stairs.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry!” Mandie exclaimed as she quickly stepped out of the way of the girl. She had seen the girl several times in the hallways, but the girl gathered up her long skirts, turned up her nose, and quickly continued down the stairwell.

  “Well!” Mandie was dumbfounded as she stood watching the girl walk away. “Just who does she think she is?”

  “Mandie,” Celia said, “that was just one of several incidents of that kind that has happened at this college.”

  “What do you mean, Celia?”

  “Maybe you’ve been too busy to notice, but in my opinion, this college seems to be full of snobs. No one has spoken to me yet, or to you, either, that I know of,” Celia explained.

  Mandie looked at her friend with a frown. “You’re right, I haven’t noticed,” she said. “But come to think of it, I guess the girls here have not been friendly at all.”

  As the two c
ontinued down the hallway toward their room, Celia said, “I suppose I haven’t been friendly, either. I haven’t really tried to talk to any of them, except the girls we knew back at the Misses Heathwood’s School.”

  As Mandie opened the door to their room she said, “Let’s make it a point to speak to everyone we come in contact with and see what happens.” She went over to sit in one of the big chairs, and Celia dropped into the other one.

  Celia pulled her mother’s letter out of the envelope and quickly scanned it. “Mother says she probably won’t be able to come back here until Thanksgiving, when she’ll come to get me and ride home with me for the holiday.”

  Mandie quickly read her letter from her mother. “My mother also expects me home for Thanksgiving, and Grandmother is planning to be at our house then.” Mandie glanced at the sealed letter that had come inside the envelope from her mother. The return address was that of a young fellow she had met in Ireland the previous summer when her grandmother had taken her and several friends on a trip around Europe. Adrian Nolan was very good-looking, with light brown hair and blue eyes. He was also a very interesting young fellow. And he had told Mandie that he might just fall in love with her.

  The memories made her blush, and she quickly put the letter back into the larger envelope without opening it. She wanted a chance to do that in private.

  Mandie went over to her bureau and dropped the big envelope into the top drawer, then went to freshen up.

  In the dining hall Mandie and Celia found it crowded, and after filling their trays, they located two seats between girls they did not know. When they sat down, Mandie looked at the one next to her and smiled. The girl immediately picked up her tray and walked away.

  The girl next to Celia glanced at Celia and Mandie, then quickly turned back to the girl on her other side and continued their conversation.

  “Oh well,” Mandie whispered to Celia as they sat down and began their meal.

  Mandie finally realized she and Celia were being ignored by all the other girls, and she didn’t know why. She and Celia could not come up with any reason they would be disliked by all the girls at the college, so they kept smiling at everyone, hoping one day someone would return the smile.