Sobered by the thought that they somehow might have contributed to Elsie's death, the girls attend no more wakes. "We just saw her a few days ago," she whispered. Rosie's face was so pale every freckle stood out. We all gasped, even Rosie, and backed away. "Come in and say goodbye to her," the woman at the door said.Īll five of us arrived at the coffin at the same moment.
Then several days later, crashing another wake, the girls get a shock. They circle around her, singing,Īnnie feels ashamed as Elsie cries and tries to escape from the circle, but led by Rosie, the girls chase her partway home. Then, on one cold dark afternoon, the girls come upon Elsie, wearing a flu mask, all alone on a swing, and Rosie leads the girls in teasing her.
Annie is unwilling, but follows Rosie for fear of losing her friends, and Rosie thinks nothing of studying the obituaries in the newspaper to prepare to make conversation at the wakes. And when the Spanish flu strikes their town, and black wreaths appear on the doors of many houses, Rosie has the most audacious idea ever-that the girls join the mourners and follow them to help themselves to the refreshments for the wake. Rosie is daring and mischievous and invents wonderful ideas for after-school adventures. Then Elsie is absent from school for several days, and Annie is accepted by Rosie and the others into their group. Annie tries to be polite, but there is something frightening about Elsie that makes her wish she would stay away. Annie's mother kindly invites her to stay for dinner, but Annie finds it impossible to like Elsie, overweight, with horribly crooked teeth, and seeming to hate everyone-the teacher, the other students, even her stepmother and father whom she claims beat her and lock her in her room. And after school, uninvited she follows Annie home. It is 1918, and shy, only child Annie has just started sixth grade in a new school in a new town and longs to be accepted by the circle of girls led by the bold, red-haired Rosie, but before their first recess, Elsie grabs her hand and telling her how mean the other girls are, forces her to play only with her. "What makes that noise?" She poked Edward's belly harder. Elsie picked up Edward Bear and squeezed his tummy to make him growl. What good times we'll have playing here." I tried to smile. Finally she sat down on my bed and gave a little bounce. She even opened the doors to the tall wardrobe and flipped through my skirts and dress and blouses. At the door to my room, Elsie stopped and stared."This is all yours? Oh, Annie, you are so lucky."Įlsie tried out the rocking chair Father had made for me.
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