The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-05-05

she won't I'd rather have Miss
Grace Ann than her. and / shouldn't
be crazy about having Miss Grace Ann.
Well, guess there's nothing more
to write. Things at school are just
the same, only more SO. The girls are
getting so they act almost as bad as
those down TO Boston In the school
where I went before l changed. OF
course, maybe it's the divorce here,
same as it was there. But don't see
how 1t can be that here. Why, they've
known it from the very first
Oh, dear SUI me! How I do wish
/ could see Mother tonight and have
her take me In her arms and kiss me.
I'm so tired Of being Mary way or
up here where nobody cares or wants
me.
Even Father doesn't want nae, not
really want me. I know he doesn't /
don't see why he keeps me, only I
suppose he'd be ashamed not to take
me his six months as long as the
court gave me to him for that time.
ANOTHER TWO WEEKS LATER.
I'm so angry can hardly write, and
at the same time I'm so angry I've
just got to write. can't talk. There
isn't anybody to talk to; and I've got
to tell somebody. So I'm going to tell
1t here.
I've found out now what's the mat
ter with the girls-you know, I said
there was something the matter with
them; that they acted queer and
stopped talking when I came up, and
faded away till there wasn't anybody
but me left.
Well, it's been getting worse and
worse. The girls have had parties,
and more and more often the girls
have stopped talking and have looked
queer when came up. We got up a
secret society and called 1t the TONY
Ten" and was going to be its presi-
dent. Then all Of a sudden one day
I found there wasn't any Tony Ten
only Carrie Haywood and me. The
other eight had formed another soci-
ETY. and Stella Mayhem was their
president.
we'd just change it and call it the
"Tony Two" and that two was lot
more exclusive than ten, anyway. But
I did care, and Carrie did. I knew
she did. And l know 1t better now
because last night-she told me. You
see things have been getting simply
unbearable these last few days, and
it got so it looked as If wasn't even
going to have Carrie left. She began
to act queer and l accused her Of 1t,
and told her If she didn't want to be-
long to the Tony Two she needn't.
That didn't care; that I'd be secret
society all by myself. But / cried.
1 couldn't help crying; and she knew
I did-care. Then she began to cry /;
and today, after school, we went to
walk up on the hill to the big rock /;
and there-she told me. And 1t was
the divorce.
And it's all that Stella Mayhem
the new girl. Her mother found out
1 was divorced Il mean Mother was)
and she told Stella not to play with
me, nor speak to me, nor have a thing
to do with me. And said to Carrie,
all right! Who cared1 I didn't. That
I never had liked that Mayhem girl,
anyway. But Carrie said that wasn't
ALL She said Stella had got to be
real popular before I came; that her
folks had lots Of money, and she al.
ways had candy and could treat to
ice-cream and auto rides, and every.
body with her was sure Of good time.
She had parties, too-lots Of them
and of course, all the girls and boys
liked that.
Well, when 1 came everything was
all right till Stella's mother found
out about the divorce and then-well,
then things were different. First
Stella contented herself with making
fun of me, Carrie said. She laughed
at the serge dresses and big homeIy
shoes, and then she began on my
name, and said the idea Of being
called Mary by Father and Marie by
Mother, and that twas just like DR..
Carrie says. I'm going to read 1t, If
tatherS got 1t. Ii there ever was
another Mary and Marie all in one in
the world 1 want to know what she
did, But Carrie says the poking fun
at me didn't make much difference
with the girls, so Stella tried some
thing else. She not only wouldn't
speak to me herself, or invite me, or
anything, but she told all the girls
that they couldn't 60 with her and
me, too. That they might take their
choice. And Carrie said some of them
did choose and stayed with me; but
they lost all the good times and Ice
cream and parties and rides and ev-
erything; and so one by one they
dropped me and went back TO Stella,
and now there wasn't anybody left,
only her. Carrie. And then she began
to cry.