The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-10

| out of her dress ct every concelv- able point, if you can find Q point about Susie. She was 6 riot If l ever saw Q riot"
 During this conversation susiee brows had drawn even more dark ly over her eyes, the pleased uptilt of her lips straightened. Little cats. Let them talk. She hadn't gone to the party to please them. No doubt they were jealous. Dick was the best-looking and most popular freshman on the campus. So ran her sinking thoughts.
 The voices went on. Poor old Dick. I'll bet my next months al- lowance that he never put in such an evening""
 well, that's what he gets for being @ pledge. Bill, senior you know, thought up the idea of mak. ing Dick date Susie for the party. He said Dick argued himself hoarse before giving in. Imagine - Dick Tremaine and Susie, the waffle queen" The young voice dwindled to @ musical tinkle.
 And he had to take every dance," the other voice added, quietly hilarious. "Did you see her clumping around, walking on his feet, falling all over hirn2"
 Susie was no longer eating her waffles. With heart pounding, with shamed, furious tears choking her, she sat rigid, listening. She felt bruised and cut as her pathetic | dream castle tumbled around her bowed head. But there was still more.
 Did you hear what Dick did when Bill commanded him to kiss Susie on the way home?"
 "Kiss Susiel" It was an as- founded hoot. "What did Dick do?"
 "He absolutely refused, tore of his pledge pin and said the Delta Phis could go to the devil. Bill backed down since he was taking no chances on losing the most eligible pledge of the season."
 The two girls giggled and talked on while Susie sat on the other side of the thin partition, sick with shame, angry with @ beaten infer iority. She made no move, no sound until the girls had gone. She sat still, suffering, crying out at the fates, hating the fates, hating her. self for a witless fool. And above all she hated the Delta Phs for having forced this humiliation on Dick and on herself.
 Susie had heard of pledge stunts, some daring, 'others merely ab- surd, but she had heard of nothing like this. She cringed with the shattering realization that she had become the seasons best laugh. Last nights episode would go down through the years, Q laugh, Q sheer, 8 legend.
 Sitting there Susie touched the absolute depths of despair. She actually thought of the river, of the little gas plate in her room, If she put something in the key hole. If she filled the cracks around the door--it wouldn't take long, Afterward she'd be free of the jeering co-eds, the thoughless selfish, handsome boys and beauti- ful girls who came to the waffle shop.
 Susie had never been happy, she had come to expect little of life. Until Dick Tremaine grinned at her and made his polite little bow she had been mildly content. She had had pride in her work, c cer- tain enjoyment in small daily hap penings.
 Now all that was changed. For @ brief interval she had known joy. Now her homeliness and menial position had been used by Q group of more fortunate indi- viduals to carry out @ horrible joke. For the first time in her life Susie faced deliberate, hideous unkindness. With little confidence to 90 on she shriveled under the blow. She was scorched with bit- terness, sullen anger chilled her blood, cruel disillusionment blurred what little color there had been.
 At last Susie arose from the booth. Piliny her dishes she carried