When Anne woke, Edmund was gone. The sun shone crisply through the windows. A soft breeze heralded the fresh summer day ahead. She needed to get to school. Breakfast had been left for her, grains and berries. She smiled as she ate it, rereading the diary of Opal Webb to remind herself of the lesson of the day. She took the lunch Edmund had also made when she left.
Lillie had the children under control as she always did. They had said the pledge and recited their lessons. The little ones were drawing or trying to write. A group of older ones were looking at something through the microscope. Lillie was used to Anne's wakings well after the sun rose.
The children stood up, hands behind their backs when she entered. “Good morning, Miss Chandler,” they recited. Mattie, who would be graduating come the fall, giggled. “Mrs. Harper, that is.”
“Thank you, Mattie.” The girl drew herself even straighter with Anne's acknowledgement. “I was married yesterday. Connor. Can you tell me what marriage is?”
Connor was only 6, a newcomer to the class. He still had a babyish pronunciation of his R's and S's. “Marriage is when a mama and a papa decide they want to have a baby,” he announced. The room echoed with subdued laughter.
“That's right, very good. When a man and a woman decide they want to make a new family and make the new generation of our country, they become married to announce that they're ready to begin sharing their lives.”
<A kid pipes up with some kind of trenchant observation that makes Anne question her life>
The seconds stretched on. At last, Anne pulled herself away from her woolgathering. “Today we're going to learn about Opal Webb. Does anyone know who Opal Webb is? Stuart.” She chose from the sea of raised hands in front of her.
He stood and clasped his hands behind his back. “She was a sa… savant…” Anne nodded encouragingly and he continued. <Continue when I'm feeling more inspired>