A Big Year for Lily Read Online Free Page B

bare footprint on it. He was an awful boy.
    The morning melted away. By midafternoon, an autumn haze drifted across the stifling schoolroom. Lily was relieved when school was dismissed. What a disappointing day. She plucked her bonnet from the hook at the back of the schoolhouse, pulled her lunch pail off the shelf, and headed out the door with Hannah.
    Levi and Joseph started to run, but Lily didn’t feel like running home from school. She trudged alongside of Hannah.
    â€œI take back every bad thing I ever thought about school,” Hannah said in a far-off voice. She had a strange dreamylook on her face and Lily worried if she might be getting sick. “Isn’t Aaron Yoder the most wonderful boy in school?”
    Wonderful? Wonderful? Why, Lily was just this moment thinking he was the worst boy in the state. The world. The universe.
    Hannah swung her lunch pail at her side. “He can run faster than any of the other boys at school. And his eyes are such a pretty blue and his hair so nice and curly.” She sighed a little. “Lily, do you think he likes me?”
    Lily stopped in her tracks. “Why would you want him to like you? He isn’t nice to any girls. Didn’t you see what he did to my covering?” Her black covering was still squashed. “And don’t forget my book.” How terrible! To have to live with Aaron Yoder’s dirty footprint on her beautiful new book, all year long. “And his hair looks like a wren has moved in and is building a nest.”
    Hannah giggled. “You should have seen how surprised you looked when you couldn’t sit up because he was holding his hand above your head.” She giggled harder. “It was so funny!”
    Why was Hannah sticking up for Aaron? Lily shot her a look of irritation.
    â€œYou were right, Lily. School is exciting,” Hannah said. “And the best part is that Aaron Yoder sits across the aisle from me, and I can look at him whenever I want to.”
    Lily shook her head in despair. How sad. Poor Cousin Hannah. She had been without school for so long that she had lost all logic.
    All of Lily’s wonderful plans for this school year were evaporating, like a wisp of steam over a teacup. She was so sure that everything would be better this year with Cousin Hannah by her side. Instead, everything was worse.

5 A Trip to Town
    L ily was feeding baby Paul cereal in his high chair and getting very frustrated. He waved his arms and kicked his feet, demanding, “More, more!” He never stopped eating, that baby. She couldn’t feed him fast enough. She glanced out the window to see if Papa had already put the harness on Jim and hitched him to the buggy. Papa was going to town today and had asked Lily if she wanted to go along. Of course! Of course she did.
    â€œMore, more!”
    Lily turned her attention back to feeding the baby. She filled the spoon halfway and dodged Paul’s waving hands to feed him another bite. Lily could hardly hold still, she was that excited. She had gone to town only once since they had moved to Pennsylvania. She knew Papa would wait patiently for her, but she still wished that Paul could be done with hisbreakfast. She tried giving him bigger and bigger bites, hoping his tummy would finally be full.
    When the last spoonful was scraped from the bowl, Lily decided Paul had eaten enough for two babies. She lifted him out of the high chair and set him on the floor. He went toddling off to find his toys and Lily hurried to find her shoes and stockings. She wriggled her feet into them and stood up, feeling odd. She had been barefoot for months now, ever since late spring. Shoes felt heavy and clumsy. But it would never do to go barefoot to town.
    Lily said goodbye to Mama and the boys and darted out the door. This was going to be a perfect day. Joseph and Dannie could help Mama with all the Saturday housecleaning. They could watch baby Paul while Lily enjoyed a long ride to