The next day was Saturday and after Millie made her bed, dusted the furniture, and washed the dishes, she was able to go into the meadow village until tea time. She made a quick trip to the art store as she wanted to have some nice, colored pencils to trade with her friends at school. She did so admire Peony’s peacock blue, and after all, it was a Prismacolor!
After she had purchased her art supplies, Millie flew down the street to the candy shoppe. What she saw there made her glad she had an iron will and the power to hold back tears. No raspberry bonbons?!! Millie’s shoulders drooped. All her secret spying, her gumption to carry out her plan, gone to waste? No! She would not let this happen. Millie filled a bag to the brim with orange chocolate twigs. With an expression that would make a train stand still while at top speed, she marched to the counter and paid for the candy. Next Millie walked to the antique phone booth on the pebbles by the pond. She dialed Peony’s number.
“Operator,” said a voice at the end of the line.
“Hello?” said Millie. Then she grinned. “Peony, I know it’s you. Will you please let Emmaline, Jane, and Susannah know that we each need to have a bag of orange chocolate twigs for school on Monday?”
“Reason?” said Peony.
“To teach that mean Gertie Snippet a lesson,” said Millie, hoping Peony would not ask for further details.
“I’m on it!” said Peony, and then she hung up.
Millie looked at the time on the huge clock that stood on top of the post office. It was nearly half past eleven! She started out to her cottage, hoping Corinne had remembered to set the table so they could have an early tea.
When she got home, she sat down to a surprisingly sweet salad of cranberries, dandelions, and lettuce with a delicious dressing that Millie could not place (it was made with acorns and mushroom paste). Afterward, her mother helped her practice her piccolo for an hour, though Millie felt it was much, much longer than that…
After many hours of planning and rethinking and planning again, Monday finally arrived. Millie took great care to make sure her shell pink skirt and blouse were tucked in properly, her hair was brushed and tied back with a few pins, and most importantly, that the candy parcel was tightly shut to prevent spills.
Millie started out for school. As she was waiting at a crosswalk, a familiar green buggy pulled up. Peony, her father, Emmaline, Jane, and Susannah were all squished inside. As Millie climbed in, she was assured by Peony that everyone had brought their goody bags.
“Hint, hint,” she said in an undertone, at which everyone burst out laughing, even Peony’s father, though it was obvious he didn’t know why. When the girls arrived at school, they scurried down the hallway to Miss Robin’s room, where they were forced to take a pop quiz on the water cycle and memorize an epic poem about an ill-fated romance. Finally the bell rang for break and Millie and her friends went immediately to their favorite spot beneath a hickory tree and opened their pencil cases and treat bags. Millie finally got the peacock blue pencil crayon of her dreams, but only by trading magenta and agate gray, which were a great tribulation to part with. As they were talking and snacking, they noticed Gertie and her accomplices staring at them. By and by the girls came over.
“What are you eating?” demanded Priscilla. She snatched one of the candies out of Jane’s hand and examined it. “It looks like a treat that naughty girls shouldn’t have.” She popped it in her mouth. Millie, Jane, Emmaline, Susannah, Peony looked at her in shock and horror. To Millie’s surprise, Gertie also looked a trifle upset. Following Priscilla’s lead, the other henchmice grabbed a chocolate and stalked off. Gertie hesitated. She did not have the cruelty of heart to pilfer someone else’s goody bag.
“Wait for me!,” she cried. But the other girls just kept on walking. Some of them called over their shoulders things like ‘pathetic’ and ‘so long’. Gertie’s eyes filled with tears. Millie looked at her sympathetically. All of the anger she felt against Gertie melted away as she saw her begin to cry. Millie scooted over and Gertie sat down beside her. Then she handed Gertie an ocean mist pencil crayon and a chocolate twig.
“Thank you, Millie,” Gertie said with a sniffle.
Millie just smiled.
*********
Sophie was very excited for me to publish the conclusion to her story, dear reader. I asked her about the part where Millie's mother helped her practice the piccolo for a seemingly endless hour...and she feigned innocence, though a bit too strenuously for my liking. I suppose there is no reason to interpret the story on a personal level after all, given that the main character willingly jumps out of bed on a Saturday morning to tidy the house! Fiction at its finest, all the way around.
