human
Mercy, isn't this spooky?
gpt
Oh, this isn't anything? Wait a minute.
human
That's a part of the furnace room, she said.
gpt
You can go through here and follow another little dark hall--oh, much worse than this--and it takes you to the kitchen and pantries. We went down one night last year--
human
One night?
gpt
Yes, it was loads of fun. There were five or six of us. We ate enough apple sauce and fresh bread to kill us.
human
Let's sit here and talk, Blue Bonnet said to Carita, drawing her to a secluded corner.
gpt
I feel as if I had hardly seen you.
human
Well, she said,
gpt
The school, you mean?
human
Yes.
gpt
It's been rather strenuous to-day. I'm beginning to look forward to bedtime. I'm tired.
human
It is tiresome--getting adjusted.
gpt
What do we do after this half hour? It's a regular merry-go-round, isn't it? A continuous performance.
human
We study the next hour. Sometimes--twice a week--we have a short lecture on general culture. You'll be taught how to enter a room properly, and how to leave it--
gpt
I know that already.
human
Of course, but it has to be impressed.
gpt
Then what?
human
Then we go to our rooms. Sometimes we settle down, and sometimes we don't. It depends. Once in a while we have a feast. We'll invite you next time.
gpt
Where do you have it?
human
Oh, in our rooms sometimes--but it's risky. The sky parlor is the best place. That's up in the attic--under the eaves. It's fine! There's no teacher to bother. It's a little cold just now. They don't heat it, but you can put on your bath-robe and be comfy. We're waiting now for Wee Watts to get her clean clothes back from home. You see, she only lives an hour or two out of the city, and she sends her things home to be washed. When they come back, her mother always fills up the suitcase with cakes and cookies and jam--well, not jam, any more. The last jar she sent, broke, and spilled all over a new silk waist she was sending Wee for a party. It was quite tragic.
gpt
The loss of the jam--or the waist?
human
Both. It was hard on Wee, losing the waist. You see, she's so stout she can't borrow much from the rest of us.