Willamina didn't know how real school was supposed to work, but she supposed she would find out when she got there. She assumed it would be a lot different from the homeschooling that she was used to.

She braided her hair as neatly as she could before tying it back with a ribbon her Aunt Abigail had given her earlier that morning. The silk ribbon was one of the finest things she had ever seen and it was a brilliant shade of cherry red. When she was ready, she stepped out of her room with a smile on her face. The prospect of meeting new friends excited her, especially since Evangeline had made it clear she was not wanted.

The conversation she had overheard between Abigail and Evangeline the night before came flooding back, putting a damper on her spirits. However, it also filled her with determination. She was going to make Evangeline her friend. As if reading her mind, Evangeline stepped out of her own room, wearing a pale blue dress with small white flowers on it.

"Good morning, Eva," Willamina greeted with a smile. She had hopes that her own cheerfulness would begin to rub off on the other girl. Willie followed Eva towards the stairs.

"Good morning." Evangeline spoke in a bored tone as she walked down the stairs of the plantation home and towards the kitchen. One of the house slaves, Alberda, was there, holding fruit for each of the children to take to school with them. Elliot was already there and he received his before rushing out the door.

"Wait for us," Eva called after him.

Willie could hear him groan in response.

Willamina studied Alberda for a moment. The servant couldn't have been much older than she was. Fourteen or fifteen, she guessed. She reached up to take the peach from her hand. "Thank you. What's your name?" She asked. She had heard one of the others say it, but she thought it would be polite to ask.

Alberda looked surprised, but a brief smile passed over her dark features. "Alberda Nwosu, miss."

"That's a lovely name." Willie stuffed the fruit into the pocket of her dress and smiled before following Evangeline out the door. Perhaps she could find a friend with Alberda.

Elliot was waiting for them outside. "Finally!" He exclaimed.

"What are you in such a rush for?" Evangeline asked.

Willamina walked behind the siblings, feeling out of place.

"I made a bet with Tommy Johnson that I could throw a ball farther than him," Elliot explained. "We are supposed to meet before school starts."

"Boys are so silly." Evangeline rolled her eyes and skipped ahead, somehow managing to look graceful while doing it.

Willamina thought a bet was actually rather interesting. She turned to the nine-year-old boy. "What do you get if you win the bet?"

Elliot smiled proudly. "If I win, I get his fishing rod. But if he wins, I have to bring him a piece of chocolate."

"Just chocolate?"

"Mama always buys really expensive chocolates. They're so delicious. And Tommy's family is poor so he never gets candy."

After a few more minutes of walking, the schoolhouse appeared in view. Willamina smiled. It sat on the end of the street, away from the other buildings in town and was surrounded by a few trees. It was picturesque. Elliot took off in a sprint towards another young boy, who she assumed was Tommy Johnson.

She scanned the small crowd of children for Evangeline. She found the blonde sitting on the steps of the schoolhouse beside a short redhead. The two girls were talking excitedly and giggling.

"Hello!" She greeted as she approached them.

The redhead gave her a strange look, but smiled politely. "Hello."

Evangeline didn't bother to hide her annoyed sigh. "Suzanna, this is my cousin, Willamina."

Willamina grinned and sat down on a step below them. Suzanna seemed nice. She thought that if she became friends with the redhead, Eva would be more accepting of her.

She studied the two girls. While Willamina's parents hadn't been dirt poor, they didn't have a whole lot of money either. But these girls came from money, and it was obvious by their behavior and dress. They both had carefully put up their hair. Their shoes weren't scratched or scuffed like her own. For the first time in her life, Willie worried she wouldn't fit in.

She listened to their conversation quietly, but did not participate. They spoke about boys and dolls and dancing. She felt as though she didn't have anything valuable to add to the conversation.

The door of the schoolhouse suddenly opened. A tall and slender woman with dark hair stepped out. "Alright children, everyone come in and take your seats." She disappeared back into the schoolhouse to wait on her pupils.

Suzanna and Evangeline stood up and made their way inside. Willamina hurried along behind them, moving quickly so she would not be trampled by the sea of students flooding in. The schoolhouse was rather small, but had a tall and pointed ceiling. It appeared to have been a church at one point.

She looked around, unsure of where to sit. Eva and her friend had sat down on the right side of the room, and no empty seats could be spotted near them.

"You must be Evangeline's cousin." A sweet voice interrupted Willie's train of thought and she looked up to see the teacher standing next to her.

"I'm Miss. Miller," she said. Her smile was soft and she had perfect, straight teeth. "Elliot told me you would be coming. It's nice to meet you."

Willamina found herself smiling up at the beautiful woman. "It's nice to meet you too. I'm Willamina."

"You have a lovely name, Willamina. I saved a seat for you right up front. Why don't you go ahead and sit down." Miss. Miller smiled and patted her shoulder before walking up the chalkboard to write something.

Smiling at the compliment, Willie found the seat her teacher had described and she sat down. The students in the room all seemed to be between the ages of nine and thirteen. It was a large age gap, but she supposed when they only had one room, their only option was to throw them together.

The teacher stood at the front of the room, waiting until everyone was quiet before speaking. "Can anyone tell me what the capital of our state is?"

The students responded, all speaking in unison. "Milledgeville."

"Excellent." Miss. Miller smiled brightly at her pupils, locking eyes with Willie for a moment. The rest of the day passed in a similar manner. They moved through the subjects one by one. For math, Willamina was provided with a slate and piece of chalk since she did not bring her own. Math quickly became her favorite subject.

"Willamina, can you tell me what nine multiplied by six is?"

It was a simple question for Willie. Her mother had given her more difficult math work than this. Still, she was grateful for the opportunity to go to school.

"Fifty-four," she answered. She answered every question she could. Not to show off to the other students, but to show the teacher that she was ready for more challenging work.

When the school day ended, the trio was joined by Suzanna, and they headed back to Goodspring Plantation. Elliot ran ahead, eager to get home and try the new fishing pole he had won in his bet, and just as before, Willie walked behind the group.

"I'm moving to California," Suzanna said suddenly. Willamina stayed quiet, listening to the conversation.

Evangeline suddenly froze. "California? But that's all the way across the country." Her eyes were wide and mouth agape.

Willie had gathered at this point that the two were best friends, and had been for a very long time. She couldn't help but feel bad. It must be awful to have your closest friend move across the country.

The plantation appeared in the distance and Suzanna kept speaking. "My father says he thinks there could be gold there, and he wants to be the first one to find it."

"When are you leaving?" Evangline sounded heartbroken. Her voice wavered ever so slightly.

"In two days."

Evangeline's face fell and Willie watched in silence, knowing now was not the time to join the conversation.

"I guess we'll just have to make the most of it."

For the rest of the afternoon, Willamina loosely followed the girls around, hoping to be included. She was happy when, for a few minutes, Suzanna and Eva shared their dolls with her. But the girls quickly moved on and decided to walk outside. With a heavy sigh, Willamina followed. She quickly put a smile back onto her face. Being outside meant she was in her element and even if they wouldn't play with her, she would still have a good time.

While Suzanna and Evangeline walked and talked, Willie kicked off her shoes and carried them as she walked through the grass. The soft vegetation felt natural and she wiggled her toes, giggling to herself. Her mother used to take her on walks like this. They would kick off their shoes and walk through the grass, mud, and dirt. She smiled fondly at the memory and continued walking.

The vastness of it all amazed her. Back in Virginia, her father had only owned a few acres, but her uncle's plantation here in Georgia must have been nearly a thousand. Most of it was fields for crops. Right now it seemed the crop of choice was cotton. It was beginning to bloom and the entire field looked like a giant cloud.

After a while, Elliot joined them, having grown bored of fishing. However, he complained that walking with them was boring as well. That was, until they stumbled upon a rattlesnake on the outskirts of the forest.

They never would have known of its presence if not for the distinct rattling sound it emitted from its tail. Evangeline or Suzanna would have likely stepped on it. Once they figured out the source of the sound, the pair shrieked and scrambled away. Their screams seemed to startle the snake. It moved backwards a bit, as if trying to find a good moment to flee. Willamina felt bad for the creature.

"Come on, let's leave it," Willie said as she backed away. She had no intentions of harming the reptile and did not want anyone to suffer from one of its deadly bites.

"No, let's feed it," Elliot replied. A wicked grin spread across his boyish face.

"Feed it? With what?" Evangeline exclaimed in disgust. "I agree with Willamina, let's get away from it."

Elliot reached into the pocket of his overalls and pulled out a small mouse. The appearance of the tiny rodent made Eva and Suzanna shriek yet again.

Willamina's eyes widened and she held her hand out, offering to take the mouse. "Please don't do that, give him to me, we can let him go."

Elliot only pulled the mouse closer to his chest. "No way. It's mine. I found it while I was fishing."

Willie shifted nervously, gaze traveling frantically from the mouse to the snake.

"And since it's mine, I decide what to do with it."

Before she could do anything, Elliot tossed the mouse towards the snake. A cry escaped her lips. The mouse attempted to scurry away and hide in the underbrush, but not before the long, venomous fangs of the rattlesnake sank into its body. The gray mouse twitched for a few moments and the light slowly faded out of its eyes.

Tears pooled in Willamina's eyes. "You didn't have to do that."

"It was funny." With a shrug, Elliot took off.

Willie assumed he was going to find another innocent creature to harm.

~~~~
Word Count: 2012

Thanks for reading! I hope you are enjoying it so far.
This chapter was from Willie's POV. I will be switching POVs like this between the main characters throughout the book.