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Then there were their classmates.
A significant percentage thought the whole thing was ridiculous. That Delia and the kids were wasting
valuable resources that Grantville needed for other things. That they would never build a working sewing
machine, and even if they did, why weren't they using the money for something that mattered? Like
weapons or reapers?
"I'll tell you why," said one would-be wit. "Because no one would let the Bill Gates wannabes mess with
something that mattered."
Sarah almost got in a fight over that one. "Baby Gates" was the first, but not the most popular of the
nicknames the four got. The "sewing circle" was the favorite. Then there was the rather convoluted
"Barbershop quartet," based on the notion that they were four would-be "singers."
They found a similar range of attitudes, mostly without the name calling, among the teachers. Some were
enthusiastic, some concerned, and some sarcastic.
All in all, the change in status made it a difficult and confusing first day, to be followed by a difficult and
confusing first week. All of the "Sewing Circle" had some heavy-duty adjustments to make. Over the
summer they had been less involved in high school stuff than most of the kids in Grantville. They had after
all, been rather busy.
"This too shall pass," and it did. There was altogether too much going on for any but the most obsessive
to keep up the teasing for long. It rapidly became just one more thing among many that the sophomores
in Grantville High concerned themselves with. There were discussions about the army, about the future of
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Grantville, and about the German immigrants. Then there were the German students. Who had their own
attitudes and beliefs.
The German students were, for the first few weeks, reluctant to put themselves forward. Partly this was
because of the language barrier, but not entirely. They also felt a status difference. The up-timers were
rich, with rich parents, and the down-timers were refugees.Don't give offense, study hard, and make
friends. These instructions, often contradictory in practice, were impressed on the down-timer kids by
their parents, all too often using a belt or a rod to reinforce the point.
Their attitude toward the "Sewing Circle" was somewhat different. To them, the important point was not
whether the sewing machine company would actually succeed. That wasn't unimportant, but the really
important point was that the "Sewing Circle" had parents who could afford to start them in a business.
Granted, all the up-timers were rich, but there's rich, and then there'srich .
Since Delia Higgins was the backer of the enterprise, this attitude focused on David.
Short and skinny for his age, David Bartley had never been one of the popular kids among the
up-timers. Mostly, he still wasn't. But among the down-timers he was very popular especially with the
down-timer girls.
The down-time girls took a pragmatic view of romance. David, Brent and Trent but especially
David looked like they might be wealthy enough to marry years before most other boys in school. Not
that the girls were looking to marry right away, but the period between puberty and satisfaction was
uncomfortably long for a tailor's daughter.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, David didn't really know how to handle the situation.
September 10, 1631: Delia Higgins' House
There were extra guests for dinner at Delia Higgins' house the night of the first TV broadcast. Ramona
had invited Karl Schmidt and his family. They had been seeing each other since mid-August. Not every
day, but once a week or so, Karl would bring in a load of parts and Ramona would take the afternoon
off.
Delia was slightly concerned. David wasn't, not anymore. Acculturation works both ways and it works
faster on kids. Johan had been acculturating David right along. Besides, it wasn't that much of a jump
really, just putting it in terms appropriate to the time. David had had a conversation with Master Schmidt.
Ramona Higgins was a lady of high station, with a family that would take it very badly if she were treated
with a lack of respect. Normally such comments from a boy just turned fifteen might be ignored. In this
case, however, Johan was sitting a few feet away cleaning a double-barreled shotgun and adding
translation and mistranslation as needed. Besides, in the discussions about the sewing machine parts,
David had gotten to know Karl a little bit. He was bigoted, but no more than most, and he wasn't a user,
unlike some of his mom's previous men.
Karl had not been insulted, or particularly frightened. Just cautioned. After all, Young Master Bartley
had not told him to stop seeing Ramona, simply to treat her with respect. It reaffirmed her status, without
closing the door in his face. To Karl, the surprising thing was that the door was not closed. David had
managed to come off like a young baron allowing a commoner to court his mother because that's what
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his mother wanted.
Karl knew that David was not titled. He also knew that the President of Grantville was not titled. Titles
didn't matter here, power mattered. If Karl played his cards right, he might well be accepted into this new
informal nobility, and his family with him.
He had treated her with respect. Perhaps a bit more respect than Ramona really wanted. Certainly
enough respect that he had swept her off her feet. Hence the dinner invitation. She wanted to meet his
family. She wanted her family to meet his family, and she wanted everything to go well. She had fussed all
day.
Normally dinner at the Higgins house was informal. The "servants" ate with the family. Not this time.
Liesel would have none of it, and neither would Johan. There would be guests. Liesel would serve, Johan
would get the door. Liesel was quite fond of Ramona, in a subservient materialistic sort of way. They
would make a good impression.
* * *
They did, actually. The servants provided the comfort of familiarity. The food was rich, and excitingly
varied. Something called "Orange Jello" for desert. The house was a glory of technological innovation.
These days, lamps were used in the Higgins house and light bulbs were hoarded; but for tonight, the lights
were switched on. The cassette recorder provided a large selection of music in various styles. The doll
collection managed to surpass its reputation. Not an easy thing to do, for it had grown in the telling. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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