American Girl

South Dakota

Since leaving Wisconsin, the Scott family underwent several changes. They lived for a while in Iowa before moving to South Dakota. Lena did not want to remember their time in Iowa. She could not recall any happy moments there. They left Darla behind. Squeezing her eyes shut, Lena tried to erase the memory of Darla's sudden illness. Her older sister lay peacefully in the graveyard behind the old church.

Lena looked forward across the prairie. The grass rippled around her ankles. She clutched her schoolbooks against her body and tightened her grip on her carpetbag. A small community huddled in the distance. Five houses and the schoolhouse, alone on the prairie. Lena was going to teach school there for the first time. She was seventeen years old with a newly signed teacher's certificate.

She didn't want to teach but had to take the job. Her parents depended upon her. Times were tough for the little family. Two young children had joined the Scotts since they moved from Wisconsin. Lena had another little sister and a brother, much younger than her. She had to earn her living to help keep the family afloat.

Swallowing hard, Lena hugged her books tighter. She had taken room and board with one of the families in the small community. She had never left home before and dreaded living with strangers. Taking a deep breath, Lena walked on.

"Going my way?" a male voice asked. A sleek black buggy stopped beside her.

"It's according to which way you're going," Lena answered demurely.

"You're way." Nate Gilbert leaped from the buggy and, taking Lena's books, helped her in.

Lena secretly admired Nate. On the boys ' side, he sat across the aisle from her in school. She threw him an occasional glance but thought he never noticed her. Lena wasn't pretty like Cassie Saunders or outgoing like Freya Burke. She studied hard and could spell down her class on Friday afternoons. Otherwise, she kept to herself and watched out for Beth and Thom, her younger siblings.

Nate sat beside her and picked up the reins. Clicking his tongue, he urged the horses forward. They traveled in companionable silence across the open prairie. Lena kept her eyes focused ahead of her. Her tongue felt like a lump in her mouth. She did not know how to begin a conversation.

"I heard you were teaching a term at Carter's school. How did you get a certificate? I thought you were only seventeen," Nate stated, glancing at her.

"They didn't ask my age," Lena remarked, keeping her answer short.

"I heard they were desperate for a teacher. They'll hire anyone, I guess." Her companion shrugged.

"I passed the exam with flying colors," Lena protested hotly. She felt sorry she accepted the ride if Nate was going to speak to her in that tone.

"Well, I beg your pardon, Miss Scott," Nate snapped back. "I meant your age, not your intelligence. You're the smartest student in school, and that's a fact."

"You could learn a thing or two about tact," Lena clipped her words. Gathering her books onto her lap, she clasped them tightly and stared ahead.

The horses stopped in front of the schoolhouse. Lena leaped down and rushed up the steps. She forgot to say goodbye to Nate. He sat for a minute or two, looking at her before trotting away. Lena turned as the schoolhouse door swung open. Wallace Carter stood in the opening.

"Welcome, Miss Scott," the homesteader greeted, stepping aside. "I'm eager to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise, Mr. Carter," Lena responded, bowing her head slightly. She entered the schoolhouse.

Two rows of desks faced the large teacher's desk. Behind the big desk, a new blackboard hung on the far wall. The room smelled of newly cut pine and turpentine. Lena ran her hand over a smooth desk. She was used to the newness of everything. Dakota Territory had only recently opened to settlers. People were flocking in to take advantage of the Homestead Act. Pa had already staked his 40-acre claim the previous year.