The Lily Pond (4 page)

In front of them is an open square with yellow brick buildings on three sides. They’re all very modern, with shiny glass-and-chrome details on the facades. A fountain—at the center of which is a statue of a huge man with seaweed in his hair, surrounded by fish and sea creatures—sits in the middle of the square.

“That’s Poseidon,” says Sven. “The Greek god of the sea. This square is called Götaplatsen.”

He tells her about the buildings: “That one’s the city theater, that one’s the art museum, and that’s the concert hall.”

How strange
, Stephie thinks,
that they’re all new
. In Vienna theaters and museums are housed in ancient buildings with columns and huge entryways, domes and sculptured figures.

They cross Götaplatsen and turn down a narrow pathway between the theater and the steps leading up to the art museum.

“There you are,” Sven says, pointing. “That’s the Girls’ Grammar School.”

“Wow.”

“Better than the prison I go to, that’s for sure,” says Sven. “I’ll take you there another time. Come on, let’s bring Putte over by the lily pond, where he can run around awhile.”

They walk on past the school, and soon they arrive at a small pond with a little sandy bank and dark, still water. In the middle there are white water lilies, and farther out a few red ones. Swans and ducks swim among the flowers, and weeping willows hang out over the water, which reflects them. On the far side Stephie can see a lawn and a large brick mansion covered in ivy. It looks like something out of a fairy tale.

Stephie and Sven walk along the water’s edge until they come to a bench under a tree. They sit down, and Sven lets Putte off the leash.

“Nervous about starting school?” asks Sven.

“A bit.”

“No need,” he replies. “I swear you’re going to be the smartest girl in the class. If you ask me, though, don’t worry about grades. Just focus on what you think will be most useful to you in life. That’s the most important thing.”

Stephie knows he’s right, but she also knows that only top grades will ensure her a continued scholarship, without
which Aunt Märta and Uncle Evert won’t be able to keep her in school. She has to do well.

“One thing,” says Sven. “I don’t know what it’s going to be like at your school, but at mine there are teachers who favor the new German order and who wouldn’t mind seeing it introduced in Sweden. Watch out for those teachers. Don’t let them snare you into a trap. And if anybody treats you badly, just tell me about it.”

Stephie can’t help giggling. “What would you do if I did?”

Sven chuckles, too. “Come galloping on my white stallion to rescue you from the dragon, of course.” he says. He stands up. “Come on, time to head home.”

While Sven is putting Putte on the leash, Stephie stares out across the dark and mysterious water of the lily pond. This is a place she plans to return to, often.

clock on the yellow brick school building reads ten to nine the next morning when Stephie arrives. The Swedish flag is flying and the schoolyard is full of girls. The youngest ones are her age; the older ones look like young ladies, in their skirts with matching jackets and hats.

Nobody is playing here, as the children did on the island schoolyard. Just a couple of the younger girls are throwing a ball against one of the walls, but very quietly. Most girls are walking around arm in arm or standing in clusters chatting. Some, like Stephie, are all alone.

She catches a glimpse of Sylvia, the daughter of the shopkeeper on the island, who was in Stephie’s class there. She’s with Ingrid, another of their old classmates. They don’t notice Stephie, and she doesn’t call out to them.

Stephie was right last evening when she guessed that the tall windows in the upper floor of the annex belonged to the auditorium. Now the girls all go in and sit in the wooden seats on either side of the aisle. The principal welcomes them to a new school year. The school chorus sings. Then the girls’ names are called, along with their assigned classes.

“Stephanie Steiner?”

“Present.”

Stephie is going to be in 1A; Sylvia and Ingrid, in 1B. That’s a relief. It’s not that Sylvia intimidates her the way she used to last year on the island. But Stephie’s looking forward to starting from scratch, in a class where no one knows her or has preconceived notions about what she’s like. A class where she can be Stephanie.

They leave the auditorium and go to their homerooms. The homeroom teacher for 1A is young, with short dark hair, and she’s wearing culottes. She introduces herself as Hedvig Björk; she’s going to be their math and biology teacher.

“Science, girls,” she says. “Science is the future. I hope after four years with me that all of you will decide to continue on to a science program.” She gives them a cunning look from behind her long, dark bangs. It’s hard to tell whether she’s joking or in earnest. Stephie likes Hedvig Björk already.

On the blackboard is a list of books they’re supposed to have by tomorrow morning. Everyone copies down the titles, and Hedvig Björk explains that when they’re finished in homeroom, anyone who wants to can go to the lunchroom and buy used books from the older girls.

There are thirty-five girls in the class. Tall, short, heavy, slim, with and without glasses. Most are more or less blond, but there are a few brunettes and one girl who looks as little like the fair Swedish girls as Stephie does. Stephie wonders what her name is and where she comes from. She decides to ask, but by the time she gets out of the classroom, the dark-haired girl is nowhere to be seen.

A group of girls gathers in the hallway around two blondes who are clearly friends. Although they’re not sisters, they look very much alike, with big blue eyes and little round mouths. Their dresses are also similar, in the latest fashion, one green, the other blue. The girl in green is Harriet; the girl in blue, Lilian. They’re the prettiest girls in the class, and they obviously know it.

Stephie goes to the lunchroom, where she finds a number of the textbooks she needs that aren’t too dog-eared. She has to be economical with her scholarship money if she’s going to make it last.

As she’s leaving, someone calls her name.

“Stephanie, wait up!”

It can’t be Sylvia or Ingrid; they would have called her Stephie. Puzzled, she turns around. Behind her is a round-faced girl with glasses.

“I’m May Karlsson,” the girl says. “We’re in the same class.”

“I know,” Stephie replies. “I saw you.”

“Did you find any of the books you need?”

Stephie shows her the books she found.

“
German Grammar
, that’s one of the most expensive,” May says in an envious tone. “Lucky you! I only found these.”

She shows Stephie a couple of books.

“You see,” May says, taking Stephie by the arm, “I really have to scrimp and save. I have a scholarship to cover my books and my tram costs. If I didn’t, my family wouldn’t be able to afford to let me go to grammar school. I have six brothers and sisters, and my dad works in the shipyards.”

“I’m on scholarship, too,” says Stephie.

“Are you? I never would have guessed.”

They go on talking as they head to the bookstore, where they buy the other books they need, as well as notebooks and school supplies. They’re still chatting as they walk along the street. May goes into a bakery and buys a little bag of crumbled cookies. They sit on a bench and continue getting to know each other as they eat their broken treats.

“Do you want to sit next to each other at school?” May asks.

Stephie nods. “Yes, let’s.”

Then May gives Stephie her first tour of the city. She explains where the different tram lines go, and Stephie finally understands that although all the trams are pale blue,
each one has a colored sign on the front with a number in the middle.

“See? The green line will take you to Mayhill, where I live, for instance,” May says. “You have to go all the way out past the workers’ community center to get there. But I guess there’s no reason for you to come to our neighborhood. You live at such a fancy address.”

“I’m nothing but a lodger,” Stephie tells her. “I don’t really live there.”

Stephie tells May all about how she arrived on the island a year ago, and about going to school there, and how her teacher thought she should have a chance to continue her schooling. Aunt Märta and Uncle Evert refused at first, until the doctor’s wife offered Stephie lodging with them and promised to help apply for her scholarship.

The church clock strikes twelve.

“I’ve got to be going. I look after my little brothers and sisters in the afternoons while my mother does domestic work,” May says.

“Who’s going to look after them when we have full days of school, then?” Stephie asks.

“We’ll work it out,” May says. “There are neighbors who can help. And Britten’s eleven, so she can see to the younger ones some of the time. Here comes the green tram! See you tomorrow.”

May boards the tram. Stephie finds her way back to the Söderbergs’. She spends the afternoon making paper covers
to protect her books and writing a long letter home to Mamma and Papa.

She describes her new room, her school, and her homeroom teacher. As always, she tries to be as positive as she can, not wanting to worry them. That’s why she doesn’t tell them she feels lonely in the big, empty apartment. Somehow she doesn’t get around to telling them about May Karlsson, either.

next morning when Stephie leaves for school, her bag is crammed full of books. Her lunch sandwiches are in the outside pocket. She doesn’t have to bring her own milk; milk is served free of charge in the lunchroom.