It did not take long for the story of her walk behind the screen of gladiolas and delphiniums to spread through Woodmont High. Everyone laughed at the story, but the laughter was friendly. And all because I kept my head up during the whole awful thing, Jane thought, and if I had walked down the street cringing with embarrassment, everyone would be making fun of me now. Instead, boys she did not know, even seniors, grinned at her as they passed her in the corridor and called out, “Hi there! Picked any petunias lately?” or “How are things in Birnam wood?” Girls said, “How did you ever do it? Didn’t you just about die of embarrassment?” The gossip column of the Woodmontonian printed an item that asked, “What sophomore was seen hiding behind a floral duck blind on her way to visit what junior at Cronk Memorial Hospital?” Even the faculty must have heard the story, because the football coach and the physics teacher smiled at Jane as she walked down the hall. Best of all, Stan telephoned every day at four o’clock, and Jane spent a happy hour on the telephone saying nothing in particular, just talking to Stan.
