re questions. Then
Hella was called in. She told me afterwards that she knew what was
up directly she saw my face. "What have you been talking about to
Zerkwitz?" Hella would not say at first, but then she said in as few
words as possible: "About getting babies, and about being married!"
"Gracious goodness, such little brats, and to talk about _such_ things,"
said Anneliese's mother. "Such corrupt minds." "We did not believe
that Anneliese did not _really_ know, or we should never have told
her anything," said Hella just as I had; she was simply splendid. "As
regards Alfred, we have nothing to do with that, and we have often
advised her not to allow him to meet her coming home from school; but
she would not listen to us." "I am talking about your conversations
with which you have corrupted the poor innocent child," said Frau von
Zerkwitz. "She certainly must have known something about it before, or
she would not have gone with Alfred or wanted to talk about it with us,"
said Hella. "Heavenly Father, that is worse still; such corruptness
of mind!" Then we were sent out of the room. Outside, Hella cried
frightfully, and so did I, for we were afraid there would be a row at
home. We could not go back into the Mathematic lesson because we had
been crying such a lot. In the interval Hella walked past Anneliese and
said out loud: "Traitress!!" and spat at her. For that she was ordered
out of the ranks. I stepped out of the ranks too, and when Frau
Professor Kreindl said: "Not you, Lainer, you go on," I said: "Excuse
me, I spat at her _too_," and went and stood beside Hella. All the girls
looked at us. It was plain that Frau Prof. Kreindl knew all about it
already for she did not say any more. In the German lesson from 11 to 12
Frau Doktor M. said: "Girls, why can't you keep the peace together? This
continual misconduct is really too bad, and serves only to make trouble
for you and for your parents and for us." Just before 12 Hella and
I were summoned to the head's room again. "Girls," she said, "it's
a horrible business this. Even if your own imaginations have been
prematurely poisoned, why should you try to corrupt others? As for
you, Lainer, you ought to be especially ashamed of yourself that such
complaints should be made of you when your mother has been buried only
a few weeks." "Excuse me," said Hella, "all this happened in the spring,
and even earlier, in the winter, for we were still skating at the time.
Rita's mother wa