"Sisterly Love"

Here is a fiction story I did a long time ago. It's titled "Sisterly Love" and so far I only have two chapters. The story takes place after the time Mary has come back from Chicago and John Jr. has broken up with her.


Sisterly Love

Chapter 1: The news

It’s a nice spring day in Walnut Grove. Kids run around playing. It’s recess time at the school and Ms. Beadle checks her watch as she heads to ring the bell for the children to come inside. Ding- Ding – Ding.

“Oh nooooo!”, shouts Willie, “come on, let’s finish the game, I bet I can win my marbles back!”.

“Sorry Willie, but it’s impossible now… besides, Ms. Beadle said she had some news to tell us and I want to hear what it is”, said Carl as he put 5 of Willie’s marbles in his pocket and goes inside the classroom.

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"Settle down kids!, I know you are all excited from playing outside but we have to continue with our work, but first, like I promised, I believe I do have some news to tell you”, Ms. Beadle sat on her chair. “It looks like we will be having a …. “.

“Yooo hooooo!”
Everyone looks towards the back of the class and see Mrs. Oleson come into the classroom.

“Have you told them yet Ms. Beadle?”, Mrs. Oleson ask with a huge smile.

“Well, I was just about to do that Mrs. Oleson, I….”

“Ohhhhh! Well, looks like I got here just in time! I might as well tell them myself, don’t you think?”

“Go right ahead”, says Ms. Beadle shaking her head.

Mrs. Oleson took her place in front of the class, next to Ms. Beadle.
“Kids, it is my great pleasure to inform you that my 17 year old niece, Sally, is coming to Walnut Grove next week and she works for a newspaper company in Chicago and will be coming here to take some pictures of some of you students. She will choose one of you to do a story on and that person will appear on the front page, how does that sound?” Mrs. Oleson asked the class.

Everyone was excited and started talking all at once.

“Owww!”, yelled Laura as she touched her cheek. She looked back just in time to catch Willie hiding something. “Ms. Beadle, Willie is throwing things!”

“Settle down children!, said Ms. Beadle as she stood up, “and Willie, go to the corner”.

“Oh, must you send him to the corner in the middle of my big news Ms. Beadle?”, asked Mrs. Olson as she looked sweetly at Willie and Willie gave her an innocent smile back.

“Okay, fine,”, said Ms. Beadle giving up. “Now, settle down, one at a time and please raise your hand if you have a question”. Mary raised her hand. “Yes Mary?”, asked Mrs. Beadle.

“Mrs. Oleson, I think that is really exciting. When exactly will your niece arrive in Walnut Grove?”.

“Well, today is Friday, the letter I got says she will be arriving this Tuesday so you might want to tell your parents that you should look nicer than usual next week because you might be the one to appear on the magazine, although I must say, some of us look nice all the time”, Mrs. Oleson winked at Nelly. “She will also be attending school here with you while she’s here so she can get to know you and your personalities, that way she feels she kind of knows you when she writes the article”.

“Owww!” yelled Laura again. This time Mrs. Oleson walked towards Willie.

“Willie, to the corner! Can’t you see I’m in the middle of giving some great news?!”

“Oh but Ma….. !”, said Willie as he tried giving her his innocent smile one more time.

“Don’t ‘but Ma… me!... to the corner!”, said Mrs. Oleson as she pointed towards the corner. Willie slowly got up and dragged his feet to the corner once again.

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Chapter 2: The Treehouse moments

It was a beautiful Saturday morning at the Ingalls house. Caroline was cooking a delicious breakfast, Laura and Mary were doing some chores in the barn and Carrie was helping her Pa milk the cow.

“Breakfast is ready!” yelled Caroline.

After saying grace, Mary began talking about the newspaper story.

“I mean, don’t you think it will be neat to come out on the front page of a Chicago newspaper Ma?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure it is”, said Ma as she served Carrie some food.

“I bet you that Sally will be as nasty as Nelly”, said Laura.

“Oh, I don’t think so” said Mary. “I don’t know why, but I have a good feeling about this girl. I think she’s going to be nice”.

“Well, nice or not”, said Laura, “I think Mrs. Oleson is going to do everything in her power to convince Sally that her cousin Nelly should be on the front page”.

Mary looked thoughtful, “I wonder if she knows John, I heard Mrs. Oleson talking and it looks like she works for the same newspaper company as John.”

Laura reached over and touched Mary’s hand. “I hope she doesn’t know John or is friends with him or else I will have to kick her just for that”, said Laura.

Mary smiled and squeezed Laura’s hand and she thanked her with her eyes.

“Well, how about if we finish this breakfast so we can all go visit the Edwards?”, asked Pa as she looked at his family.

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Saturday went by quickly. On Sunday the church was packed as usual. After the last prayer Reverend Alden reminded everyone to attend the church picnic which would be held outside the church. Kids were playing different games and everyone was having a good time. Mary, Laura and Carrie went to the Olsen’s mercantile to buy some candy. Nelly greeted them as she took out a box to show the girls.

“What do you have there Nelly?”, asked Laura.

“Oh just ONE of my dresses that I have ordered from the catalog, the other one should be arriving sometime tomorrow. As my mother said, we must look nicer than usual this coming week. What about you two? I haven’t seen your mother come here ordering dresses for next week”, said Nelly as she smiled sarcastically, knowing the Ingalls couldn’t afford that.

Mary looked at Nelly with a hurt expression and shook her head. Just as Nelly was about open her mouth again, Mr. Oleson appeared.

“Nelly, your mother needs you in the kitchen”.

“Oh but faaatheer….”, complained Nelly. “Now!”, said Mr. Oleson with a stern voice. Nelly looked at him with huge eyes and headed to the kitchen. Laura smiled as she saw Nelly head towards the kitchen.

“Now, what can I get you girls?”, asked Mr. Oleson looking at Mary who was quiet. Laura looked at Mary concerned and then back at Mr. Oleson. “Three liquorish sticks please”.

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As the Ingalls were arriving home in the afternoon and heading towards the house, Mary and Laura said they were going to the treehouse Laura had built with Andy Garvey’s help.

“Make sure you girls don’t stay out there too late!” Mr. Ingalls called after them. Caroline smiled at Charles.

"Seems like those two have been spending a lot of time together lately and have been having fun together a lot”.

“Good!”, said Charles as she put his arm around Caroline and smiled at her.

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Mary and Laura walked up the hill carrying with them some books and popcorn to take to the treehouse. Ever since Mary got back from Chicago and had seen the way John Jr. had treated Mary, Laura had made a special effort to make Mary feel happy and not be sad. She also liked spending time with her big sister. It seems like time was passing by quickly, they were growing up and she wanted to spend as much time with her sister as she could, make as many memories with her. Laura thought Mary was really smart and it was only a matter of time before Mary would decide to go off to college. For the last couple of weeks, they had gotten in the habit of going to the treehouse in the afternoons and read poems or stories and watch the sunset from there. It was Laura’s favorite time of the day because it seemed like she and her sister were the best of friends in that treehouse. They talked about everything and laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. They would take turns reading stories or poems to each other.

The treehouse was built at the top of a hill and the girls loved the view from the top, sunsets were specially nice. Mary and Laura sat across from each other leafing through the books for some nice poems they could read. Laura looked at Mary and put her book down.

“Mary.. why did you let Nelly get to you at the store earlier today? You know she’s always saying nasty things like that, why didn’t you say something back?”, said Laura.

Mary looked up from her book. “I know, and I’m getting tired of it. I know she has everything but why does she have to make others feel terrible for not being able to get the things she has?” asked Mary as she closed her book and got up to sit at the edge of the treehouse and looked out. Laura got up and joined her and they sat there looking at the scenery.

“Mary, if you’re worried about not being the one to appear on the front page of the newspaper, you shouldn’t be. Even though you don’t have all the dresses Nelly does, you are much prettier than her and I’m sure Sally will choose you, the rest of us don’t compare”, said Laura as she stared at the ground.

Mary lifted Laura’s chin up. “Now what kind of a talk is that little sister? How many times have I told you that you are a pretty girl? Besides, true beauty comes from inside you. You can be the most beautiful person in the world but still be ugly if you are an awful person. So what you are inside, reflects to what other see when they look at you”, said Mary smiling. “Besides, let’s not talk about Nelly anymore, lets read some poems”.

The wind had started to pick up a little and the girls loved the feel of the breeze in their faces. They looked out into the horizon and could see that that the sun was coming down and filled the prairie with a golden color.



“Now THAT.. is beautiful”, said Laura and she enjoyed the scenery.

Mary was enjoying the view a lot. “Hmm mmm”, she replied.

Laura looked towards the sun.

“You know I read a poem in this book I liked so much that I memorized it”, said Laura.

“Well let’s hear it then”, Mary said as she looked out into the prairie field.

Laura began saying the poem as she looked at the beautiful scenery in front of her.

“Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold, Her early leaf’s a flower, but only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf, so Eden sank to grief, so dawn goes down to day, nothing Gold can stay”.

“That was beautiful Laura”, Mary said as she looked at her sister. Laura looked at Mary.

“I wish Gold things could stay, golden moments like the ones we are having now, I wish they could stay forever”, said Laura.

“They can…. in our mind and hearts”, said Mary.

Laura and Mary smiled at each other and put their arms around each other. The breeze hit their faces and they sat there looking out at the prairie and saw the last tip of the sun disappear. Another golden sunset.


(Will post Chapter 3 when I can)

Author’s note:
Okay, I have changed the first sentence of the first Chapter to have it say that it is spring, instead of autumn. I believe Mary went to Chicago during Christmas and my story takes place about 3 months after that trip which would make it spring.

Also, in Chapter 2, I mention that the tree house was built w/ Andy Garvey’s help and in that same chapter Pa mentions to his family that after dinner, they would go visit the Edwards. Haha. Well, in my story, the Edwards came back after looking for gold and the Garveys also moved to town.

I write a little bit about the boy that Mary met on the train coming back from Chicago, Patrick.

Okay, now on w/ the story:

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Chapter 3: Mary and her thoughts

It was Sunday night and Mary was having trouble sleeping. She looked over at Laura who was sleeping peacefully. In fact, everyone was sleeping peacefully except her. She was thinking of too many things. The news Mrs. Oleson announced on Friday had been on her mind. As soon as Mrs. Oleson mentioned Chicago, she immediately thought of John. It had only been three months since John had broken her heart and it still had not healed.

Patrick, whom she met on the train, had been so nice to her. They had been friends ever since and Mary knew Patrick wanted something more than friendship but she was not ready for that. John had meant so much to her and she was not ready to get close to someone and be hurt again. The memory of that last night at the hotel in Chicago was still really vivid to her. Her Pa had comforted her and held her but she remembered she felt like dying. When her Pa had left her alone, Mary kept thinking how angry she was at John Jr.’s girl, she just wanted to throw punches at her and then order John Jr. to love HER. If only it were that easy.

She had such a mix of emotions that last night in Chicago. There would be a moment when she felt she hated John and moments later she would start to cry because she felt she loved him still. The worst part, she STILL felt this way. She tried as hard as she could to not think about John so the pain would go away. She kept herself busy but certain things, actions and smells would automatically remind her of John all over again.

When Mrs. Oleson had mentioned Chicago, all she could think about was John. The thought of being the one chosen to appear at the front page of the magazine interested her a lot. If she was picked, her picture would be on the front page of a Chicago magazine and she was sure John would see it. She really wasn’t sure what she wanted to accomplish in John seeing the magazine. Maybe it was a way of showing him that she has made it without him, it would show him that she was still the same Mary, bright and successful in her things and would show she was not hurt by what he did to her. Or maybe Mary wanted John to see it with the hope that … just maybe… John could look at her and see what he lost and come back to her.

She was so confused. She needed to stop thinking or she would go crazy! She looked over at Laura again and smiled. Her sister had been so supportive since her trip back from Chicago. Sure she bossed Laura around sometimes, but she loved her sister and she was glad that Laura had kept her occupied with things to keep her mind of the hurt she felt. Mary decided to just close her eyes in hopes that she would fall asleep fast. Tomorrow would be Monday; the start of a new school week and the following day, Sally would arrive from Chicago.



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CHAPTER 4 COMING SOON!

Thanks everyone for the comments.
Okay, I found out the name of the guy on the train was Patrick, so I changed the name from "Bobby" to Patrick in the previous chapter. In this chapter, you will read more about Patrick and I decided to add a love interest for Laura. ;)
Okay, so I don't know if you guys know who Zac Efron is? I was watching the Disney Channel the other day and saw the movie 'High School Musical' and I thought the main guy was cute, so I will add him to my fan fiction. LOL

"Patrick" "Daniel"

And now... on to the story:

Chapter 4: A Design Contest & Daniel

On Monday morning, Patrick was sitting on the steps of the schoolhouse waiting for Mary. He knew she would be excited to hear the news he had to tell her. He noticed a man and a boy about 14 years old headed towards his direction.

“Good morning!” said the man as he approached the school steps.

“Good morning Sir”

“My name is Anthony Lewis, and this here is my boy Daniel, who is starting school today.”

Daniel smiled and extended his hand out to Patrick. “Hi”

“Hi, nice to meet you”, said Patrick. He looked at Mr. Lewis. “The teacher, Ms. Beadle, should be inside”.

“Thank you” said Mr. Lewis as he tipped his hat. He and Daniel headed inside the schoolhouse.

Three girls that had been standing near came over to Patrick.

“Patrick, who was that?” one of the girls asked.

“His name is Daniel, new student.”

“He was cute!” said another girl and all three of them walked off giggling and teasing each other.

Patrick laughed as he looked at them and shook his head. He then saw Mary and her sisters and ran up to meet them.

“Hi Mary, Laura, Carrie”, said Patrick.

“Hi!” they all said in unison.

Laura saw that a baseball game was just starting. Recently the kids at school had become obsessed with playing baseball. They would play it during lunch time, after school and kids would go to school early so they could play a little before school started.

“Well, I see the baseball game is about to start. Bye!” said Laura as she headed towards the group of kids who were discussing teams.

“Well, I have some good news for you Mary” said Patrick after Laura and Carrie had left them alone.

“I won a huge prize and you’re going to tell me what it is?” teased Mary and smiled.

Patrick loved Mary’s smile and laugh. “Well maybe” said Patrick with a big grin on his face.

“Okay Patrick, you have my attention”

“Well, remember I told you about my aunt who is a costume designer in this big Chicago theater company?

There was that word again, thought Mary. “Yeah, she arrived about two days ago… what about her?”

“Well, Mary, as a way to introduce the kids here to the Theater and an interest in costume design, she’s going to propose a contest. She’s heard that several of the girls here can sew pretty well and the girl who designs and makes the best costume will win a trip for two to go to Chicago with her and help her design the costume for Juliet, in the ‘Romeo & Juliet’ play that’s playing in two months. The trip is paid for, hotel and meals, everything! What do you think about that?!"

Mary was so excited. What an opportunity! She didn’t quite believe it. “Patrick… are you sure?”

“Yes! I heard that she already spoke to the school board and Ms. Beadle about it and I believe she’s coming to the school this Wednesday to announce it”.

“My pa is a member of the board and he didn’t mention anything” said Mary.

Patrick smiled. “That’s because nobody is supposed to know, so keep quiet about it okay?

Mary smiled at Patrick, “Okay. Wow, I can't wait. First there is Sally coming to do an article on one of us here and now a costume design contest? What a month this is going to be!", said Mary as she smiled at Patrick and gave him a quick hug. She noticed Patrick started looking at her funny. Oh why did Patrick get this looks?? she thought. She saw the game as perfect opportunity to avoid further conversation with just the two of them.

"Want to go watch the game?” she asked him.

“Sure. Let me carry your books”. Patrick was a happy guy as they headed towards the game.

As they got near, Mary saw a man exiting the school house and tipped his
hat at her as he passed them.

“Who was that?” Mary asked.

“Oh, he’s new in town. His name is Anthony Lewis and has a son named Daniel who is starting school today. I don’t see him anywhere, he’s probably still inside with Ms. Beadle”.

The baseball game had started and Laura was up to bat. Daniel came out of the school house in time to see Laura bat. She noticed a pretty blonde haired girl rooting for her.

“Go Laura! Go! Hit it hard!”, shouted Mary.

Nellie Oleson was sitting next to Mary and Patrick. “That Laura… she’s such a tomboy”, said Nellie as she shook her head.

Mary looked at Nellie. “Well, that’s Laura. Go, Laura go!”

Daniel heard their conversation and smiled. The ball was pitched and Laura hit the ball hard and started running the bases. As Laura came to third base, she ran harder and headed towards home base. As she got there, her team started cheering, because they had won the game. Laura started jumping up and down, turning in circles and then noticed Daniel standing at the school entrance looking at her and laughing.

“Who is that?” she asked.

Andy turned to look and shrugged his shoulders. “Must be new”.

Miss Beadle came out and rang the doorbell and everyone headed inside.

“Quiet everyone!” said Miss Beadle as Daniel stood next to her.

Usually it took a while for all the kids to calm down from the excitement but since they noticed a new student, they all took their seats and waited for what Miss Beadle had to say.

“Everyone, we have a new student with us today. His name is Daniel, Daniel Lewis and he has moved here recently from New York City. I’m sure we all want to say hi and make him feel welcome”.

“Hi Daniel”, everyone said.

Some girls in the back started giggling and the class heard the word “cute” escape from one of the girl’s mouth. Some of the students laughed and Daniel got embarrassed and looked at the floor for a moment.

“Daniel, you may take your seat in the back”.

“Thank you maam”, he said as he sat down. He noticed Laura sat two rows ahead of him on the opposite side. Laura turned around to look at him and smiled and he smiled back and waved to her, which only made Laura’s smile deepen.


CHAPTER 5 COMING SOON!

Chapter 5: The Arrival

On Monday evening, the Ingalls’ house was a cheerful place. Laura was helping her Ma cook supper. Mary was setting the table and Charles was telling Carrie a funny story that had Carrie laughing hard.

“Oh Pa, tell me another one!” pleaded Carrie.

“Oh no, do you see your Ma and your sister getting ready to put the food on the table? Time to eat now!” said Charles as he took his seat.

Charles and Caroline had noticed that Laura had come home in a very upbeat mood from school today. She had hugged them and had not stopped smiling.

“So, half-pint, how was school today?” asked Charles.
Caroline smiled as she looked at Laura and ate her corn cob. She was curious about Laura as well.

“Laura is in looove Pa!” shouted Carrie.

Mary had been drinking milk and almost chocked on it because the way Carrie had looked and sounded when she made the announcement was really funny to her. Laura glared at Carrie and shook her head and her sister only smiled back as she chewed on a corncob.

Mary saw that Laura got a little embarrassed so she saved her sister from speaking. “Well Pa, there is a new student. He’s a nice looking boy; his name is Daniel….. ahhhh…. Daniel…” Mary couldn’t remember his last name.

“Daniel Lewis” said Laura.

“Oh! Well I met his father Anthony today” said Charles. “He came over to the Mill and introduced himself. He’s a real nice man, going to be working at the bank”.

“Charles, did he say where they live? I should go pay a visit to his wife, take her a pie or something, to welcome them”, said Caroline.

“You know, he talked to us for a little while, but he never mentioned a wife. It looks like it’s just him and the boy here”.

“Hmmm….. Well, even if it is just the two of them, we should still go pay them a visit and take them a pie” said Caroline as she started gathering the dishes.

“I think that’s a good idea Ma”, said Laura with a smile.

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In the middle of the night Laura woke up. She heard Mary sniffling. She sounded like she had been crying.

“Mary… you okay?” she asked in a whisper.

“Yeah…” Mary turned so that Laura could not see her face.

Laura wasn’t sure what to do. She knew Mary was still hurting for John. He had hurt her and only because she was really in love with him. She put her hand on Mary’s shoulder. “I’m here for you Mary” she said.

Mary turned around to lie on her back. She was facing the ceiling. “I know you are Laura, you’ve been so wonderful to me”.

The window in the loft had been left open to let the cool air and the moon shone giving the loft a soft moon glow in the night. Laura could see a tear rolling down on the side of Mary’s eye. Mary could not sleep so she got out of bed and sat next to the window and looked at the moon. Laura also got out of bed and sat next to her sister.

“Laura…” said Mary as she looked out the window. “Would you think I’m crazy if I told you I think I still love John?” She looked at Laura.

“Well… you loved him so … " said Laura unsure of what else to say.

“Yes. I did. I loved him so much that I let him go. I could have been selfish and let him keep building the house for us, but I knew he wasn’t happy. I mean, wasn’t that the right thing to do?” she asked Laura with tears in her eyes.

“Yes…” she answered.

“Then, where did I go wrong?” Mary asked as she tried to keep from crying but it was no use. She buried her face in her hands and started sobbing. She really didn’t want to wake her Ma and Pa and Laura knew that. She hugged Mary tight.

“Oh Mary...” she whispered. “Hold it in okay? Hold it for now….. just hold it” Laura rubbed her back.

Mary was grateful for her sister. “Okay… okay”, she whispered. She was glad Laura had kept her from crying out loud. She didn’t feel like explaining anything if someone else woke up. Mary swallowed the lump in her throat and wiped her tears away.

“You alright?” asked Laura.

“Yes. Thank you”, said Mary as she squeezed her sister’s hand and gave her a hug.

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In the morning as they walked to school, Mary felt a little awkward and embarrassed about what had happened at night. As they got closer to the Mercantile, Carrie ran off to buy some liquorish and left Laura and Mary alone. Laura grabbed Mary’s arm to keep her from walking.

“Hey Mary… it’s okay”, she said.

Mary smiled at Laura. “Thanks for being there for me”, she put her arm around Laura and kept walking. “What would I do without you?”

“Well for one, you wouldn’t be able to eat any liquorish being that Pa gave me the money”, joked Laura.

Mary laughed.

“Hey, Sally comes today, aren’t you excited about that?” said Laura as they entered the Mercantile.

Mary had never told Laura why she would like to end up on the cover of the magazine. “Yes, I am” said Mary.

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The stage was to arrive at lunch. It would pass by the school house so some kids were looking out for it.

“I see it! I see it!” shouted one of the girl students. Several kids got closer so they could see it and wave hello as it passed. The stage came and the kids noticed there were several, about 5 people in the stage, not just Sally. Someone stuck his head out the window.

Laura froze. “It can’t be…”

Daniel looked at the guy who waved to Laura. “What is it Laura?”, he asked.

Laura ran to where Mary was having lunch with 3 other girls by a tree. Mary saw Laura who looked like something was wrong.

“What is it Laura?” she asked.

“Mary... John is here”, she said almost in a whisper.

Mary got up all of a sudden, got closer to Laura. “What?”

“John… he is also here, he’s on the stage”

Mary looked in the distance, towards the stage that had now stopped and saw several young people stepping out. She saw Mrs. Oleson making fuzz over Sally and hugging her. Then she saw him. John Jr. stepped out of the stage and looked towards the school house. He made eye contact with Mary who didn’t know what to do. Part of her felt like running to him and another part like going inside the school house to hide. She felt her heart beat faster.

“John…” she whispered.




CHAPTER 6 COMING SOON!

(Author's note: Sorry it took a little while to post this chapter. It's kind of short, the following one will be longer)

Chapter 6: Reconciliation?

Mary saw that John was waiving at her. There was no way she could hide in the school house now. What would she do there? Sit at her desk for 40 minutes? She had only taken two bites off her sandwich but she was not hungry anymore. She saw that John started running towards her and she became nervous and started walking in the opposite direction.

“Mary, wait!” said John.

Mary signed. She turned around and seconds later John was at her side. She noticed he was wearing the shirt she had made him. Patrick came over to Laura’s side who had been watching Mary.

“Is that John Jr.?” he asked Laura.

“That’s him…” said Laura.

Patrick did not like the fact that John Jr. had come. How was he going to win Mary’s heart with John Jr. in town? He also didn’t like John because he had hurt Mary. Probably Mary would tell him off. Maybe he shouldn’t worry. Patrick was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when to his shock he saw that Mary and John Jr. walked off by themselves!

John and Mary walked together in silence to a place away from all the kids and noise from the baseball game they had going. John would take quick glances at Mary. They reached a tree that gave some nice shade and they both stopped walking.

“You look good Mary” said John.

“You do too” said Mary as she looked at him then quickly looked at the ground.

Oh how she wished John would have not hurt her. If that had been the case, this surprise visit would have been a lot different. They would have run into each other’s arms, kissed, laughed and tell each other how much they were missed. Instead, they both felt awkward.

“Mary…. I ….”

“John…”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you here?” Mary said as she saw the look of hurt in John’s face.

“Mary, I’m so sorry. I know… I acted like a jerk…” said John as he looked at Mary and then down at the ground.

“I felt so awful that night John. I just want to know why. What did I do that was wrong?” asked Mary with an emotional voice.

“You didn’t do anything. It was me. I’m sorry I caused you so much pain. I’m going to be staying in Walnut Grove for a couple weeks, and then I’ll be going back. I want to make it up to you Mary. I do really care about you.” said John as he grabbed Mary’s hand.

Could this really be happening? Could things really go back to the way they were? The thought of that happening filled Mary with happiness, but she didn’t want to show John how happy she was.

“We will see John… I’m more interested in your actions than your words at the moment” said Mary.

John let go of Mary’s hand.

“Then I will show you I still care. Let me take you on a picnic this Saturday okay? We’ll go to our favorite hangout tree and just talk. I’ll pick you up at 10 in the morning, what do you say?”

“Sure. I… I have to go now… lunch is almost over.” said Mary as she started walking away.

She had walked about 10 steps when she turned around and saw John was still looking at her.

“I’ll see you Saturday!”

Mary felt like jumping for joy but at the same time, she tried not to think about it. She didn’t want to get her hopes up too high. Ms. Beadle rang the bell and they all walked inside the school. Mary grabbed her lunch pail from Laura and took a few more bites of her sandwich.

“You okay Mary?” asked Laura.

Daniel was standing next to Laura. “Looks to me like she is” said Daniel as he winked at Laura and then headed inside.

Mary looked at Daniel and then at Laura who looked a little embarrassed. “Are YOU okay?” asked Mary as she winked at Laura.


CHAPTER 7 COMING SOON!

Author's note: Thanks everyone for your comments!! I'm glad you are all enjoying the story. Chapter 7 is up, sorry it took a while, but I'll try to post the chapters quicker... I know how it feels having to wait... lol.
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CHAPTER 7: Celebration Dinners

The light shining through the windows and the music coming out of the Oleson’s house was an indication there was a celebration dinner going on that Tuesday evening. Nellie was playing the piano for her cousin Sally and her friends. Nels was in the kitchen cooking dinner and Mrs. Oleson and Willie were setting the table.

“Oh Sally, it sure was a surprise to see John Jr. here. Why didn’t you tell me he was coming?” asked Mrs. Oleson as she joined them in the living room.

“It was a last minute decision Auntie, I didn’t even know until this morning. John decided at the last minute that he would come and spend some days here and brought his friend Norman with him” said Sally.

Sally was seventeen years old and she looked a lot like her cousin Kate who had come to visit Walnut Grove a few years back. She was a smart young girl, she had a good education and excelled in all her work. She loved writing, doing articles for the newspaper or magazines. She had started working at the Chicago Daily about 6 months ago. There she met John Jr. and also her best friend Brooke who had also come to Walnut Grove with her. Ms. Amber who was in her 30s had also come along to supervise and help with the article. She was also their supervisor at the Chicago Daily and shared a good relationship with the girls.

“But after what he did to Mary, I didn’t think he would come back and ask to see her! Willie told me how he saw the two of them earlier today, holding hands!” said Harriett.

“I’m not sure what is going on with them Auntie. Hopefully John will behave himself while he’s here” said Sally.

Nellie had stopped playing the piano. “What do you mean “behave” himself?” asked Nellie.

Just then Nels appeared at the living room. “Supper is ready folks!”

They all went to the dining room and saw the table filled with delicious food.

Ms. Amber touched Mrs. Oleson on the arm. “Oh Mrs. Oleson, this is all so lovely” she said.

Brooke couldn’t wait to eat. It had been a long trip from Chicago to Walnut Grove. “Mr. Oleson, this looks lovely!”

Willie was already sitting down with a spoon in his hand ready to serve. “Let’s eat!”

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Grace Edwards served Norman and John another helping of dinner. “John it’s so good to see you and Norman, we are glad to have you stay here with us” she said.

“Thank you Ma. I would have notified you I was coming, but I wanted it to be a surprise. I’ve missed you all so much, Carl and Alicia, they’re growing up fast” said John as he winked at Alicia.

“That they are John!”, said Isaiah Edwards as he patted John on the back and smiled down at him.

“How long will you be staying with us John?” asked Alicia.

“Well, about two weeks. Tomorrow is Wednesday and I’ll be leaving about 9 days later on Friday so that gives me a good deal of time with you all doesn’t it?”

“Oh yeah!” said Alicia and Carl at the same time as they looked at each other and smiled.

Mr. Edwards noticed that Norman was quiet and was busy eating his food. “I reckon you like my wife’s cookin Norman” said Mr. Edwards.

Norman kept on eating as if he had not heard anything. They all laughed.

John shook his head. “Norman!”

Norman looked up from his plate. “Huh?”

Everyone laughed again. Grace got up from the table and started cleaning. “Isaiah was just saying, he thought you were enjoying your supper”.

“Oh yes mam! I haven’t had a good home meal like this in a while.”

“Well, I’m glad you liked it son” said Grace.

Later that night Norman and John were getting ready for bed.

“Boy that sure was a good meal your Ma made John” said Norman as he got under the covers.

“Yeah, I forgot how good her cooking was”

“So… how did your talk with Mary go this afternoon?” asked Norman as he looked at John.

“It went very well actually. She looked really beautiful. I noticed some guy was staring at us, I wonder if he and Mary have something…”

“She looks like a nice girl John”, said Norman.

“Yeah, she is.”

With that, both boys drifted off to sleep.

CHAPTER 8 COMING SOON!

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters, except for the ones that I create.

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Chapter 8: Exciting Events

Mary, Laura & Carrie headed to school a little late Wednesday morning. When they entered the classroom, they noticed a group of people at the front talking to Mrs. Beadle. They quietly took their seats to avoid being noticed by Ms. Beadle.

Willie smiled and said out loud “Nice of you to join us”.

Ms. Beadle looked up and noticed the Ingalls girls. “Mary, Laura, I’d like to speak to you briefly at recess.”

“Yes maam”, said Laura & Mary. Laura gave Willie a mean look and hit him on the side of the head with her Mcguffey reader.

Ms. Beadle took her seat. “Class, I’d like to start today by introducing you to Sally, Brooke & Amber” she said as she pointed to her right. “Also here is Mrs. Angela Morris, she is also Patrick’s aunt. She is a costume designer for a theater company in Chicago. They both will introduce themselves and talk to you more about their projects. Sally…” she nodded to Sally as if telling her to go first.

Sally took her place at the front of the class. “I know my aunt has told you a little about me as well as Ms. Beadle. Every month we attend a different school and write an article about an outstanding student. We publish an article titled ‘Student of the Month’ in the magazine every last Friday of the month and it’s a way to show everyone how dedicated students can be. We have also received letters from other young students telling us that some articles have inspired them or encouraged them to do better in school and that is our ultimate goal by doing these projects. With me is my friend Brooke who also works with me on this project and our supervisor, Ms. Amber”

Ms. Amber stood up and went to Sally’s side. “I have a couple of magazines that we have done in the past and wanted to show them to you so you can get an idea of what the article will look like”.

Amber passed the magazines around and the students excitedly looked at the articles. Mary started reading through one of the articles.

“This is so exciting… when will you start working on the project?” she asked Sally.

“We will be coming in during the afternoons for about an hour or two for the next couple of days and we will just see how everyone does in school, will be starting tomorrow”.

The kids asked more questions and after a little while, Sally, Brooke and Amber left the schoolhouse leaving the students very excited about the project and the opportunity of appearing in a magazine.

Ms. Beadle gathered all the magazines and placed them on her desk. “Now students, I know you are all excited about this great opportunity but I now want you to give your attention to Mrs. Angela Morris.”

Mrs. Morris, winked at Ms. Beadle and walked to the center of the class. “Students, my name is Angela Morris. I work a theater company in Chicago and I design the costumes for people to wear on plays. Raise your hand if you have ever participated in a play befoe”

Most of the students put their hands up. Mrs. Morris looked at Nellie. “That’s great! Young lady, what play where you in?”
“I was in a play called “Little Women” and I don’t think anyone can forget my outstanding performance” said Nellie as she smiled at Mrs. Morris.

Laura looked at her and said “Yeah, or your outstanding wig either!”.

The whole class started laughing as they remembered the day the class put on plays for their parents and remembered Nellie’s big curly wig. Mrs. Morris was a little confused and looked at Ms. Beadle who mouthed the words ‘I’ll tell you later’.

Angela Morris took out some costumes out of her bag and displayed them at the front of the class.

“Costumes are very important in a play, it helps the person stay in the character that they are playing, remember, wardrobe helps. I really love my job and want everyone to have an opportunity to be a part of a production. The costumes displayed here were made by kids your age. They entered my contest and the hardest working student was selected to come to Chicago, have one of their costumes worn in a play. The trip is paid for and you can bring along one guest, you are provided with meals and the exciting opportunity to see a play in which one of your costumes is used. Doesn’t that sound great?”

The kids cheered and started talking all at once.

“I have already found out that we have several girls here who like to sew and I’m sure they will be very interested in this. I would like everyone who is interested in participating, to please fill out the form Ms. Beadle is passing out. Make sure your parents read through it and sign it. I will be collecting the forms tomorrow morning.”

The rest of the day went by quickly. There was a lot of excitement in the air with these two projects going on in school. Mary & Laura lay in bed talking over the day’s events.

“It sure was fun at school today wasn’t it?” Laura asked.

“Yeah… there are so many exciting things happening… the magazine, the design contest… John”, whispered Mary.

“I still can’t believe he’s here. Are you feeling nervous about Saturday?”

“A little… “

“Just be careful okay Mary?” said Laura as she looked at her.

Mary nodded and turned on her side. “Goodnight Laura”.