“Why, Ernie Lewis asked you for a date once, and didn't Harry Lang want to take you to his Sunday School party?”
“Oh yes, but who wants to have a date with Ernie? He wears glasses and has a bad complexion, and Harry Lang talks of nothing but livestock! Can you think of anything more boring?”
“Now listen to me, Thelma! Since you ask me what is wrong with you, I'll tell you. You're too 'high-hat.' Just because a boy wears glasses is no sign that he is not a good scout. Ernie can row a boat better than anyone else in school, and he's wonderful in his home.
“Maybe the other boys have found out that you are too particular about the boys. You know, they hate a snob.
“Just look at Peggy Handlon,” Charlotte continued. “She is as kind to one boy as to another, and you know how they flock around her. Don't you remember how she persuaded bashful Jim Hayes to go out for football, and now he's captain of the team?”
“But look how Peggy plays up to the boys,” put in Thelma.
“No, she doesn't play up to them. She simply treats them like human beings. She knows that they can be good companions. She says she didn't know a flower until she started taking hikes with 'Slim.' One thing sure, she looks for and sees the fine traits in boys. I wish I could have the wholesome friendships with them that she has.
“Then, too, Peggy can play their games, talk with them about livestock, and still remain absolutely feminine.”
“My goodness, Charlotte, you would make a dandy lecturer! But I wish you'd concentrate on me instead of Peggy. I couldn't be like her in fifty years—and then I'd be too old to enjoy it. Besides getting over being a high-hat, what else can I do?”