Lydia Smith

One cold and rainy spring day, the fog loomed over Plumfield quite thickly blocking much of the view. The children stared out of the foggy windows boredly since they are unable to go outside, and being indoors all day can become rather dull. Mrs. Bhaer noticed the misery of the children and decided to cheer them up.

“Well my dears; I have some exciting news for you all. Mr. Bhaer and I have just learned that we will be having another student.” 

The reaction of the children was quite enjoyable and sweet.

“Really! Is the new student a he or she?” inquired Daisy, who liked the idea of having another playmate who was a girl since the majority of the school were boys, except for two girls one who was a complete tomboy and the other to young.

“How old is this new student? I hope it’s a boy!” said Tommy eagerly.

After a few minutes of the children’s questions, Mrs. Bhaer spoke.

“She is a girl of fourteen, older I know; her name is Lydia Smith. Her parents have decided to send her here, so she can have a little more fun and laughter in her life. She is from England and went to a very strict and dull boarding school in London which has left her quite moody and miserable. She is staying here at Plumfield for an entire year to have a little fun, enjoyment, and to learn in peace without to much stress. Please be kind to her.” 

This left quite an uproar again.

“When is she coming?” asked Nan.

“Does she like books and learning?” softly asked Demi.

“Dears please calm down. Well, she is coming tonight Mr. Bhaer is picking her up at the station, Nan, and I think she probably might, Demi.”

Mrs. Bhaer answered.

After there was a great deal of whispering, everyone wondered who this new mysterious girl from England was like, was, she nice or nasty, Mrs. Bhaer has said she was miserable and moody. Did she like younger children, would she be kind to them?

Lydia Smith miserably sat on the bench, her shoes and jacket were wet; she felt miserable and cold. She rubbed her thin elegant fingers together to warm them up, her leather gloves were not

helping one little bit. She was a small girl, small in stature, she had wavy whitish blond hair, and pale white skin which was pink from the cold, with milky grey eyes. She wore expensive clothing which did not suit her at all, they rather sagged on her.

Finally she saw the carriage. She grabbed her trunk and walked toward the carriage. The man sitting in the carriage had a kind and caring face that seemed to warm you up even though you were freezing cold. 

“Hullo. You must be Lydia.” He said kindly which warmed Lydia a tinge bit more, she had always been suspicious of strangers.

Back home at Plumfield the atmosphere of the children was even more anxious and excited; when they saw the carriage drive up the drive, they nearly leapt up with a blast of relief from the anxiety. The anxiety in the atmosphere was so bad the Nan said she had clutched her hands so hard that her hands were blue.

The house was nice, decided Lydia, much nicer than the boarding school that she had gone to for the last five years of her life; Mr. Bhaer was also very nice much kinder than the people at her boarding school. Lydia decided that she would like this place. She nervously walked through the door. The inside was even nicer than the outside, it wasn’t fancy and lavish, it was quite plain and simple but full of kindness and love, as if the house was giving you a warm embrace.

As Lydia was taking everything in, she heard the bounds of feet and saw a bunch of joyous happy young children run toward her. It was overwhelming since she had never seen such happy children, even her noisy siblings weren’t that happy. A kind gentle woman came down the stairs, after the children, she looked like the kind of person you could trust, someone that could understand you, and talk to. Lydia decided that she liked Mrs. Bhaer also.

“My dear, you are welcome to Plumfield.” said Mrs. Bhaer as she put her arm around her skinny shoulder, and introduced her to all the children. Lydia had never felt so much kindness, she was grateful for her mother’s decision now, she would be happy here.

The year that Lydia stayed at Plumfield truly changed her. She now laughed more often, she began to have color on her cheeks, she just glowed with happiness. She began to enjoy helping the other children in school, and had a close bond to Demi who just adored her. She became close friends with Nan and Daisy who treated her like an elder sister.

But the year went by to fast and Lydia soon had to leave Plumfield. She was saddened but ready for her English boarding school. The children were very sad since they would miss her a great deal. But felt reassured when she promised to write them letters once a month or whenever she could, they promised her that they would never forget her and write her letters whenever the could.

When she left she did not shed a single tear but instead waved farewell.

The End