"I just don't understand it!"
"The world is changing Dear"
"But they are perfectly fine in there place! Why do they need to vote!?"
These sounds keep me awake. The sounds of my parent's bickering. My father always has something to complain about and tonight it's if women should vote...
"I doubt they could even understand politics! It's very complicated you know!"
"Now you better calm down before you say anything else you'll regret! Cause I surely can understand your very complicated politics!"
"Mary you know I didn't mean it like that I-I just"
"Goodnight John" I hear my mother's footsteps leaving the living room and heading up the stairs. I quickly get under my blanket, close my eyes and listen for her to be at my door.
"You don't need to pretend Bridget" I turn and sit up to face her. "I don't think anyone would be able to sleep with that happening downstairs" She lets out a sigh, "But it is time for sleep"
"Alright, I love you"
"I love you too, Goodnight"
"Night" I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.
"DING-DING-DING-DING-DING" The church bell rings, Awake! Awake! Awake!
I slowly get up and change into one of my simple dresses, this one is my favorite, colored a beautiful light yellow. I put my hair into a braid tied with a white ribbon, most of the activists who march in the parades for women's votes wear all white, this is my way of supporting without my father knowing. I grab my school bag and hurry down the stairs to the kitchen.
"Good morning Bridget"
"Morning Ms. Ellis, What's for breakfast?" Ms. Ellis is are families maid, She cooks and cleans, does the laundry and all sorts of chores. Though my mother is always cleaning and giving me and my brother chores, She wasn't raised like my father, she grew up on a farm and had 10 chores a day. So it's just in her nature to help out.
"Eggs with some biscuits"
"Sounds delicious! I like your ribbons too" I smile looking at Ellis's hair, a bun with a white ribbon tied around the base. It made me think of all of the times I talked to Ellis about my opinions on votes, she's the one who got me my ribbons. I walk into the dining room to find my brother eating in his pajamas
"Tom?"
"Yes?"
"Why are you still in your pajamas?"
"Um..." He looks down at what he's wearing "I smelled Ellis's cooking and just came downstairs"
"Go change we have school soon" He huffs but still gets up from his seat and hurries up the stairs to his room. Tom and I are twins but he's super popular and has a ton of friends and well I don't really have anyone, so we're really complete opposites.
I walk to the parlor and grab my homework and then head back to the kitchen and grab a biscuit to eat on the way.
"You ready?" Thomas asks grabbing one too. I nod
"Ellis is just grabbing our lunch bags" I say motioning towards the door to our basement, He nods.
"Why are you wearing that?" I turn to see my father sitting in the dining room having his morning coffee reading the paper. I look down at my dress.
"I don't know, I just felt like this dress today"
"Not the dress the ribbon"
"Oh, Um... I just thought it would look nice" I can see Tom start to smirk, he knows why I wear it and he's dead if he tells anyone.
"Really?" He eyes me suspiciously "Thomas why does she have a white ribbon"
"Why should I know?"
"I got them!" Ms. Ellis yells coming up the stairs from the basement, the second my dad saw her hair you could see the anger in his eyes.
"Ellis why does your hair have that in your hair?"
"It went with my dress"
"Well you're no one in this house is allo-"
"DING-DING-DING-DING-DING-DING"
"Sorry that's the bell have to get to school bye!" I yell as I quickly run out the door, with Tom following. We walk in comfortable silence until we get to school.
"Hey looks like most of the girls are wearing ribbons today" I nod looking at the girls standing by the willow tree. "So are you going to miss school tomorrow to march?" Tomasks with a smirk
"What!?"
"Don't try to pretend that you weren't thinking about it"
"Well even if I was thinking about it, which I wasn't, It's none of your business"
"But how would you get out of the house? No way would you be able to wear all white and leave, Dad would catch you"
I sigh "Tom stop worrying about something that isn't happening. Go find Mary or something"
"She's not here yet, and I can tell your going to"
"Even if I was going to why do you care?" I take my seat at a desk near the front of the room.
"I know your going to try, and end up getting in trouble. Just think it through first, please"
"I always think things through"
"Thomas take your seat!" Our teacher Ms. Davis yells, she is very strict "Why are so many of you wearing white ribbons in your hair?" We all sit in silence knowing that we can't all say we just felt like it. "Supporting the ladies marching?" Still no one spoke "If you are I applaud you, I certainly think it's ridiculous how I can't vote for things just cause I'm a women" instantly you can feel the tension of the room collapse, "Now let's start our lesson" Ms. Davis smiles as she turns to the board and begins to write...
The school day seems to last forever, I need to get home so i can start planning. Yes, that's right I'm going to the march tomorrow and no one is going to stop me.
