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Description
Scene from EC's novel "The Freshman" - [link]

Having failed to get that nasty little Dominican expelled from the house, Mrs. Schmidt spent the day thinking about the various slights and embarrassing questions she could pose to make her unwelcome guest as uncomfortable as possible. She would show her, once and for all, that she was where she did not belong. Jason knew his mother well enough to know what was coming, and knew his girlfriend enough to know what was coming. He would be trapped, sitting helplessly at the table, while the two women went to war. Cecila also knew what was coming, but refused to let him talk about it.

“Jason, just try studyin'. We got next week to think about and we're both gonna be busy, so worry about that instead of some stupid turkey dinner.”

Mr. Schmidt anticipated the dinner with glee. His cynicism and secret contempt for everyone in his life came out full force in his mind as he looked forward having a meal with a bunch of people whom he couldn't stand and watching them fight. This was going to be good, watching the two bitches go at it while the wimp sat and cringed. He encouraged Cassie to invite her boyfriend…might as well get those two losers in on the action as well. And the Old Lady…she always liked the wimp…well, maybe she'd feel a bit differently after dinner.

A few minutes later Cassie and her boyfriend returned to the house with Jason's grandmother. She seemed nice enough, quietly shaking Cecilia's hand while Jason introduced her. She made a couple of pleasant comments about how well Jason was doing in college and that she hoped Cecilia felt at home in the Schmidts' house. Cecilia realized the older woman was actually being sincere; apparently she was too naïve to understand what was happening.

The two Salvadoran maids were ready to serve the dinner, which had been special-ordered by Mrs. Schmidt. The turkey, as expected, was impressive and perfectly cooked. Cecilia looked longingly at the meal and planned to eat to her heart's content. Jason sat quietly with sweat running down his face while his sister and her boyfriend glanced at Cecilia with blatant curiosity. Mr. Schmidt gave a brief prayer and then directed the two maids to cut up and serve the meal.

The opening salvo from Mrs. Schmidt came as soon as Cecilia's plate was set in front of her. In a tone of sweet sarcasm she asked:

“I suppose a nice turkey dinner is something new to you, so I hope you enjoy. Have you ever seen turkey before?”

“Yes Mrs. Schmidt. We used to go over to the YMCA and have turkey roll for Thanksgiving, along with all the homeless people. Mmm… I'll tell you, there ain't nothin' as good as hot turkey roll when you're starvin', 'cause, as you know, we don’t have no fancy holiday dinners, ‘cause we ain't got no supermarkets in New Jersey.”

Mr. Schmidt smiled to himself while Cassie was trying to figure out if Cecilia was being serious. Cecilia stared right at Mrs. Schmidt, ready to fight. Her expression clearly stated: “There’s a lot more where that came from, rich-bitch, so you wanna hear it?” Jason began sweating all that much more.

Mrs. Schmidt's eyes filled up with pure loathing. She glanced furiously at her husband, who just sat there with a smug look on his face. So that's it, she thought to herself, no support, huh? Fine, I'll take her on myself if you're not going to help me out. She stood up, tightened her lips, and slammed her fork down on the table. Suddenly Jason jumped up.

“Mom! Let it go! Just let it go! Can't you say something, just once, without insulting someone?”

Mrs. Schmidt stared at Jason, shocked at his sudden display of temper. She calmed down slightly and reluctantly sat down, disconcerted by the fact Jason was willing to stand up to her over Cecilia. She still planned to attack her son's guest, but with no support from her husband and facing the defiance of her son, she would have to think much harder about what she wanted to say and how she wanted to say it.

Cecilia was grateful that Jason was willing to stand up to his mother, but at the same time felt guilty. This was not his fight, it was hers, and she really did not want him to confront his parents.

Mrs. Schmidt changed tactics, making some disparaging comments about the maids and then slipping a dig at Mr. Schmidt by criticizing men who slept with the hired help. Then there were some more digs at Cecilia, and finally additional questions about her family and background. The questions were not so much out of curiosity as intended to force the guest to discuss the more unsavory details of her life before college.

At that moment something rather strange happened inside Cecilia. A transformation took place within her as she faced her hostile audience. She had never wanted to talk about her past before, but suddenly the deep-seated fear she had about her prior life being exposed evaporated. This woman wants to know who I am. Fine, I'll let her know. I'll give her the facts, and then she's the one who'll have to deal with 'em.

Cecilia spent the rest of the dinner talking about her life. She left out very little, talking at length and in detail about the conditions at the housing project, her own struggles in school, her brothers' gang activities and arrests, her mother's boyfriends, her irresponsible cousin, and her neglected nephew. She talked about used needles and empty spray-paint cans littering the stairwells of her building, open drug dealing on the streets, and deadly turf fights between rival gang members who were not any older than Cassie.

She went on, describing the formidable struggle she endured to get her high school diploma and her naps in the public library just to be somewhere she didn't have to listen to her mother's television. Finally she described her escape and her personal indebtedness to Dr. Ruth Burnside. As she thought about all the barriers she had to overcome, she became rather proud of her accomplishments so far. She had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing at all.

The dinner ended with Mrs. Schmidt not saying anything. She hated Cecilia more than ever, but that no longer mattered. As badly as she may have wanted to get rid of her, it simply wasn't going to happen. The girl had planted herself in her son's life, was quite capable of defending herself, and obviously wasn't going anywhere.

Mr. Schmidt did not like Cecilia either, but knew that he had to take her seriously and grudgingly respect her. The respect he had for her was conditional and somewhat hostile, similar to the respect he might have for a talented and successful business rival. However, considering the man's overall contempt for humanity in general and for women in particular, for him the opinion he had of Cecilia was comparatively positive.

Jason's grandmother finished the meal actually liking Cecilia. She had truly enjoyed watching the dinner guest match wits and temper against her son's odious, snobbish wife. Jason's girlfriend endured a battle she had not picked, but came out the winner. It was refreshing to see a girl with so much spunk and combativeness in her, one who was intelligent, worked hard, and could hold up in a good fight. Yes, she was just what Jason needed.

Description
Scene from EC's novel "The Freshman" - [link]

Having failed to get that nasty little Dominican expelled from the house, Mrs. Schmidt spent the day thinking about the various slights and embarrassing questions she could pose to make her unwelcome guest as uncomfortable as possible. She would show her, once and for all, that she was where she did not belong. Jason knew his mother well enough to know what was coming, and knew his girlfriend enough to know what was coming. He would be trapped, sitting helplessly at the table, while the two women went to war. Cecila also knew what was coming, but refused to let him talk about it.

“Jason, just try studyin'. We got next week to think about and we're both gonna be busy, so worry about that instead of some stupid turkey dinner.”

Mr. Schmidt anticipated the dinner with glee. His cynicism and secret contempt for everyone in his life came out full force in his mind as he looked forward having a meal with a bunch of people whom he couldn't stand and watching them fight. This was going to be good, watching the two bitches go at it while the wimp sat and cringed. He encouraged Cassie to invite her boyfriend…might as well get those two losers in on the action as well. And the Old Lady…she always liked the wimp…well, maybe she'd feel a bit differently after dinner.

A few minutes later Cassie and her boyfriend returned to the house with Jason's grandmother. She seemed nice enough, quietly shaking Cecilia's hand while Jason introduced her. She made a couple of pleasant comments about how well Jason was doing in college and that she hoped Cecilia felt at home in the Schmidts' house. Cecilia realized the older woman was actually being sincere; apparently she was too naïve to understand what was happening.

The two Salvadoran maids were ready to serve the dinner, which had been special-ordered by Mrs. Schmidt. The turkey, as expected, was impressive and perfectly cooked. Cecilia looked longingly at the meal and planned to eat to her heart's content. Jason sat quietly with sweat running down his face while his sister and her boyfriend glanced at Cecilia with blatant curiosity. Mr. Schmidt gave a brief prayer and then directed the two maids to cut up and serve the meal.

The opening salvo from Mrs. Schmidt came as soon as Cecilia's plate was set in front of her. In a tone of sweet sarcasm she asked:

“I suppose a nice turkey dinner is something new to you, so I hope you enjoy. Have you ever seen turkey before?”

“Yes Mrs. Schmidt. We used to go over to the YMCA and have turkey roll for Thanksgiving, along with all the homeless people. Mmm… I'll tell you, there ain't nothin' as good as hot turkey roll when you're starvin', 'cause, as you know, we don’t have no fancy holiday dinners, ‘cause we ain't got no supermarkets in New Jersey.”

Mr. Schmidt smiled to himself while Cassie was trying to figure out if Cecilia was being serious. Cecilia stared right at Mrs. Schmidt, ready to fight. Her expression clearly stated: “There’s a lot more where that came from, rich-bitch, so you wanna hear it?” Jason began sweating all that much more.

Mrs. Schmidt's eyes filled up with pure loathing. She glanced furiously at her husband, who just sat there with a smug look on his face. So that's it, she thought to herself, no support, huh? Fine, I'll take her on myself if you're not going to help me out. She stood up, tightened her lips, and slammed her fork down on the table. Suddenly Jason jumped up.

“Mom! Let it go! Just let it go! Can't you say something, just once, without insulting someone?”

Mrs. Schmidt stared at Jason, shocked at his sudden display of temper. She calmed down slightly and reluctantly sat down, disconcerted by the fact Jason was willing to stand up to her over Cecilia. She still planned to attack her son's guest, but with no support from her husband and facing the defiance of her son, she would have to think much harder about what she wanted to say and how she wanted to say it.

Cecilia was grateful that Jason was willing to stand up to his mother, but at the same time felt guilty. This was not his fight, it was hers, and she really did not want him to confront his parents.

Mrs. Schmidt changed tactics, making some disparaging comments about the maids and then slipping a dig at Mr. Schmidt by criticizing men who slept with the hired help. Then there were some more digs at Cecilia, and finally additional questions about her family and background. The questions were not so much out of curiosity as intended to force the guest to discuss the more unsavory details of her life before college.

At that moment something rather strange happened inside Cecilia. A transformation took place within her as she faced her hostile audience. She had never wanted to talk about her past before, but suddenly the deep-seated fear she had about her prior life being exposed evaporated. This woman wants to know who I am. Fine, I'll let her know. I'll give her the facts, and then she's the one who'll have to deal with 'em.

Cecilia spent the rest of the dinner talking about her life. She left out very little, talking at length and in detail about the conditions at the housing project, her own struggles in school, her brothers' gang activities and arrests, her mother's boyfriends, her irresponsible cousin, and her neglected nephew. She talked about used needles and empty spray-paint cans littering the stairwells of her building, open drug dealing on the streets, and deadly turf fights between rival gang members who were not any older than Cassie.

She went on, describing the formidable struggle she endured to get her high school diploma and her naps in the public library just to be somewhere she didn't have to listen to her mother's television. Finally she described her escape and her personal indebtedness to Dr. Ruth Burnside. As she thought about all the barriers she had to overcome, she became rather proud of her accomplishments so far. She had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing at all.

The dinner ended with Mrs. Schmidt not saying anything. She hated Cecilia more than ever, but that no longer mattered. As badly as she may have wanted to get rid of her, it simply wasn't going to happen. The girl had planted herself in her son's life, was quite capable of defending herself, and obviously wasn't going anywhere.

Mr. Schmidt did not like Cecilia either, but knew that he had to take her seriously and grudgingly respect her. The respect he had for her was conditional and somewhat hostile, similar to the respect he might have for a talented and successful business rival. However, considering the man's overall contempt for humanity in general and for women in particular, for him the opinion he had of Cecilia was comparatively positive.

Jason's grandmother finished the meal actually liking Cecilia. She had truly enjoyed watching the dinner guest match wits and temper against her son's odious, snobbish wife. Jason's girlfriend endured a battle she had not picked, but came out the winner. It was refreshing to see a girl with so much spunk and combativeness in her, one who was intelligent, worked hard, and could hold up in a good fight. Yes, she was just what Jason needed.