Rebecca leaned against the window, her chin on her hands, mournfully watching the rain. It had rained all morning, a slow monotonous drip, drip, drip. The sky was dull leaden gray. Not a bit of blue showed through it.
The senior class was to hold a program that afternoon but Rebecca knew that if the rain did not stop, her mother would not allow her to go the program. The rain continued to fall slowly, inexorably. Rebecca stared at it desperately.
"Oh, why doesn't it fall down in a torrent and then stop?" Rebecca thought.
She looked at the trees drenched with rain; she looked at the rooftops with rain dripping over the eaves, at the streets with little rivulets running toward gutters. She thought there was nothing worse than a wet afternoon.
It was only three o'clock. If the rain would stop! There was still time for her to get dressed and attend the program. All her friends would be there. Her friends had cars. Rain didn't bother them. They got into their cars, whisked through the streets, and got out again under awnings of buildings. They did not have to worry about getting wet, catching cold, or getting sick. How she wished that her family could afford a car!
"Mother", she called, "I could wear my coat and take the umbrella. It's not raining so hard anymore. Really, it isn't."
"Yes," her mother said, "But how will you get there and how will you come back? You know how hard it is to get transportation when it is raining."
Yes, what mother said was true. On sunny days she could walk to school and back although the school was quite a distance from her house.
Walking was better than waiting for a jeepney or bus which was too crowded for comfort.
How she wished the rain would stop! Elizabeth, her best friend, had a part on the program. Rebecca wanted to be with her. She closed her eyes, wishing the rain to stop. But when she opened her eyes again, it seemed that the drops were actually falling faster. To spite her, she thought.
She looked desperately at the cars, jeepneys, and buses hurrying by. Their windows were meticulously closed; she could hardly catch a glimpse of the passengers inside. How she wished she owned a car, a jeepney, or even a bus! She smiled at the thought.
Suddenly a car stopped by her door. She heard repeated honkings. She stuck her head far out of the window to see who it was. Why, it was Elizabeth! She was waving her hand, motioning to Rebecca to come down. Rebecca leaned out of the window at a precarious slant, shouting and laughing at Elizabeth.
"Mother," she cried. "Elizabeth has come to fetch me. I can go the program. Can't I?
