noon
Hitherto she had held him a little above the ordinary . Was he then so _ very _ common after all ? This little occurrence did not serve to sweeten her day . The more so , that after she had quieted down a little , at noon , she tried to join the other teachers as usual , and felt an air of stiffness , or embarrassment , or unnaturalness , of some sort , in their manner to her . Twice , as she came toward them , Miss Banks , who was talking volubly , hushed into sudden and utter silence . After that , Marion went into the upper hall and ate her lunch by herself . Matters grew worse , rather than better , as the afternoon session dragged its slow hours along .