It’s mid July and the six week summer break is just around the corner. Billy is just as excited as the other girls when Miss Wainwright tells the class that they can wear their very best dresses on the last day of school.
She’s also one of the few grown ups who tells the children what’s going on in Europe and optimistically suggests that the war may be over sooner rather than later since Hitler began his invasion of Russia. “It’s a very large and powerful country and hopefully the Nazis have bitten off more than they can chew.” she tells them. On the way home, Billy and Alice are both in a highly optimistic mood. But it’s more due to their excitement of wearing their best dresses for school rather than any real expectation that this seemingly endless war may soon be over.