Every little while Martha would look over his shoulder at us four hopefuls sitting up against the wall as lively as wooden Indians, and then she would bury her face in her handkerchief again and shake her shoulders and writhe with grief-or maybe it was something else.
"At Good Old Siwash"
George Fitch
So, many city-dwelling families, not from snobbishness but because they do not want their young hopefuls to acquire slum manners and traits, dig deep into their bank accounts and send their children to private schools.
"If You're Going to Live in the Country"
Thomas H. Ormsbee and Richmond Huntley
I was painfully conscious that I was only there by courtesy, just one of the legion of hopefuls who flocked to Orlando every year, aspiring to a place among the ruling cliques.
"Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom"
Cory Doctorow