and them white pants?â Carla answered.
âYeah, who could forget Peaches,â I heard Linda agree.
I headed for the nurseâs office. I wondered how come I didnât remember Peaches and them white pants.
The nurse, Mrs. OâMalley, had taken care of everything. Sheâd given me a brand-new elastic belt and shown me how to tie the ends of a Kotex pad to it and which side to use. Sheâd told me I could expect to bleed three to five days every month. If I got cramps, I could come to the sick room and lie down with the hot-water bottle. The nurse was a cross between Mrs. Santa Claus and Hazel, the maid on TV.
I marched into Mrs. Cunninghamâs room with a pass and a little booklet that said I had become a woman and was part of the mystery of life and stuff like that. I didnât hide the booklet or shove it up in peopleâs faces. I just held it so anybody could see it if they had a mind to. Mrs. Cunningham took the pass without smiling or frowning. I tried to walk normal with this bulky thing that seemed to have a mind of its own in between my legs. I looked for Carla, and she gave me her dimpled smile. I felt proud as I took my seat, no matter what Mama said.
âYou donât need me to tell you anything, it sounds like the nurse told you everything.â Mama sounded like she was relieved.
We were in the kitchen and she was about to fry the pork chops. I was mashing the potatoes.
âOh, that blue box in the bathroom cabinet is where the Kotex are. Let me know if we run low.â
I nodded. âMama, are you gonna tell Daddy?â
âNo, he doesnât need to know about this.â
âWhat about Grandma?â
âI might mention it to her, but it wonât be the first thing that comes out of my mouth.â
âOh.â
I wanted to hear about the juicy stuff. Mama had never really sat me down and told me the facts.
âMama, what happens when your love comes down?â
Mama dropped a pork chop into the hot skillet and jumped away as it splattered.
âWhat are you talking about, Jean Eloise?â
âSomebody said that her love came down. What does that mean?â
I added a little more milk to the potatoes.
âWho said some mess like that? I bet it was that Carla Perkins, wasnât it?â Mama wrinkled her forehead.
âIt wasnât Carla.â
âI bet she was there, I bet she had something to do with it!â
âWell, what does it mean, Mama?â
Mama turned a pork chop over with the long fork.
âIt means that whoever said it has her mind in the gutter, thatâs what it means. The devil is everywhere these days. Well, I wonât have you talking that trash in my house. Whoever said it, you need to stay away from her. You need to stay away from that whole Carla Perkins crowd.â
I would just have to find out stuff from other people. Mama wasnât getting up off of nothing, I thought. Besides, Carlaâs birthday was less than two weeks away and I didnât want to push Mama now. I knew I had to lay low for a while.
We were in the coatroom getting our sweaters and stuff for morning recess. I reached for the jump rope hanging from my hook.
âForget it, Stevie, we ainât jumping today,â Carla said.
âHow come? Itâs not raining, the groundâs not even wet from last night.â
âJust be cool, Stevie, just be cool. We ainât jumping today, okay? Just follow me.â
I followed Carla into the auditorium, which didnât make sense to me, because we were supposed to be on the playground during recess.
âCarla, weâre not supposed to be in here. What are we going to do in an empty auditorium? What if we get in trouble?â
âI told you to just be cool, youâll see.â
I followed Carla past the rows of empty seats to the back. I could hear giggling. I was surprised to find Tanya and Patrice all hunched over a book.
âHere, Stevie,
Tim Dorsey
Sheri Whitefeather
Sarra Cannon
Chad Leito
Michael Fowler
Ann Vremont
James Carlson
Judith Gould
Tom Holt
Anthony de Sa