explained with a nod. She looked at Jade and Star,
who just stared at her. Then, looking as if she was
going to start to cry, she sat back in her chair. "Anyway," I began again so I wouldn't cry,
"after the lipstick incident, my mother decided to take
me out of public school and enroll me in a parochial
school."
"Just because of that little bit of lipstick?" Jade
cried.
"I wasn't that unhappy about it," I said quickly.
"I had to wear a uniform and that ended my feeling so
different from the other girls because of the clothing
my mother insisted I wear. No one was permitted to
put on any makeup, of course, even lipstick, which
made my mother happy. Discipline was strict. I knew girls, however, who snuck cigarettes in and smoked them. One was caught and expelled immediately and that stopped the smoking for a while. I got into trouble with Sister Margaret, who was basically the disciplinarian, because I went into the girls' room when two girls were smoking and the smell got into
my clothes."
"So why would that get you into trouble?" Star
asked.
"Sister Margaret is known for her nose, not
because it's too big or anything, but because she can
smell cigarette smoke a mile away. Her nostrils twitch
like a rabbit's when she suspects someone.
"Anyway, later I was in the cafeteria waiting to
get my lunch. I wasn't even thinking about having
been in the bathroom with the smokers when suddenly
I felt her hand squeeze down on my left shoulder, her
fingers pinching me hard and puffing me out of the
line.
"'Come with me,' she demanded, and marched
me to the office where she accused me of smoking
just because she could smell it in my hair and clothes.