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"Lotta good that does," she muttered, then looked at me hard again and smiled. "You're gain! to have a dynamite figure in no time Boys be drooling around you, When I was your age, all I did was dream about growing."

"My mother was sad that I was going to miss too much."

"Too much of what?" She smirked. "The film starts now. Jordan. You just don't know it yet."

She drank some more of her whiskey and shook her head.

"You want to try some more?" she asked, offering me the bottle again,

"No. thanks."

My head felt strange and my eyelids became heavier and heavier. The churning in my stomach increased, reminding me about the chicken and ice cream I had eaten for dinner. Alanis got up, paced about and kept talking as if she couldn't stop. She didn't even pause for a breath, and she waved her arms and hands as she spoke. Half of what she said I didn't hear. She noticed I wasn't paying attention and stopped in front of me.

"Listen to me so I don't waste my breath. Boys your age are babies. you know. You got to have a boyfriend who's older. I'll help you find the right one. We'll sit together on the school bus, but I won't see you much in school. You're down on the first floor and I'm up on the second and third, but we have lunch the same time, so don't you worry about it. I'll see you whenever I can, and if you have any problems, you come find me. I'll give you my room schedule.'" She started to pace again. "You just look through the window in the doorway and I'll see you and come out."

"Maybe my teacher won't let me out of the classroom."

She stopped walking and turned to me. "Just say you gotta go to the bathroom. She gotta let you out then. Or you can say you got your period. They hate hearing that, and when you tell them, especially the man teachers, they let you do whatever you want. Just to get you away from them. It always works for me. 'Course, you have Mrs. Morgan, but she hates hearing about it as much as men do."

"Oh."

"Yeah. oh. I can see there's lots of stuff you gotta learn," she said. "You've been living too long in some castle."

My eyes widened. That was what Ian thought Grandmother believed the mansion was, a castle. How did Alanis know?

"I've been living too long in a grass hut,' she muttered to herself. She suddenly looked very angry. I was beginning to feel chilled. Even though it was warm upstairs and outside, the basement was dank and cool. I embraced myself and moaned.

"I need to put on something else," I said. She stopped pacing and talking and looked at me. "I'd better go upstairs now."

"Yeah. right, It's getting late anyway."

I started to get up, and she put her hand on my shoulder.

"Before you go up, let me see your boobs, how they're cooking.'

"My boobs?"

"Breasts." She put her fingers at my undershirt and started to lift it. "It's just us, two girls. Don't worry," she said. and I lifted my arms.

She stared at me almost the way I remembered Ian staring, and then she nodded.

"Yep, you're well on your way, girl. Look at those stretch marks." She squinted. "No one tell you to wear a bra?"

I shook my head.

"You don't have to. I hate wearing a bra. Your brother ever see you naked?"

"Uh-huh. I was his Sister Project."

"Sister Project? What's that mean?"

"He was studying me and keeping records. That's why he was so and at Miss Harper. She took his records and showed them to Grandmother Emma."

"I'll bet that made him angry. Tell me about it," she said, getting more excited. "How'd he study you?"

"He measured me and kept records."

"Kept records?" She laughed. "Is that what he called it?"


Tags: V.C. Andrews Early Spring Horror