"I think I heard something," he said.
They were both so quiet now, studying the woods and searching for signs of the bear I secretly hoped would never come. I thought that was the end of it, and that Flora had lost interest in me, but I was wrong.
"Anyway," she suddenly continued, "one of the older girls at our school, Toby Whitfield, worked in the nurse's office helping her secretary. It was part of a program for honor students who didn't need to sit quietly in study halls and who were thought mature enough to handle such duties."
"We have a similar program at our school," Ian said. "I'll probably join it next year."
I had no idea what he was talking about, and I was sure neither Mama nor Daddy knew either, but I didn't say anything.
"Toby Bitchfield," Flora continued, which brought a smile to Ian's face, "overheard the nurse's conversation with my mother and snuck a view of the nurse's notes about me. She told some of her friends who told some of their friends and before long, older girls were teasing me in the halls and in the bathroom whenever they found me there. They nicknamed me Miss Puberty. I tried to ignore them, but they started to tell boys as well."
Ian looked at her, nodded as if he had been there, and then looked out at the woods again.
"Soon, the parents of my classmates found out about me and then it was as if I had the plague. I wasn't invited to any parties and girls who used to pal around with me avoided inc. It wasn't that they thought what I had was catching. They were afraid I would corrupt them with sex talk, which was ridiculous because I knew nothing more than they did. It got so I hated going to school."
She paused and shook her head. "I feel sorry for you. I'm sure when you get back to school in September, all your friends will have been told about you."
"No they won't," Ian said. "We haven't spoken to anyone about her."
"It doesn't matter. News gets out. Maybe there'll be someone in the nurse's office at her school who'll find out."
I looked at Ian. This was terrible. No one would want to be my friend? I wouldn't be invited to any parties?
&nb
sp; "It won't happen," he insisted.
"Sure. Dream on."
"Don't tell her that," he said more sternly.
She shrugged. "Whatever. Anyway, I complained to my mother about what was happening to me at school and her response was, 'What can I do? Just ignore them and they'll go away eventually. She wasn't all wrong. It's true they get bored teasing someone, but they never go away. I was taking medicine like you are, but it wasn't helping as much or as quickly as I had hoped. Everyone's different, so don't think that will be the way with you, too," she added quickly.
"Absolutely.," Ian confirmed. "She already knows there are different possible causes and that could make for a variety of prognoses.
"'That's true," Flora said. "The latest article in the medical journal confirmed that. You take the medicine until you reach an age for normal puberty. It's like holding back a flood," she added, and laughed. "A flood of hormones."
They made me feel like I was sitting in Dr. Dell'Acqua's office again. I was beginning to wish I had gone off with Addison. They stopped talking and I thought finally, this is the end of it, but Flora nudged me so I would look at her.
"Unfortunately for me or fortunately, depending on how you look at it. I suppose, I eventually attracted the attention of an older girl, Gwen Edwards. I caught her watching me from time to time and finally, one day when I left school to walk home, she followed me and caught up with me after a few blocks. She stepped up beside me and bumped me with her hip so I stopped. 'I heard what happened to you,' she said. I wasn't sure if she meant my condition or what Toby had done. 'You have an orgasm vet?' she asked me, and like you. I didn't know if that was like having heart failure or what. I just shook my head and kept walking, but she stayed right beside me."
"What did she look like?" Ian asked. I didn't see how that mattered, but Flora smiled at him with understanding.
"Not what your're expecting. She was tall, slim, with an attractive figure and face. Let's just say her chances of becoming Miss New York were pretty good."
"Really?" Ian said, now looking more interested himself.
"You can't judge a book by its cover," Flora said. "Poison ivy is a good example."
Ian laughed.
"Anyway. Gwen continued to walk beside me and then told me if it happened to me without warning. I would be so frightened by it. I could drop dead. She claimed that almost happened to her. She was so much older than I was and as far as I knew, a big shot. I didn't run away from her and was actually a little flattered that she was taking any interest in me at all."
"Maybe you shouldn't be telling Jordan this story," Ian suddenly said, a look of concern washing over his face.
Flora smiled. "Hey, she's sorta learn about these things."
Why was Ian so worried for me? Why didn't I understand any of this? Why did it still seem like they were speaking in another language only the two of them understood? What did this story she was telling have to do with me anyway?