Cat (Wildflowers 4)

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.