mischief, he added, "Yeah, we better be careful. There could be spies, listening devices, parabolic mikes, and all that."
Sarah laughed. "Okay, you made your point. I did something after my dad said I couldn't. So, he can't ever know. Ashley pushed me into it, but I was glad afterward."
"This doesn't sound good, especially if it was Ashley's idea."
She took a breath. "I got a tattoo. The smallest one they had. A little butterfly. My mom liked butterflies. I went first because everybody was scared, so they all had to do it or look bad. It's on my right hip. It's hidden, even when I wear low-rider jeans."
Aghast, he blurted, "That's a pretty dumb thing to do. What if it got infected? What if you don't like it?"
"Well, I think it's neat-looking, but don't worry. It's on my hip and you'll never have to see it. I won't ever show it to you, so there."
She tried again to impress him—to make him understand. "When we got there, I went first and the others had to do it then, even if they didn't want to. They watched, totally scared and ready to back out, but they knew they had to, or else." She waited for his response. "Don't you get it? They couldn't back out."
"I'm beginning to. You're saying that for once, you felt like you were in charge, like maybe you didn't have to listen to them as much as you've been. Right?"
She sighed with relief. "I knew you'd understand, and you know what? From now on, I'm going to wear normal makeup and dress in my real clothes. They'll just to have to put up with it."
"There's only one thing wrong with that."
"Yeah? What?"
"You haven't been here long enough to know what a real bitch Ashley can be. If you get on her wrong side, she can be vicious, and she's not going to like one of her minions rebelling. You became the leader today and made her look bad. She can get you into real trouble before you even know it. Just be careful."
She responded, irritated. "I'm not as smart as you, but I'm not dumb. They all wanted to do it, but they were afraid it would hurt. They were OK with me going first. They all went along with it after me."
Logan sighed. "All I'm saying, Sarah, is that you have to think ahead when you do something to what the consequences might be. It's different in a regular school. You have to learn to watch out."
They sat quietly; with nothing more to say, but Sarah wasn't ready to go inside.
"I think my dad is interested in a woman he met. It worries me."
"Why? Don't you like her?"
"Do you know Lynn Keith, the owner of the perfume shop downtown?"
"I don't get downtown much."
"She's nice. I like her a lot. She's going to teach me to make perfume, but I wonder what will happen if her and David hook up. I mean, will I still have a place here?"
"That is really dumb. I don't know your dad well, but I can tell he's not like that. What do you mean 'make perfume'?"
"It's not hard. You can go with me and help, but she says I have to know what kind of fragrance I want to do before we can begin."
"Shakespeare. I know a lot about him and he liked flowers. He mentions them all the time in his plays. Use the flowers he talks about in the perfume."
"That is so cool. I love it. I'll look it up on the Internet."
"He wrote a sonnet about perfume. I'll bring it to school. You can read it."
Logan stood and held out his hand. Regret in his voice, he said, "I have to go. Goodbye, Sarah."
Solemnly she shook his hand; glad she had found a friend.
Chapter Thirteen
David relaxed at his usual morning spot, on the porch, enjoying the quiet from his favorite chair, feeling enormously pleased with himself. In three more days he'd see Lynn. She'd agreed to go to the dance with him this Saturday.
Yeah. It felt good, no, better than he'd felt in a long while. It was time to bring some stability to his life, define himself. Sarah's blessing was the deciding factor for him—permission to move on.
Where was his tuxedo? He hadn't seen it since they'd moved into the house. Sarah would know. She
Sarah laughed. "Okay, you made your point. I did something after my dad said I couldn't. So, he can't ever know. Ashley pushed me into it, but I was glad afterward."
"This doesn't sound good, especially if it was Ashley's idea."
She took a breath. "I got a tattoo. The smallest one they had. A little butterfly. My mom liked butterflies. I went first because everybody was scared, so they all had to do it or look bad. It's on my right hip. It's hidden, even when I wear low-rider jeans."
Aghast, he blurted, "That's a pretty dumb thing to do. What if it got infected? What if you don't like it?"
"Well, I think it's neat-looking, but don't worry. It's on my hip and you'll never have to see it. I won't ever show it to you, so there."
She tried again to impress him—to make him understand. "When we got there, I went first and the others had to do it then, even if they didn't want to. They watched, totally scared and ready to back out, but they knew they had to, or else." She waited for his response. "Don't you get it? They couldn't back out."
"I'm beginning to. You're saying that for once, you felt like you were in charge, like maybe you didn't have to listen to them as much as you've been. Right?"
She sighed with relief. "I knew you'd understand, and you know what? From now on, I'm going to wear normal makeup and dress in my real clothes. They'll just to have to put up with it."
"There's only one thing wrong with that."
"Yeah? What?"
"You haven't been here long enough to know what a real bitch Ashley can be. If you get on her wrong side, she can be vicious, and she's not going to like one of her minions rebelling. You became the leader today and made her look bad. She can get you into real trouble before you even know it. Just be careful."
She responded, irritated. "I'm not as smart as you, but I'm not dumb. They all wanted to do it, but they were afraid it would hurt. They were OK with me going first. They all went along with it after me."
Logan sighed. "All I'm saying, Sarah, is that you have to think ahead when you do something to what the consequences might be. It's different in a regular school. You have to learn to watch out."
They sat quietly; with nothing more to say, but Sarah wasn't ready to go inside.
"I think my dad is interested in a woman he met. It worries me."
"Why? Don't you like her?"
"Do you know Lynn Keith, the owner of the perfume shop downtown?"
"I don't get downtown much."
"She's nice. I like her a lot. She's going to teach me to make perfume, but I wonder what will happen if her and David hook up. I mean, will I still have a place here?"
"That is really dumb. I don't know your dad well, but I can tell he's not like that. What do you mean 'make perfume'?"
"It's not hard. You can go with me and help, but she says I have to know what kind of fragrance I want to do before we can begin."
"Shakespeare. I know a lot about him and he liked flowers. He mentions them all the time in his plays. Use the flowers he talks about in the perfume."
"That is so cool. I love it. I'll look it up on the Internet."
"He wrote a sonnet about perfume. I'll bring it to school. You can read it."
Logan stood and held out his hand. Regret in his voice, he said, "I have to go. Goodbye, Sarah."
Solemnly she shook his hand; glad she had found a friend.
Chapter Thirteen
David relaxed at his usual morning spot, on the porch, enjoying the quiet from his favorite chair, feeling enormously pleased with himself. In three more days he'd see Lynn. She'd agreed to go to the dance with him this Saturday.
Yeah. It felt good, no, better than he'd felt in a long while. It was time to bring some stability to his life, define himself. Sarah's blessing was the deciding factor for him—permission to move on.
Where was his tuxedo? He hadn't seen it since they'd moved into the house. Sarah would know. She
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