The Red

Chapter 8

I wake up in the morning with tired eyes. The clock tells me it's only 6:00 AM. I couldn't even sleep until 4:00.

I don't want to get up. I don't want to see Stephano today, and I don't want to see Susan.

I consider lying in bed all day. Stephano can't watch me here. But I wouldn't be able to pull that off.

What do I do with these three extra hours until breakfast? All of the other girls are still asleep. Despite my tired eyes, I feel wide awake.

I decided to get dressed. Blue is my favorite color, so I put on a shirt of that color and some denim Bermudas. I walk to the tall mirror beside my dresser and brush my hair. I brush it until long after the tangles are gone.

Hmm, I think. What to do, what to do...

I go to the closet, which sits between Elisa and Jean's dressers.

Inside are some dolls and other toys that have multiplied over the years. I realize it's very dusty inside, so I use the playhouse broom to sweep it out. Several people have told me I'm observant, but I don't see how I'm more observant than anyone else.

I sprawl on my bed and hum a tune before heading to the dresser. I open the top drawer, where Jill and I store our keepsakes. My side of the drawer contains a wallet, a scrapbook, my new camera, and a little jewelry box, along with a few little knickknacks like sticky notes and gum wrappers. I pull out the scrapbook. It's a little thing; each page is just a transparent sleeve big enough to hold a picture. I open it to the middle, and there is a picture of Jill and me from two years ago, swinging at a park. Cathy took that picture. She used to take them more often than she does nowadays.

I work my way backwards, looking at more pictures of Jill and me, when I start to see pictures of my parents. Me as a baby. I slam the book shut, and toss it back into the drawer as if it means nothing.

I reach for the camera, and sit on my bed to tinker with the settings until Jill wakes up.

~~~

After what feels like an eternity, she does wake up.

"Natalie?" She says, sitting up. "How long have you been awake?"

I just shrug, though I know exactly how long I've been awake.

"How should we avoid Stephano and Susan today?" she asks.

Fanomono and CruisinSusan, I think, trying not to laugh.

"I'll take you and Preston out for ice cream," I tell her.

Her face lights up. "Really?"

"Really."

"Yay!" She jumps up. Maybe she likes ice cream a little too much.

"Let's go downstairs," she suggests.

Okay, then. At least Stephano didn't see me watching him email that Mark Green person.

Downstairs, I am grateful to see that neither Stephano nor Susan is in the Main Room.

Jill plops herself down on a couch and lets the morning cartoons entertain her. I pay little attention to the TV.

Soon the Breakfast Button sounds, and I'm dreading Susan and Stephano standing by to watch me eat.

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That afternoon, Jill, Preston, and I walk to the ice cream shop.

I take a picture of them with my camera. I can see differences in the way they walk. Preston takes long, elegant steps, and Jill's are bouncy, almost as if she's skipping.