Miss. Carrie tells everyone to get dressed, even though we already are. After the other girls put on different clothes, we are supposed to walk downstairs to eat something called breakfast. It doesn't sound like anything that I want to do, but Miss. Carrie says we have to.
The food looks gross and mushy. The other kids eat it, but I don't. Nevvy tries one bite and then finishes it. She seems to like it, but it's too strange for me.
After we eat, Miss. Carrie sends the other kids upstairs to get ready for something called school, but tells Nevvy and I to stay.
"Girls, I will be taking you to the doctor's today to get you checked up on, okay? Then we'll enroll you in school," she says.
"What's school?" Nevvy asks quietly. Why is she trusting Miss. Carrie?
"School is where kids like you go to learn and have fun with other kids."
Nevvy nods. "What's a doctor?"
"Someone who makes sure you're not sick," Miss. Carrie explains.
I breathe out a sigh of relief when Nevvy stops asking questions. Miss. Carrie straps us into the back of a car and we go to a building that is pretty big. She calls it the doctor's.
Inside, we talk to a strange lady at a desk, then sit down in uncomfortable chairs to wait. The room smells weird and clean. I don't like it.
"Lillian and Neveah?" a different lady calls from a hall leading away from the room.
Miss. Carrie walks with us to the lady and we follow her to another room. One that is small and has a table with a lot of scary looking tools around it. We sit down on a bench beside a chair and are told to "wait for the doctor".
The doctor is slow, but when he comes, I wish he hadn't come at all. He is big and scary, just like Jake.
"Hello girls," he says. "My name is Dr. Matthews."
Nevvy looks scared too. That's good; she should be.
"Who wants to go first?" Miss. Carrie asks us.
I shake my head furiously.
"Okay Neveah; you're up."
She slowly stands up and the doctor picks her up to place her on the table. She starts crying quietly, but doesn't fight. She can't trust him!
I watch Dr. Matthews poke Nevvy with a bunch of the weird objects and shine lights in her eyes and throat. She doesn't look like she likes it.
"Are you okay?" he asks every few minutes.
Nevvy nods, but I wish she wouldn't. We have to get out of here.
After a little while, he places her on a platform that has number on it, then another one with numbers going up, instead of being written on the bottom. Then, Nevvy gets to sit back down.
"Well, she isn't sick, but she is malnourished and underweight. She's short for her age and definitely needs to get some vitamins in her," the doctor says to Miss. Carrie.
I don't understand most of what he's saying, but I know that it cannot be good.
"Your turn, Lillian," Miss. Carrie says.
"How old are you, Lillian?" the doctor asks.
I don't reply.
"Tell him," Miss. Carrie orders.
I shrug my shoulders. How old am I? What does that even mean? I'm a kid; that's how old I am.
"She's about 9," Miss. Carrie tell him.
9 what? Nothing about this makes any sense to me.
The doctor pokes me with a lot of things and I don't like how it feels. When he shines the bright light in my eyes, I feel tears fall down my cheeks.
I stand on both of the platforms with numbers too, only my numbers are different.
Once I'm sitting with Nevvy again, the doctor starts talking to Miss. Carrie.
"She has a lot of bruises, just like Neveah, but hers are worse and she is much more malnourished," the doctor says. "We would like to do a more thorough examination on both girls, just to see the damage."
"Okay," Miss. Carrie says.
We leave the building and get strapped into the car again.
"Since neither of you have been to school you would have to do a test if you wanted to be enrolled in a grade higher than kindergarten."
"What's that?" Nevvy asks.
"Like playtime," Miss. Carrie answers. I don't believe her.
"Can I go?" Nevvy squeals.
"Sure. We can sign you up." To herself she says, "Neveah would be in grade 1 and Lillian in grade 3 or 4."
Why don't I get it? I'm supposed to know things!
When we make it back to the building with all the kids and beds, there is no one else there.
"The other kids are at school," Miss. Carrie says.
I leave Nevvy and Miss. Carrie and walk upstairs to the room with the beds. I lay down and cry even more. I'd almost have rather just stayed at Uncle Mark's. At least he didn't make us go to see creepy people like Dr. Matthews.