Andrews 3 "Mothers can be a lot tougher than fathers," Misty was saying. "And a lot meaner." "What?" I didn't really hear her. It was as if she were standing behind a glass wall and her voice was muted. "Mothers can't hit as hard, but they can sting more with their words and their looks sometimes," she 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.
