Or actually they talk. I just nod my head when it's appropriate. Never drink, they tell me, their words running together. Never ride in a car with someone who's been drinking, don't you know how many kids die in car crashes because they were drinking? Stay away from the reservoir, it's lonely and dangerous, kids have drowned there, you don't know who's in those woods. Come home at midnight, that's your curfew. They also ground me for a week. I go to my room and sit on my bed, staring at my purple skirt and my pretty blouse lying in a muddy, wrinkled heap on the floor. I kick them under my bed. I'll never wear that outfit again. I'll never drink beer again. Never go the reservoir. Never go to the park. Never take that path through the woods and over the bridge. I'll never see Cheryl, I'll never see Bobbi Jo. Nevernevernever—so many nevers. I spend the rest of the week talking to Charlie and Ellie on the phone. He's not grounded, of course. Boys never are. He'd come over if my parents would let him but they're still mad at him.
What do You think about Mister Death's Blue-Eyed Girls?
