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sake. When the
papers were being signed, Ann had almost gotten cold feet and
backed out at the last second. But she hadn’t.
    Once it was all over, Ann knew that she
had to get out of Smithtown. She had suddenly felt like she was
living in a fish bowl and that everyone hated her for what she’d
done. She wanted to leave town as soon as possible, to get away
from the narrow minds and to get on with her life. To start anew
with a clean slate. Columbus seemed to be the most obvious
destination. It wasn’t far away, but far enough …
    Ann heard Amy coming up the stairs and
attempted to compose herself. Moments later she went across the
hall to her daughter’s bedroom. Amy was rifling through her drawers
when Ann entered.
    “ Do you know where my navy
blue sweater is, Mom?” she asked.
    “ I think it’s hanging in
your closet, honey,” Ann replied. “It’s a wonder you can find
anything in this room!” she added, staring aghast at the piles of
clothes thrown all over the floor and on the bed.
    Amy ignored her comment and went over
to the closet.
    “ What movie are you going to
see?” Ann asked curiously.
    “ Not sure yet. Probably the
new Christian Slater one. I can’t remember the name of
it.”
    “ Isn’t that rated R?” Ann
asked. She knew that it was. She’d seen a preview for it on
television the other day.
    Amy found the sweater and glanced over
at her mother, a smirk on her face. “Yeah, but we’ll get
in.”
    Ann wanted to protest but didn’t. She
stood and watched Amy as she flung the sweater on the bed and took
off her robe; in awe of how quickly her little daughter was growing
up. The freckles on her fair skin were barely noticeable now. The
baby fat was gone and her breasts were nearly as large and full as
her own. Amy’s proportions had become more defined as well. Longish
legs, tiny waist, slender hips. And the cherubic face had suddenly
taken on a young woman’s countenance—high cheekbones, full lips,
aquiline nose and haunting green eyes, all framed by a thick,
luxurious mane of auburn hair.
    Amy sat down on the edge of the bed and
pulled on a pair of faded blue jeans that fit so tight they looked
as though they were painted on. She stood up again, put on a
cream-colored knit blouse then the sweater.
    “ Have you met any
interesting boys at school yet?” Ann asked as Amy slipped into a
pair of loafers.
    “ A few,” she mumbled,
feigning disinterest.
    “ Don’t you have a school
dance coming up soon?”
    “ Homecoming.”
    “ Are you going?” Ann
inquired.
    “ Don’t know, yet. Doubt it,
though,” she replied.
    “ How come?”
    “ No one goes to school
dances at Woodcrest, I’ve heard. Just nerds and
cheerleaders.”
    “ That’s odd,” Ann said.
“Everyone went to school dances when I was your age. In fact, the
‘nerds’ were usually the ones who didn’t go,” she added.
    Amy stepped over to the vanity and
started putting on her makeup. “That was eons ago, Mom.”
    “ Thanks a lot!”
    “ Just kidding!” Amy chided.
“Anyway, this isn’t Smithtown. Kids are a lot cooler up
here.”
    Ann wondered what constituted coolness … drugs and sex? She shuddered at the thought.
“So what do you think of the high school now that you’ve had a
chance to settle in?”
    Amy carefully applied her eyeliner.
“It’s awfully big, that’s for sure. I think I’ll like it better
when I’m no longer a freshman .” She spoke the last word as
if it left a bad taste in her mouth.
    Ann asked, “Are the upper classmates
giving you a hard time?”
    “ Some of them. There’s a lot
of snobs at Woodcrest, I’ve noticed.”
    “ There are snobs everywhere,
honey,” Ann declared.
    Amy reached for the blow dryer and
said, “Maybe. But there are a lot of rich snobs at
Woodcrest. There’s a difference, you know.”
    With that, Amy switched on the hair
dryer and Ann realized that their little chat was over. She
returned to her own bedroom, slipped out of the uncomfortable