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serving up ice cream sodas in Hollywood when she got discovered. This is one of my favorite things to imagine: The man comes in and puts his hat down on the counter, and orders a root beer float. And then he watches Lana make it with his eyes sort of squinty. Suddenly he stands up and shouts, “Come with me,young lady! I’m going to make you a star!” And Lana takes off her apron and inside her fireworks of the heart are exploding. On her way out, she says, “Hey, Al? I quit.”
    Sometimes I think, What if something like that ever happened to me? What would I do? Probably I would be afraid. Probably I would say to the man, “That’s okay, thanks anyway.” You have to be willing to take chances. You have to not be so afraid. That is the first step to getting anywhere.
    After I comb my hair into the shortest ponytail in the universe, I rip the haikus I did into long shreds and put them in my waste-basket. This is also what I do with drawings I don’t like. Or ones that I shouldn’t have done in the first place. Once I drew breasts and a penis. You can bet I covered them over with scribbles before I ripped them up. The devil said, Why don’t you draw some breasts and a penis, huh? How would that be, to just draw two huge breasts and a big fat penis? The angel covered her mouth and gasped. Then she said, all smug, You wouldn’t do that, would you, Katie? But I did. The whole time I was drawing there was a spreading warmth inside me that started you know where. It was quite a shock. But it was a pleasure, too. The angel smacked her forehead. The devil raised his pitchfork and danced.

M R . R ANDOLPH IS HOLDING M RS . R ANDOLPH on her side and I am washing her back. This is while she is in bed, believe it or not, and so it requires a certain skill, like you have to be careful not to knock the pan of water into the bed. The pan is a big pan, like you boil spaghetti in, but now there’s water mixed with some bath oil. Rose-scented, which brings luxury to the chore. Mrs. Randolph’s back skin is so thin and movable. At first I was afraid to press very hard, but it actually feels good to her when you do. I thought that I would feel embarrassed to do this, but it turns out it’s fine. One reason is, they are both so nice, and another reason is, Mr. Randolph acts like it’s pure natural.
    â€œSo you’ll be going to a new school next year, is that right, Katie?” Mr. Randolph asks.
    â€œWhat?” Mrs. Randolph says. “I didn’t hear that, dear.”
    Mr. Randolph leans in close to Mrs. Randolph’s ear and says, “I asked Katie about the school she’ll be going to next year.”
    â€œOh, I see.”
    Mr. Randolph looks at me and smiles and I smile back.
    â€œAnd what did she say?” asks Mrs. Randolph, and I say, “I didn’t say anything yet. But I will be going to a new school, Miller High School.”
    â€œTurn me back, will you, Henry? I can’t hear her.”
    Mr. Randolph turns his wife over on her wet back and I tell her louder that I will be starting Miller High School. She nods. “High school. Well, that’s a big step.”
    â€œI guess so,” I say.
    She leans forward, “What was that?”
    â€œYes,” I say.
    â€œYou mustn’t be afraid, though.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWhat subjects do you like?”
    â€œEnglish.”
    â€œAh, me, too. English was always my favorite.”
    I smile, nod, then hold up the towel to remind her that we’re not quite finished back here.
    â€œOh, for heaven’s sake,” she says. “I completely forgot. You’d think we were sitting on a bench and chatting in the park, wouldn’t you?” She laughs like she’s just heard a good joke.
    â€œIt’s okay,” I say. “Whenever you’re ready.”
    Mr. Randolph turns her over again and I wipe her back dry, then put a little powder on her. It’s so