happened to me. I fell asleep and they took my
clothing and brought me here."
She smiled and shook her head and then
shouted at the closed door. "They're just trying to
frighten us with all this.., this horror-hotel stuff, but it
doesn't scare me! Y'all just wasting your time you
might as well give me back my clothes!"
"What brought you here?" Teal asked me after
Robin's screams died down,
"I ran away from my uncle and aunt where I
was supposed to stay."
"So, big deal." Rabin said. "I bet we've all done
that one time or another."
"I was supposed to be in court for hitting this
boy with a little brass statue."
"Did you kill him?" Teal asked, her eyes
widening with interest.
"No. but I put him in the hospital. He was part
of a group of boys trying to rape me."
"So why would they put you in jail for that?"
Rabin asked skeptically, "It just sounds like selfdefense to me."
"There's more to it."
"I bet."
"Look," I said, turning on her. "I don't have to
defend myself to you. In fact--"
Before I could say anything else, we heard the
door squeal open, followed by the machine-gun rat-tatat-tat of stiletto high heels on the concrete floor. Out of the dark shadows came a tall, elegantlooking woman, statuesque with a firm figure in a ruby-red skirt suit. She had highlighted golden brown hair, about the base of her neck in length, neatly styled. As she moved more into the light and drew closer. I saw she was an attractive woman with high cheekbones and a perfect nose. She was wearing a soft red lipstick, very understated. A girlfriend of mine. Louella Mason, who was determined to become a beautician, had told me when a woman wants to emphasize her eyes, she de-emphasizes her lips, but this woman looked like she didn't need anything special to make her eyes prominent. They weren't big
as much as they were striking and intense.
She paused, looked at the three of us, and
smiled so warmly. I felt like getting up and rushing