only when I felt her shaking me vigorously. "Whaaa...?"
I gazed at all three of them, dressed and ready
for dinner, standing beside my bed.
"Oh, no!" I screamed and sat up. "What time is
it?"
"You've got only ten minutes." Cinnamon sadly
pointed out, nodding at the clock.
"What will I do?"
"Just throw something on quickly," Rose
advised.
I flew out of the bed and threw open my closet.
Everyone did something to help... Rose finding my
shoes. Ice going for the hair brush and brushing mine
into some semblance of order. while I slipped into my
dress and tried to adjust it. Cinnamon dampened a
washcloth and told me to just scrub the sleep out of
my face. I did that and then put on the little lipstick
we were permitted. only I didn't realize some of it had
smeared at the side of my mouth. The others were so
worried about being late that they rushed out the door
ahead of me.
Less than ten minutes later, still groggy. I
followed them to the dining room. where Madame
Senetsky was speaking to the French chef who would
be lecturing us. She turned when we entered. The
boys were already seated. As if she had some sort of
built-in radar, she focused on me alone, her eyes
rowing small with displeasure. I knew my hair.
despite Ice's attempts, was nowhere near as neat as it
could be or should be. And I suddenly noticed that