Mrs. Johansson is much nicer to me these days. She said it's cuz the reports she has to write about me are better than they used to be, back when she first took on my case. "Two months ago, you were living in a barn. Now you have adequate food, clothing, and shelter, access to medical care, and a stable family environment." She said this proudly, like it's all because of her, even though it's not.
Besides, I still miss my barn.
The clothes she was talking about weren't my cool new GlomCorp stuff, by the way. Mrs. Johansson brought by some prairie dresses she'd had made and I was modeling them for her and Mrs. Appleton. "Prairie" as in "Little House on the"--except these would have been too old-fashioned for even Laura Ingles Wilder!!! They were actually big on me, if you can believe that, and so long they tripped me up when I walked.
"You'll grow into them," said Mrs. Johansson.
I hope not. These dresses were made for a girl of nineteen or twenty feet, but I'm fine with only being seventeen feet, eleven inches, and closing in on another half-inch. That's a whole nother inch since June!!!
The way I've been growing this summer, I'll be eighteen-foot-something very soon--and for some reason that seems so much taller than seventeen-foot-something. It's just another foot, I know, but it's a milestone--and combined with all the other changes in my life, I feel like I'm about to peel away my skin and become a brand new Melly Mills. I'm sad about that cuz I really liked the old Melly Mills who lived in a barn with her cows and a shelf of stolen library books. I don't know who this new Melly Mills is going to be except that she'll go to school (I hope), play on the basketball team (I hope), and have a whole bunch of new friends (I hope, I hope, I hope!!!)
Jay couldn't stop laughing at my stupid new dress. I glowered at him but he wasn't looking at my face, so he didn't even notice--and don't you hate wasting a perfectly good glower like that? Jay only stifled himself when Mrs. Johansson told Mrs. Appleton that I'm going to need a dental checkup. I should have known she'd have yet another humiliation for me, no matter how nice she's been acting!!!
"I can take Melly to the dentist," Jay piped up. "We were already planning to do some school supply shopping."
"Is this true?" Mrs. Appleton asked, looking up at me with wide eyes. I had to swallow hard and nod, cuz it was just one more embarrassing thing on the list of embarrassing things I've had to do after losing that basketball bet. Jay knows how much I'm afraid of going into town, so he saved his worst "chore" for last.
Mrs. Appleton clasped her hands in front of her chest. "It's so wonderful that you're getting along so well. My little boy and my little-- Well, my boy and my girl, anyway. I'll make you an appointment to see Dr. Ham!"
Wonderful. Just wonderful.
Illustrator Challenge
Artists can create illustrations of me or the events in my life, as long as they are appropriate for my young readers. Any previous post on this blog can be illustrated. If I like an image that goes well with a post on the blog, I may add a small thumbnail version along with credit to the artist and a link to the full-sized image. Images of me posted elsewhere should link back to the "Giant Girl Rampages" blog.
If you want to draw a picture of me, here's what you need to know:
I'm 15 years old and almost (but not quite) 18 feet tall. Mrs. Appleton says I'm very pretty and well proportioned, which I guess is a complement. I'm not super thin or anything but I think I'm in pretty good shape.
I have dirty blonde hair that's kind of wild because I trim it with Pa's old hedge trimmers. My eyes are green as the ocean, as Ma always said, but I wouldn't know because I've never seen an ocean. My skin is tanned from being out in the sun a lot but not too dark and (usually) not burned.
I wear a blouse and skirt-shorts that my mother quilted for me three years ago. They look like a big patchwork cuz she used many squares of fabric and cowhide. I've grown since then, so the skirt-shorts no longer come down to my knees, my blouse is way tight, and there's a bit of skin showing in between. I don't have any shoes (and that makes me sad to think about so I usually don't).
If you do draw my picture, send the link in a comment so I can post it to my blog. Thanks!!!
If you want to draw a picture of me, here's what you need to know:
I'm 15 years old and almost (but not quite) 18 feet tall. Mrs. Appleton says I'm very pretty and well proportioned, which I guess is a complement. I'm not super thin or anything but I think I'm in pretty good shape.
I have dirty blonde hair that's kind of wild because I trim it with Pa's old hedge trimmers. My eyes are green as the ocean, as Ma always said, but I wouldn't know because I've never seen an ocean. My skin is tanned from being out in the sun a lot but not too dark and (usually) not burned.
I wear a blouse and skirt-shorts that my mother quilted for me three years ago. They look like a big patchwork cuz she used many squares of fabric and cowhide. I've grown since then, so the skirt-shorts no longer come down to my knees, my blouse is way tight, and there's a bit of skin showing in between. I don't have any shoes (and that makes me sad to think about so I usually don't).
If you do draw my picture, send the link in a comment so I can post it to my blog. Thanks!!!
Posts
Oy. I don't know what to make of all this, Melly. You sure are going through a lot of changes right now! Just hang on!
ReplyDeleteHow are you with going into town again? =( I mean it sounds like fun, but it's so much more complicated for you.
The dentist isn't so bad. They probably won't even have everything they need right away to work on your mouth. It's a check-up first! Do you take good care of your teeth?
I'm nervous about going into town, but it seems like each time I go is a little better than the last and I need to get it out of my system before school starts, cuz that would mean walking through town twice a day. Assuming they let me go to school, that is.
ReplyDeleteThe dentist doesn't bother me, tho. She's just a doctor, like Dr. Crisp is a doctor, but just for teeth--right? And I've never had a problem with Dr. Crisp.
Yeah, I rinse my teeth every morning and every night. I have a brush that Mr. Appleton says was meant to be a boot brush, but it's just right for reaching my back teeth.
Boy, talk about humiliation.
ReplyDeletepieguy: ungrateful teenage girl your more normal then you think you have any idea how long it sould of took her to make you them clothes and how much it would have cost pluse you need some thing to were at times were jeans wont cut it (the only thing i can think of is a wedding or cruch) but still sham sham sham pluse long mayby safer at school (teenage boys only after one thing)and dang i sound old but im right
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Pie Guy. Maybe all the other girls at school will be wearing old-fashioned dresses too, and it won't be anything like all the high schools I've seen on TV. Or maybe I'll be invited to a wedding--I don't know anyone who'd be getting married, but maybe some stranger will invite me cuz they need me to hold up a tent or something.
ReplyDeleteI probably should be grateful more to Mrs. Johansson for making me look like I just walked out of an 1820s pioneer village, but I'm kind of upset she never asked me what kind of clothes I wanted to wear. If that makes me an ungrateful teenage girl then fine, I'm an ungrateful teenage girl!!!