Patiently Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Read Free Book Online Page B

to sail through the week without any particular problems as long as she got hugs now and then. But Latisha was mad at the world and took it out verbally on anyone who was handy.
    “What you looking at, girl?” had been her first comment to Estelle the day we arrived, and of course Estelle had issues before Latisha even opened her mouth.
    “Not you, that’s for sure,” Estelle had said, and the way Latisha bristled, we were prepared for flare-ups between the two.
    But Mary and Josephine were my own little case study, as Gwen put it. I couldn’t figure out why Mary felt so responsible for her sister—doingthings for her that Josephine could probably do herself. At our first staff session I talked to Connie Kendrick about putting one of the sisters in another cabin.
    “Better not,” Connie said. “We had to pull a lot of strings to get them here in the first place, and they finally came on the condition that they not be separated. We take what we can get, and these two kids really needed a break from home.” She winked at me. “Of course, they don’t have to stick together like Siamese twins. There’s no reason you can’t be creative.”
    So at breakfast on Thursday, as Mary led Josephine to our table, I said, “I can’t decide which of you two girls I want to sit beside most. So I’m just going to have to sit between you, and then I’ll have one of you on each side. Lucky me!”
    Mary paused a moment, then smiled and, letting go of her sister’s hand, allowed me to slide between them on the bench.
    “Mission accomplished,” murmured Gwen, and I caught her smile from across the table.
    Later that morning, as Jack Harrigan led the kids on a nature hike and the assistant counselors tagged along, G. E. came up beside me. His real name, he’d told us, was Gerald Eggers, but his friends all called him G. E. And I wondered sympathetically if that was because he was shaped likea hanging lightbulb, smaller at the top than the bottom—narrow chest and shoulders, heavy legs. He had a terrific voice, though. If you closed your eyes and listened to him, it was only his voice that was important.
    “So how’s it going?” he asked. “This your first time being a counselor?”
    “Assistant counselor,” I answered, and nodded. “You almost need a degree in psychology to know what’s going on with these kids.”
    He chuckled. “First time for me too. But you seem a natural with the kids. Thinking about teaching somewhere down the line?”
    “No. Psychology, actually.”
    “Yeah? I’d like to work with children. I was thinking about pediatrics, but I doubt I could get into med school. So I suppose I’ll go into teaching.”
    Elizabeth and Pamela moved up behind us then, and G. E. went on ahead to walk with Ross and Craig.
    “Guess who Gwen’s pairing off with,” Pamela said. “Joe.”
    “What do you mean, pairing off?” I asked.
    “He had his arm around her back there.”
    I gave a quick glance behind me. Joe Ortega was giving Gwen a shoulder massage. “Good for Gwen,” I said, grinning.
    “Where do you suppose we’ll go tomorrow night? What’s in town?” asked Elizabeth.
    “Richard says there’s a place that has line dancing and a lot of the counselors hang out there on their night off,” Pamela told us.
    “I’m ready for a break,” said Elizabeth.
    “A Ross break,” said Pamela.
    “I saw him first,” said Elizabeth.
    “No, you didn’t,” said Pamela. “He’s mine!”
    There was an hour of music after the hike. Whenever there’s a special program, the assistant counselors get some time off, seeing as how we don’t get paid. It’s a chance to wash our underwear or call home or just nap. But I decided to go for a walk by myself. I wanted to take in the scents and sounds of the woods without a bunch of chattering kids around me, so I set out for the overlook.
    I was halfway down the path when I heard someone say, “Mind if I join you?”
    I turned to see Gerald walking briskly up