Page 21

"And guts?"

"I've dissected animals and I know what's inside a human being," I said.

Sophie stepped back, shocked. "Where did you do that?"

"In school in the lab. Didn't you?"

"I only went to school through the fifth grade," she told me, "and we didn't have a lab, but I clean the lab here, so I've seen blood and guts and smelled it, too. You got to have a stomach made of iron. I do. Nothing makes me throw up anymore," she added proudly.

"I'm glad," I said. "It would be hard for you to come to work every day if you got sick to your stomach all the time."

She nodded. "The other girl, the one who come here last Friday, she got white as chalk the first day and puked in the bathroom for half an hour before Mrs. Winthrop sent her home. I'm glad you're here because I've been doing twice the work ever since that girl left."

"I won't throw up. I promise," I said.

She looked satisfied and led me to the linen room. There weren't many uniforms. The ones that were there were either way too big or too small. The best fit was so snug I had to leave the top two buttons of the bodice undone. "I guess this will have to do for now," I said.

"What's that around your ankle? Is it a dime?" Sophie asked.

"Yes. It's a good-luck charm."

She eyed me suspiciously for a moment. "Who gave it to you?"

"My mother. Someone special gave it to her a long time ago."

"My mama says people who wear a dime around their ankle be practicing voodoo."

"The dime is good gris-gris, if that's what you mean, but I don't practice voodoo."

"Does your mama?"

"No, not really," I said, but she continued to eye me warily.

"How old are you?" Sophie asked.

"Seventeen. I'll be eighteen in two months. How old are you?"

"The truth or what I tell people here?"

"The truth."

"I'll be fourteen next August, but they all think I'm going to be seventeen. Don't you tell," she warned.

"I won't."

"Let's go see Mrs. Winthrop."

"Is that the best fit you can find for her, Sophie?" the head nurse asked immediately.

"The others are much smaller or much, much bigger, Mrs. Winthrop," Sophie said. "We tried them all."

"I'm afraid this is the best," I said.

"Well, I'll ask Mr. Marbella to order more uniforms. Now that you're here, Pearl, we'll divide the floor between you and Sophie. You take rooms 200 to 205; Sophie will see to the rest." She checked her watch. "It's time to bring the patients their juice and refill their water pitchers. Sophie will show you where things are."

Sophie took me to the kitchen where we found another, much younger nurse talking with the intern. He was sitting with his back to us, and she was leaning against the counter. They were laughing when we entered.

" 'Scuse me," Sophie said and did a small curtsy. "We got to start on the juice."