Page 3 of The Sandbar saga

Something special must be going on at dinner. Maybe her mom was finally going to let her watch herself after school and on the weekends. She brushed her hair. Or, maybe her mother was going to leave on an extended vacation with the current man in her life.

There were only four more days of school and then summer break. It would be perfect if she were left at home without a nanny and without her mom.

The thought of having the whole summer to herself made her hurry. She took off her clothes. The fancy white dress she pulled over her head scratched her skin.

She tugged at the stretchy material clinging to her upper body, pulling the offending roughness away from her chest. A shiver came over her that started from her nipples. She cupped her hands over the small mounds and pressed. A fluttering happened in her underwear, and she pulled her hands away, her heart beating heavily.

Staring down, she touched her chest again. Her boobs were not as big as Demi's, who was twelve years old, too, and wearing a bra. Even the girls in her class who had no boobs wore a bra to school and talked about what size they bought at recess.

She wished her mom would buy her one. Her chest jiggled when she had to do jumping jacks in P.E. class. She wasn't going to ask her mom for anything, especially a bra.

She waited to see if the weird feeling in her body would come back and when nothing else happened, she walked out of the bathroom only to be met by Ms. Gray handing her the pair of flats. She slipped her bare feet into the black shoes.

"Turn around." Ms. Gray twirled her finger in the air.

She rolled her eyes and turned in a circle, completing the inspection with bugged eyes as if she wasn't old enough to dress without someone telling her what to wear. "You can go now."

"Mrs. Meihoff wants me to escort you to the table, and only then will I be excused." Ms. Gray's thin lips pursed. "Let's not be late."

A clap of thunder rocked the room. Katie looked toward the window, wishing she could go look outside.

"Come now." Ms. Gray walked toward the door.

Exhaling loudly, she followed her nanny through the house. It was better to get dinner over with. Hopefully, it wouldn’t end with her mother upset at her.

The grand banister lined the extra wide stairs to the first floor of the house. Red and black runners lined her path. She slid her hand along the smooth, shiny wood, knowing her mom hated fingerprints. The heel of her left shoe clicked against the floor as she kept one foot on the carpet, one on the wood.

"Hands off the rail and walk in the middle of the stairs, Katie," reminded Ms. Gray from behind her.

For a fleeting moment, she wished Ms. Gray walked in front of her. She could imagine the middle-aged woman tripping on the runner she thought was so important to walk on, and toppling down the thirty-two steps.

A flash of bright light came through the high windows above the entryway. She gasped, stopping midway down.

"It's only lightning." Ms. Gray touched her back, pushing her to keep going. "Don't dawdle."

Her father died during a storm, much like the one tonight. She walked slower. Was her mother home or on the road up the hill to the gated community? Or was she crossing the Megler Bridge?

"At the rate of speed you're moving, you'll be late," said Ms. Gray.

She stepped off the stairs and turned to face her nanny. "She'll fire you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mother." She shrugged. "She gets rid of all my nannies. You have to find it strange that she hired you to watch me. How many twelve-year-old girls have you babysat before?"

"Go on with you." Ms. Gray planted her hands on Katie's shoulders and turned her. "If you have questions about my employment, ask your mother."

Like that was going to happen. The less Katie talked to her mom, the easier her life was.

She walked down the hallway, turned the corner past the kitchen, and stepped inside of the formal dining room at the back of the house.

Believing her mother would be late, she stopped in surprise at the sight of her mom sitting at the head of the table.

Her mother's gigantic smile landed on her, though the joy at seeing her daughter never reached her mom's eyes. Her mom's arched brows raised even higher as Katie remained standing in the archway. Obviously, she was expected to do something she forgot, and already her mom was upset at her.

"Darling." Her mom came at her with her arms spread out wide to her sides, taking small steps on high heels as if she walked across hot coals.

Her mom's brown hair, dyed even lighter than the last time she'd seen her, flowed around her shoulders. Was that a new dress?

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