Free Joy School by Elizabeth Berg

she is still doing in her own way is being there, I have not lost her after all.
    I come inside, put the other mail on the kitchen table, go into my room and shut the door quietly. I use my scissors to open the envelope neatly. There are three pages!
    Dear Katie
,
    Well, you have hit the jackpot this time. I cannot believe you have a nineteen-year-old boyfriend, older than mine!! I am not jealous, but I have to say aren’t you sort of young for this? And do youknow what you are doing?? Don’t think I am being like your mother. Sorry. I mean like a parent. But you do have to be careful when they are sooooo much older. I have heard some stories which I will tell you another time. But of course there is also a lot of romance in May-December relationships, which is something I told you about a long time ago. Although then you did not get it
.
    Todd and I are as in love as we can be. We have not talked once about breaking up or even had one fight. All we do is plan, plan, plan for our next fun event. So everything is fine there. Although I have noticed someone else watching me and it is hard not to get a little interested. But I am not that kind. Eric Uppman is his name. A blond boy, plus center on the basketball team. Which is coming up
.
    You had a lot of questions!!! I will answer as many as I can. I do know the answer to all of them, but we may need to do the installment plan, because I have a lot of homework, especially stupid history, which who cares about it
.
    Number one. Soul kissing is just the same as French kissing, except when Negroes do it, it is soul. Soul and French are the same exact thing, which is you use tongues, which I am sure you have heard of. It is not as hard as it sounds, but maybe the first time you do it you might feel like vomiting. Which even I did, if you can imagine, but of course that was long ago. Anyway, first: RELAX!!! Just pretend beautiful Motsart piano music is in your head playing “Alone at Last.”And let your hair fall gently along your back because one thing is they like to put their hands in it. (Make sure it is COMBED and CLEAN and of course as always it is a good place to put perfume.) You will feel their tongue come in. Wait, first, make sure your mouth is soft and easy to open up. Do not keep it clamped together like they feel they need a can opener. They hate that and if you do it you can be sure the next day they will be telling their friends you are a prude. (You
don’t
want to be a prude. Also you don’t want to be easy. It takes some work to balance all this!!) But anyway, then you will feel their tongue come in your mouth sort of squirming around like a snake and a little spitty. This is the part where you might feel queasy but do NOT LET ON!! This is so important, Katie, especially with such an older guy. You have to move your tongue, too. Try just figure 8s. That move is a good one which they seem to enjoy
.
    Two. Yes, you are right, you must let them stop kissing first. Or it could hurt their male ego. But of course you can breathe!! Otherwise, there would be plenty of dead girls lying around, ha ha! Just through your nose. You can do it easier than you think. I recommend practicing with a pillow
.
    Katie, I have just looked at my watch and it is too late for me to finish. I will write more later. It is more interesting there now isn’t it???? See, I told you. I can’t believe he looks like Superman, is that really true or are you maybe exaggerating just a little bit?
    Now I must go and I am eager to hear how youdo with Jimmy. Of course you are right NOT to tell your father, who would probably blow his brains out
.
    Love,         
Cherylanne
    Maybe later Diane will feel better and I will ask her to check all the things that Cherylanne said. One thing about Diane is that when she’s in the mood to talk, she always tells me the truth. Unlike me, who has now begun to lie like crazy. I don’t know when it started, but it’s beginning to get out of control.