Free Withering Tights by Louise Rennison Page A

howl a bit?”
    We howled like mad and she had to shout over the top of us.
    “Girls, just light howling, please.”
    I said, “Okey dokey, Dr Light-howler.”
    Which Vaisey thought was funny, but fortunately the Doctor didn’t hear.
    We toned the howling down.
    Dr Lightowler went on. “Flossie, perhaps you are Emily huddling by the fire and trying to entertain your sisters. To take their minds off their bodies racked with consumption.”
    Two of the girls formed a fire with their torches, and Flossie huddled by it, shivering and coughing. She said in a Texan drawl, “Now y’all girls, come here a cotton-pickin’ moment.”
    Dr Lightowler said, “Emily is from Yorkshire, Flossie.”
    Flossie tried again, “Ay up, lasses, come around t’fire and we’ll sing a song.”
    Dr Lightowler came forward. “Milly, Tilly, be Anne and Charlotte.”
    Milly and Tilly came and huddled alongsideFlossie, warming their hands at the torch fire.
    Dr Lightowler said to us in a hushed voice, “Perhaps they might make up little stories about the shadows? The rest of you girls be imaginary shapes guttering across the room. Girls with the torches, flicker them everywhere.”
    Be an imaginary shape?
    Honey and the rest started swooping and fluttering about.
    Tilly cried, “Oh, Emily, Charlotte, what is that? Over there by the fire extinguisher…um, by the…loom…Why, is that an eagle? Er…hunting?”
    And Flossie said, “Nay, lass, I think it’s a witch, high on a broomstick.”
    I tried to join in, but I just felt like a twerp. Especially as when I did attempt to flutter about I caught myself in the midriff with the fire extinguisher. It crashed to the floor and Dr Lightowler gave me a foul look. I tried to get it to stand up again, but it was making a hell of a noise clanking about.
    The ‘Brontës’ were excitedly saying, “I think I can see, I can hear…a little hand tapping at thewindow, is it Cathy out on the moors looking for Heathcliff????”
    Then Flossie said, “Yes, yes, I can hear it, what is that over there?”
    And she pointed at me. And everyone stopped and shone their torches on me.
    So I put my arms down by my side and bobbed about.
    I don’t know why I do Riverdance when I’m in the spotlight. I must have an inner Irish dancer trying to get out.
    Everyone started laughing.
    Apart from Dr Lightowler who said, “What are you doing, Tallulah Casey?”
    I said, “Um, I’m sweeping up. I’m an Irish broomstick.”
    I could see Flossie put her fist into her mouth and Jo had a coughing fit.
    Dr Lightowler just looked at me.
    I can see that inwardly she’s ticking me off her list of people for next year’s places.

CHAPTER 9
I want to live! I want to live!
Do you think my corkers are growing?
    A s we walked down the long main corridor towards the café, Vaisey said, “Ruby was telling me about The Jones. They are supposed to be cool, but moody. And the lead singer is called Cain, that’s la gothic, isn’t it?”
    Cain.
    I didn’t answer. Where to begin? Where to end?
    The Mark of Cain.
    I am haunted by Cain.
    And now he could be somewhere in the building.
    I haven’t even got any fake tan I can slap on.
    I could wear my hat and pull it right down. That’s what I would do. If Sidone can wear a velvet suit, I can wear my hat.
    I put my hat on in the loos. Avoiding looking at Bob’s notice about my smalls, which makes me feel somehow dirty.
    When I came out Lavinia and her mates were coming out of the dance studios wearing ballet shoes and leggings. Lav was saying to Dav, “I love the ballet, just love it. If I was as slim as you, Dav, I would go for it like a shot.”
    Dav said, “But Lav, you’ve got a railly, railly nice figure and anyway you are soooo good at modern and jazz. Madame Frances said she had never seen better jazz hands.”
    Lavinia said, “Now you are just being a railly big love.”
    When she saw us, Lavinia gave me a number 58 on the beam-o-meter. Really beaming. Like she really