Free Dancing Naked by Shelley Hrdlitschka

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Date:           Feb. 7
Subject:      Fingers and toes are crossed
hi kia & peanut,
it will be a historical moment in the youth group’s check-in. expect a group hug. and good luck with angie and shawna. they luv u. they’ll accept what u’re doing.

ttfn
uncle justin
    From:         Kia < [email protected] >
To:              Justin < [email protected] >
Date:           Feb. 7
Subject:      Sex!
justin,
it’s not whether they’ll accept what i’m doing that bothers me. it’s whether they’ll accept what i’ve done. shawna will. angie will think it’s gross. (right now I think it’s gross too. i may be off sex for the rest of my life. lol)

k & p
    From:         Justin < [email protected] >
To:              Kia < [email protected] >
Date:           Feb. 7
Subject:      Re: Sex!
kia,
catchy subject! i did lol. and i don’t think u need 2 worry about being off sex for the rest of your life. the human sex drive is an impressive thing.

so when do prenatal classes start?

hugs to u both
uncle justin
    From:         Kia < [email protected] >
To:              Justin < [email protected] >
Date:           Feb. 7
Subject:      Prenatal
hi justin,
you’re right about the sex drive thing. perhaps we need a pill to turn it off until we’re old enough 2 “handle the responsibility” as they say. (and i’d pay someone to give derek an overdose. ha ha.)

prenatal classes start in 2 weeks. the first ones are mostly about nutrition and exercise. then they start up again in the spring and we learn about birth and babies.

c ya mon.
k & p

    Shawna wrapped the elastic around the bottom of the French braid. “There,” she said, standing back and assessing her handiwork. “Perfecto moi.”
    “Perfecto moi? Stick to Russian, Shawn.” Kia twisted her neck to see the back of her head in the mirror. “Not bad. Next week it’s cornrows. You’d better start practicing on one of your old Barbie dolls.”
    Shawna smiled, reached into the bowl of popcorn andsat back on Kia’s bed. “This is fun. We haven’t done it in ages. Remember our Friday-night make-over parties? We were going to open our own beauty shop. You’d do facials and manicures and I’d do hair.”
    “Yeah, well, guess what? My dreams went down the tube when Diana told me I’d have to do pedicures too. Yuck.” Kia plugged her nose. “Think of all the toe jam and stinky feet.”
    Shawna made a face. “And did you hear about the hairdresser who went home after work and found head lice squirming around under her fingernails?”
    “No way!”
    Shawna laughed. “No. I just made that up.”
    Kia grinned and chucked a piece of popcorn at her. But then an awkward silence descended again. Things hadn’t been the same between them since the afternoon they’d walked home from school together and Kia had snapped at Shawna. And now Kia was trying to find a way to tell her about the baby, but she just didn’t know how. Shawna had been unusually quiet too.
    “Is everything okay with you, Ki?”
    Kia turned to Shawna, surprised. “Yeah, why?”
    “You seem ... I don’t know, like, spaced out or something.”
    “Yeah, well, I guess I am.” This was the moment. She sat up, took a deep breath and opened her mouth to break the news, but Shawna interrupted her.
    “And Derek’s been spreading some ugly rumors about you.”
    “He has?” This was news. Kia forgot for the moment about telling Shawna anything.
    Shawna wouldn’t make eye contact with her. “He’s saying that you’re a slut.”
    “I don’t believe it!” Kia felt the blood rush to her face. “To who?”
    “To everyone, it seems like. I heard it from Courtney, who said she heard it from Fahreen. And Lauren said she heard him say so himself. At Mitch’s party.”
    “I’m going to kill him!”
    Shawna reached for more popcorn.
    “Mitch had