Stranger

Nora

The next day, Lin took me to the Washington Heights branch of the New York Public Library and signed me up for a teen card. The librarian showed me the Young Adult section, so I spent the next 15 minutes or so browsing, picking up books I found interesting, while Lin took Sebastian to the children's section. When they came to the YA section, I had 10 books to check out. Lin bought me a little tote bag that said NYPL on the side to make it easier to carry back. He and Sebastian had checked out an armload of picture books as well.

I immediately disappeared to my room, cracking open a book. I really did love to read. Since I couldn't go skateboarding or watch TV until Monday, this was my entertainment. Before I knew it, I had gotten through an entire book and Vanessa was knocking on my door, telling me dinner was ready.

"You've been reading all day," Vanessa commented as we all sat down. "Anything good?"

I took a sip of my water and nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty juicy. I couldn't put it down."

"You might have to take another trip to the library soon if you keep reading at that pace," she commented. I just smiled and dished myself out some salad. The rest of the weekend passed uneventfully, and I was glad when Monday rolled around. I asked Lin for my skateboard first thing in the morning and he handed it over. I decided to skateboard to school, anxious to be back on it.

As I walked down the hallways, I noticed the other kids looking at me a little different. They were afraid of me. Good. Apparently, physical fights weren't all that common at Hunter. It had been the talk of the school for the past few days. The new girl was not to be messed with.

I turned in all my work to the teachers, which was odd for me. Usually, I half-assed it. At lunch, I sat alone, no one willing to come near me. I didn't really care about having yuppy friends. All the other kids were really intense about school. They all wanted straight A's or to be on the honor roll. I didn't see the need to get yourself all worked up about it. It's not like it was life or death whether you got an A or an A- on your English paper. To these kids, it was.

In the afternoon, my belly started to feel a little funny. Not like an upset stomach, but just an annoying ache. It wasn't bad enough that it was bothering me, but it was annoying. When I got home from school, I used the restroom and found that my panties had a large section that was stained blood red. I looked at it, disgusted. Is this what a period was? There was blood coming out of my body. It was revolting. I kicked off my underwear and threw them in the trash, burying them at the bottom. I snuck across the hall to my room and found a fresh pair, then stuffed them with toilet paper. No one had ever talked to me about what to do.

I went into the master bedroom and looked under the sink to see if there were any Maxi pads. I figured those were pretty easy to use. I only found tampons, which I did not want to use. I realized that I would need some help. I waited until Vanessa got home.

"Uh, Vanessa?" I asked timidly as she was going through the mail.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"I need your help with something," I admitted, which was not something that came easy.

"Sure, what is it?"

No one else was in the room besides Sebastian, but I leaned in, cupping my hand over her ear.

"I think I got my period," I whispered, then stepped back, embarrassed.

"Really?" She asked in a bit of a high-pitched voice. "Congratulations! That's great!"

"It's disgusting," I told her. "And I don't know what to do."

"Well, we'll need to get you some pads," she said. "Unless you're comfortable using tampons?"