I was the “new” girl at Hutchison.  It was a moniker that stayed with me until graduation. I entered in seventh grade whereas so many of the girls had started together in kindergarten.  They formed an impenetrable group fondly known as the Twelve Year Club.

One of my new friends invited me to go with her family to Florida for spring break. Before I was allowed to go I had to meet her parents. This was quite intimidating as they lived in some huge mansion in the fancy old part of town.  They made it quite clear that I had to audition for a spot on the  traveling squad.

I was pretty wowed by the stately old antebellum home in the historic    Garden District.   I was just a simple middle class girl who wanted to fit in.  I didn’t even know how to pretend to fit into this world of eleven foot ceilings, maids in proper uniforms and formal seated dinners.  I got a little tripped up when the maid walked around the table with each serving dish, displaying it to our side.  Was I supposed to grab the spoon and dish out the mashed potatoes myself or would she do it for me?  I think I held my own until confronted with a small bowl of warm water.  What the hell was it?  I stared at it for a couple seconds too long.  I looked around to see what everyone else was doing.  They were sticking their fingers in it.  Go figure.  I did the same.

I thought I had performed reasonably well but I didn’t get a call back.  Oh well.  This was going to be harder than I thought.  Going to a new school is never easy.  Falling into an alien universe is just plain impossible.