Chapter 18

August 25, 2018 (Saturday)

Author: Taylor Abernathy

I’m a little scared, ‘cause I’m only in fourth grade and am young for that grade. But all of the LA girls have helped me so much and bootstrapped [I had to ask Lana what the word was that I wanted] me into a ... higher mindset. [Lana also taught me about ellipses. Not the geometrical figure, but the English punctuation. The singular of this “ellipses” is “ellipsis,” not “ellipse.”] When I write sections for the LA’s journal, I probably won’t use some of the words that Beth and the older girls would use, but my vocabulary is much larger now than when Mom, Mia, and I washed up here. I assume readers of our journal have read Beth’s diary, so I won’t explain why I used that “washed up here” phrase.

Since most of us were following Delia and Rathi onto the floor, Beth pulled me aside briefly and asked me if I wanted to write a section of today’s journal entry.

I was amazed that she asked me and when I asked her why me, she replied, “Because you’re more than smart enough, and I’d like your voice to be heard in our journal from the beginning. If you’re worried about how well it would read, I’d be happy to go through it with you when we have time so we can edit it together.”

Just so everyone knows, I love Beth so much. She (and the rest of the LA) has helped me, specifically, and my family so much. We’re all so much happier in the compound than we were in the house, a house that didn’t have many fond memories for Mom.

[Beth suggested that I turn on my phone recorder so I could capture things that I might not understand.]

I was chatting quietly with Kanda on our way onto the floor when we ran across Mare. We stopped to chat with her, but a customer politely interrupted us to get Mare’s help. [I wonder if Katherine would hire me when I get to be 14. I think I’d like that.].

Most of us moved on behind Rathi and Delia, although Rhee stayed behind with Mare, as she was writing a portion of the day’s entry.

We got to the sarongs and Delia asked Rathi, “Do you have a favorite color, or would you like me to find a few that I think would look great on you?”

“Delia, you’re apparently not as accepted by the LA as Alyssa is, but you seem to be working up to that. The LA girls have told us that Katherine and Alyssa are both very, very good at this job, and I’m willing to allow you to ... flaunt your skills for us.”

Delia smiled ... no, grinned, then said, “You’re on!”

She spent some time rustling [I like that word; Beth suggested it over what I had had] through the wide selection of sarongs, and bringing four to Rathi.

“Do you want to try these on over your skirt?”

Rathi glanced around the nearby parts of the floor, then answered, “I’d rather not.”

Delia quietly responded, “Katherine says that under certain conditions, the LA girls could be a bit brazen out here. You’re virtually surrounded by your friends, so if you wanted to drop the skirt here and don the sarong, that would be okay.”

“Truly?”

Brit quickly replied, “I’ve been topless on the floor during store hours. You can certainly stand there in your panty surrounded by us.”

“B-but I’m not wearing a panty!”

Delia surprised me by saying, “Would that be a problem for you?”

Rathi looked in Delia’s eyes for quite some time, then looked a question at Brit, who answered, “You know how we live. If you don’t want to do that, no one will denigrate you.”

[Beth had to explain that verb to me.]

Rathi seemed to psych herself up, then dropped her skirt to the floor. When Delia dropped to her knees with the first sarong, once she had it on Rathi, she picked up Rathi’s skirt and handed it off when Brit held out her hand.

Though she did it quietly, Rathi exclaimed, “I’ve never done anything like that before! You LA girls are a horrible ... and wonderful influence on me! God! I’d never considered public nudity nor orgies before this summer. Fuck! I think I could do that again! And I will!”

A fierce mien [another Beth-suggested word; I love the LA!] accompanied Rathi’s last sentence.

Liya quietly asked, “Rathi, would you mind if I looked for tops to match the sarongs Delia’s picked out?”