"You really think I've got good legs?"

"What made you think of that?" Janet laughed, handing Cammy another can of malt liquor.

"Ralph told me the same thing. I just always thought I was skinny."

"You're slender." Janet slugged from her can, and grinned at Cammy. "The kind of slender that makes a fool of any man!"

"Any man?"

Janet gave her a loose grin. "I'd bet on it."

The next morning, Camilla was too hung over to bet on anything. And to make matters worse, her mother started in on her again as soon as she sat down for breakfast.

"I called your teacher about that D you made on your last test. He said for you to come in early this morning and he'd show you where you made your mistakes. Don't you think that's nice of him, Cammy?"

"It sure is," she said.

She forced down a mouthful of scrambled eggs, chased it with orange juice, and thought of the one can of malt liquor that was left out of the six-pack. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to make it through the day without some kind of help. Her mother was talking again. She took her hands away from her ears just enough to get the gist of it.

"… and Mr. Anderson will be in his office at seven, just for you. Don't be late."

"It's quarter of already," Camilla whined.

"You'd better hurry then," her mother added.

"Better hurry," Cammy mumbled as she hurried back upstairs. She stuffed the can of malt liquor into her purse, gathered her books and ran down the stairs. Her head pounded and her mouth tasted all wrong. The thought of having to see her math teacher with a hangover was enough to make her puke.

There wore only a few cars in the lot in front of the high school when Camilla hurried up the walk. She recognized the principal's red Buick, Mr. Anderson's Volkswagen, and the pickup that belonged to the janitor.

She pulled the heavy door open and ducked inside. The echoing hall was empty so she went quickly past Mr. Anderson's classroom to the girl's restroom, unzipped her purse, and popped the top on the can of malt liquor. Cammy felt better almost immediately. She drained the last of it and tossed the empty into the trash container. Then she found a breath mint in the clutter of her purse. She still wasn't ready for Mr. Anderson, but she was as ready as she'd ever be.