Bloodchild Read Free Page B

had come to live with her and Harlan, Colleen often had had serious and intimate discussions with Dana about boys and romance. Once, when she thanked her for being so frank and mature with her, Dana said, "I know what it was like when I was your age and how I hated being treated like a child when I already had had my period and had the same feelings and thoughts."
    Dana was more like a big sister to her and certainly welcomed her into her home openly and warmly. A trust had already been built between them. She could come to her with her problems and Dana would listen; and Dana wouldn't hesitate to tell her about her problems, either, even if they related to Harlan. They had quickly become female allies. Harlan was always jokingly complaining about being outnumbered.
    And so, as difficult as it was for her to leave her friends and home, the transition was made quite easily and comfortably because of Dana. Now what troubled her was her anxiety concerning how the baby would change Dana and her relationship with her. She anticipated that they would shortly expect her to be their built-in baby-sitter, but she was resigned to this, thinking she had to have some way to repay them for their kindness and love.
    Anyway, it was her last year of high school. Next fall she would be off to college. She was a good student, always on the honor role, and she had dreams of becoming a doctor. Harlan had already told her there was a substantial trust fund for her. Financing her college education was not going to be a problem. In many ways she was better off than a number of her fellow students.
    Of course, it was painful to have a family broken and destroyed by illness, but so many of the kids she met and knew came from broken families. Teenagers today were more independent in many ways, whether they wanted to be or not. In any case, she wasn't the type to sit around and mope. Self-pity had never been attractive to her. She was too ambitious, whether it be about school work or romance, to waste time moaning and groaning about life. She was proud of her maturity and her stability, both of which often made her feel superior. She knew her girlfriends envied her for it, and she knew most boys were attracted to her because of that, as well as because of her good looks.
    At five feet eight, with an hourglass figure, thick light brown hair, and dark almond eyes, Colleen knew she was a stand-out. Dana, who had a naturally robust and healthy complexion, was always complimenting her on her peaches-and-cream look. Other women who saw them together believed they shared some cosmetic secret and refused to believe there were no special skin creams or makeup involved.
    Part of Colleen's self-confidence came from her awareness of just how attractive she was. Although she wasn't arrogant, she was uncomfortable with false modesty. Instead she had found a middle ground that enabled her to accept compliments gracefully without seeming to flaunt herself.
    All this contributed to her aura of stability and maturity. Unlike many girls her age, she did not flit from one style or fad to another. And she had democratic tastes when it came to music or movies or television. Some of the things older people liked, she liked; and some of the things girls her age adored, she despised.
    In short, Colleen Hamilton was an individual, matured by tragedy and molded by her own sense of self-worth and ambition. During the six weeks she had been attending Centerville High, she had become very popular with both girls and boys, had begun a romance with the football team's handsome quarterback, and had become a favorite of her teachers. Harlan Hamilton had many reasons to be proud of his beautiful teenage sister.
    She turned somewhat reluctantly from Teddy Becker and headed for her car. Harlan had bought her a late-model, walnut-brown Mustang, because, as he jokingly said, "I know it's beneath you seniors to ride the school buses."
    Centerville High was a semirural school system that drew