Girl Power Read Free Page A

“Do you think I should put my jeans back on now?”
    “Let’s go see if they’re dry yet,” said Morgan, leading her out past the kitchen to a tiny laundry room. Morgan opened the dryer and pulled out the jeans, giving them a shake then handing them to Emily.
    “Thanks,” said Emily. “And thanks for letting me wear your shorts. They’re really cute. They look just like real bandanna handkerchiefs; just like the ones my grandpa used to blow his nose on.” She wished she hadn’t said that.
    Morgan laughed, a rich, deep laugh that was full of warmth. “That’s because I made them out of real bandannas. Of course, no one actually blew their nose on them … at least not that I know of.”
    “That’s amazing.” Emily looked down at the shorts she was still wearing. “You actually made these yourself? Can you really sew? Like real clothes and everything?”
    “Sure. I love to just make things up right out of my head. Usually I draw the design first, and then I cut it out and sew it. Come to my room, and I’ll show you my latest.”
    Emily followed Morgan to a small bedroom just off the kitchen, and Morgan opened her closet, pulling out acolorful dress. “My latest creation,” she said proudly.
    “Wow! That is really cool! I like this fabric. It looks different.”
    “It’s called batik. They use wax and dye to make these patterns on the cloth. My mom got it for me. It’s from Indonesia.” Morgan held the unfinished dress up, and Emily could just imagine how it would look on. Morgan was tall and thin, and the dress would be perfect against her golden-brown skin.
    “I wish I knew how to sew.” Emily looked at her jeans and the torn knee. “Then at least I could fix this stupid hole.”
    “Hey, let me patch it for you.” Morgan snatched the jeans out of her hands and pulled out a brightly colored sewing basket, then she flopped onto her bed, which was really a futon covered with a zebra-print fabric. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and studied the tear from several angles. “And how ‘bout I make your jeans a little more interesting while I’m at it?”
    “That’d be great.” Emily sank into a furry beanbag chair and looked around Morgan’s room. Like Morgan, it was interesting. Really interesting. Lots of beaded necklaces and bracelets hung over her dresser mirror. Interesting pieces of fabric seemed to be draped everywhere. Emily wasn’t sure if they were decorations or just sewing projects in process. But Morgan’s room felt good to her. And fun.
    “I like your room, Morgan.”
    Morgan nodded without looking up. “Thanks, I like it too. But what I really want to do is paint some murals on the walls. Mom says I shouldn’t since this is really Grandma’s house, but I don’t think Grandma would mind. I want to paint a big tiger coming out of the jungle by the closet and maybe a zebra over there by the door.”
    Emily tried to imagine it and smiled. “That would be so cool. I wish I could do something like that to my room. It’s pretty boring. Just plain white walls and an ugly brown carpet with a stain shaped like Texas in the middle.”
    “So why don’t you paint a mural on your walls?” Morgan bit a thread with her teeth and looked up.
    “Oh, I don’t know … I’m not that artistic. I wouldn’t even know where to—”
    “I could help,” offered Morgan. She held the jeans up. Emily couldn’t believe it. Morgan had already sewn a little piece of fabric—along with a ribbon and matching purple button—right over the tear, and now the jeans looked really cool.
    “Morgan, you are totally amazing! That looks really great. Thank you so much. I thought my jeans were ruined, and now they look better than before.” She almost admitted that these were the only jeans she’d been able to bring with her on this move. But she didn’t. How could she explain to Morgan that they’d left their previous homewith only the clothes on their backs? She wasn’t about to