I received quite a surprise that early spring. One day, the matron came and asked me if I would like a part-time job. Since I was only 13 at the time, I was pretty curious as to what they would offer me. It turned out to be an assistant to the dentist that came to the campus once a week. It would pay twenty five cents an hour, but that was in addition to the fifty cents a week that I was getting. In those days, a few cents went a long way, and I was happy to have the opportunity to earn a bit more change. On my first day, I was quite nervous, but the dentist was very nice and let me say, very patient. I had a lot to do, I had to keep the instruments cleaned and ready, clean and santize the chair, light, and other equipment, take and keep the inventory and actually assist the dentist during proceedures. I was a quick learner and really enjoyed my afternoons in the clinic. We treated the children on a must-needs basis, and then on an appointment basis. So many of the children had very bad teeth, and although I did not realize it at the time, the service was such a blessing to so many. Some of the children had to have braces, and I decided that I wanted braces too. I approached the dentist about it, and he laughed and told me that I had the most beautiful, straight teeth that he had seen in some time. I still wanted braces, I wanted to stand out I guess. Cursing my straight, white teeth, I was resolved that braces would elude me. I continued to work in the clinic and truly loved it.
Spring break came, and I spent the week at the home. Mindy and I spent the time together, and we watched tv with the other girls and played a lot of cards. Some days we would just lay out in the yard and try to get a tan. I got a sunburn. We would stay up late at night and talk and drink sodas that we had sneaked from the kitchen. I was fortunate to have Mindy. I got along with the other girls, but for some reason I could not forget the way I was treated when I first came to the home. I just never did trust them. As long as I didn't have to rely on any of them for anything, I was okay. We worked together, cleaning the cottage, washing, cooking and ironing, but we never did bond. I was comfortable with the situation, especially as I had Mindy for a friend, but then something happened that up-ended my security.
A new girl came to the cottage. She was gorgeous, slender, had lovely blonde hair and a bad mouth. She immediatley bonded with Frankie's group, the bunch of girls who kept to themselves. Her name was Maggie. Maggie was trouble for sure. Within days, Maggie had wormed her way into the graces of the cottage leaders, and made sure that she fully intimidated the other girls. She would get out of work by intimidating others into doing her chores, sneak into our rooms, take clothes from girls who were scared of her and her group, hit girls who would not do her bidding and in general was just a curse. Maggie got great pleasure out of ridiculing others, setting up situations where some of the girls would appear to be at fault and pointing it out to the matron. Many of the girls felt the hard hand of the matron thanks to Maggie and I hated her. She never would include me in her campaign of terror. She left me alone. I wondered why, but didn't question it as I was just relieved that she stayed out of my way. Then the unforgivable happened. She got Mindy in trouble. She went behind Mindy after Mindy had cleaned the kitchen and made it look as though Mindy had not done a good job. I could hear the matron shouting at Mindy from the kitchen and I could hear Mindy trying to explain that she had done everything. It was when I saw Maggie hiding behind a door and snickering that I knew what she had done. Fortunatly, Mindy was only required to fix the mess and the matron did not paddle her. I was furious. I cornered Maggie and told her that she had better leave Mindy alone. I asked her why she was so hateful. She laughed in my face and poked her finger into my chest. She told me to back off, or she would make my life miserable. I was afraid to confront her any further as I didn't want to get into trouble myself. I walked away. That was a big mistake. Maggie turned her campaign on me. I noticed things missing from my room, girls talking behind my back and ignoring me. Maggie got her crowd to start picking on me, and making every effort to exclude me. Soon, the other kids at the home began to treat me differently. Maggie was spreading lies about me, saying that I was talking about the other girls and making sure that they knew it. I was so hurt, and I didn't know what to do. Soon, Maggie openly began to challenge me, pushing me, hitting me and swearing at me. Of course all this happened where the matron did not hear or see it. I became very nervous and anxious. I was always on the lookout for Maggie, and my life was very unhappy. Mindy was afraid of her too, and together we just tried to stay out of Maggie's way. Then one Saturday in the late spring, Maggie cornered me in the kitchen. She began to call me horrible names and tell me of the things she was going to do to me. She said when she was through, no one would like me. She said that she was going to get Mindy too. Suddenly, it was enough. I turned on her and shoved past her and into the hall. Some of the other girls saw me shove her and began to laugh.This must have embarrassed Maggie because she followed me out of the kitchen. I didn't know she was behind me, and when I went into my room, I was startled when she stormed in. I should explain that I was twice as big as Maggie, and at least a head taller. That did not stop her though, as she stepped up to me and began to scream in my face. I yelled at her to shut up, and the next thing I knew, Maggie slapped my face with great force. My reaction was that I punched her once, causing her to fly across the room and into the hall. It turns out that she was unconcious for a moment after slamming into the hall wall and sliding to the floor. I was out of control, screaming that I could not stand it anymore, and that she would not leave me alone. I felt someone shaking me and found that Mrs. Thompson was trying to calm me. I threw my arms around her and asked her what would happen to me for hurting Maggie like that. She said, "Well, it took you long enough. We wanted to stand back and watch you, knowing that you would find the courage to take care of that little monster. Nothing will happen, you were defending yourself". I began to settle down as they carried Maggie to the infirmary. She did not return to the cottage, she was assigned to another cottage. Thank goodness, she did not terrorize those girls, actually she became rather meek. This experience escalated my reputation in the eyes of the girls and kids all over the campus. The story was told over and over until it became almost fiction, but I reveled in the attention and popularity that it brought me. Frankie's group became nicer to me and the other girls were much more friendly. Some of the boys began to ask about the incident. I was invited into other rooms at night for hot chocolate and gossip. I was popular. What a shame that it took something so extreme to gain acceptance, but that is the way of the world I guess. After that, no one ever challenged me. I loved it. Mindy and I felt safe at last.