"Pookie, wake up. Pookie? Pookie, wake up!"
"Wha—?" Spinelli cracked an eye open, catching a blurry glimpse of the Senor Fusion poster staring at her from the ceiling. Slowly, her eyes came into focus and she recognized her surroundings – she was in her bedroom.
"Time for school, Ashley!" Flo singsonged, throwing the curtains open in Spinelli's room. The small girl flinched at the light, shifting onto her side, away from her mother's voice. The motion jolted her senses into action, and she shivered, covered in a cold sweat.
The shift also drew her attention to an alien feeling of wetness between her legs, and she sprang to her feet immediately, face flushed in embarrassment. She pulled back her comforter, expecting to see a patch of wet, but the sight that met her eyes was foreign to her eyes. "Mom?" she managed, rendered nearly speechless.
Flo saw her daughter leap out of bed as though her teddy bear had turned into a porcupine, and immediately it piqued her curiosity. Her Ashley wasn't an early riser – that was an understatement. She looked over Ashley's shoulder and noticed a patch of red the size of a tea saucer staining the white Senor Fusion-emblazoned sheets.
"Oh my God," Flo gasped, eyes widening. She rubbed her eyes but the sight remained the same. It couldn't be, could it? Her nine-year-old wasn't already menstruating, was she?
"Ashley, go to the bathroom. Take a shower. A long one. Use all the hot water. Scrub good." Eyes never leaving the stained sheets, Flo pushed her daughter toward the door. Without a question, without a word, Spinelli bolted.
Flo stripped the sheets and hurried to the laundry room to treat the stain. She filled the laundry room sink with cold water and left the soiled sheets to soak. She hurried to her bathroom and grabbed a fair amount of women's toiletries and headed to her daughter's bathroom. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for the talk.
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The pad felt like a diaper.
It itched, it stratched, it irritated Spinelli to no end. As she plopped down in the backseat of her mother's station wagon, she fought the urge to stratch. She shifted around in the seat, looking for a comfortable position to sit in, but there wasn't one.
Spinelli scowled and shifted again, to no improvement. She vaguely wondered how she was going to go a whole school day wearing one of these stupid diapers.
Her mother got in and started the car, sending a glance back at her daughter. Flo honestly hadn't expected Ashley to begin menstruation for another three or four years, like most girls. She only hoped that Ashley's period was a fluke – sometimes they started, and then stalled – and she hoped for her daughter's sake that the cycle stalled.
Flo knew, from eighteen years of experience, that periods were a pain.
Since the newest arrival in the Spinelli household had caused a ruckus, Spinelli would surely be late if she walked to school as normal. Besides, she hadn't been feeling up to facing T.J. alone the morning after she'd socked him in the nose – and aside from that, she was still having horrid flashbacks from the dream she'd woken up to. Flo had decided to drive her to school, to save her from being late.
Spinelli sulked the whole ride, trying to get comfortable with the newest addition to her undergarments. She'd barely gotten passably comfortable when the car slowed to a stop in front of Third Street School.
Grabbing her backpack, Spinelli bade her mother a cross good-bye and stepped out onto the sidewalk, looking up at the school's big yellow walls. For the first time in a long time, Spinelli dreaded being there.
The pad itched again as she started her walk toward the building.
"How am I going to explain this?" she wondered.
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Author's Note: Since I have no recollection of who Tallie V'nessa is (unless she would like to identify herself for my sake), I'm no longer crediting this fic to her. If it were that important, she would have bugged me to finish it a long time ago. Hope you all like this chapter – I tried to keep the description of the rag as un-gross as possible, for the guys.
"Wha—?" Spinelli cracked an eye open, catching a blurry glimpse of the Senor Fusion poster staring at her from the ceiling. Slowly, her eyes came into focus and she recognized her surroundings – she was in her bedroom.
"Time for school, Ashley!" Flo singsonged, throwing the curtains open in Spinelli's room. The small girl flinched at the light, shifting onto her side, away from her mother's voice. The motion jolted her senses into action, and she shivered, covered in a cold sweat.
The shift also drew her attention to an alien feeling of wetness between her legs, and she sprang to her feet immediately, face flushed in embarrassment. She pulled back her comforter, expecting to see a patch of wet, but the sight that met her eyes was foreign to her eyes. "Mom?" she managed, rendered nearly speechless.
Flo saw her daughter leap out of bed as though her teddy bear had turned into a porcupine, and immediately it piqued her curiosity. Her Ashley wasn't an early riser – that was an understatement. She looked over Ashley's shoulder and noticed a patch of red the size of a tea saucer staining the white Senor Fusion-emblazoned sheets.
"Oh my God," Flo gasped, eyes widening. She rubbed her eyes but the sight remained the same. It couldn't be, could it? Her nine-year-old wasn't already menstruating, was she?
"Ashley, go to the bathroom. Take a shower. A long one. Use all the hot water. Scrub good." Eyes never leaving the stained sheets, Flo pushed her daughter toward the door. Without a question, without a word, Spinelli bolted.
Flo stripped the sheets and hurried to the laundry room to treat the stain. She filled the laundry room sink with cold water and left the soiled sheets to soak. She hurried to her bathroom and grabbed a fair amount of women's toiletries and headed to her daughter's bathroom. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for the talk.
----------------------------------------
The pad felt like a diaper.
It itched, it stratched, it irritated Spinelli to no end. As she plopped down in the backseat of her mother's station wagon, she fought the urge to stratch. She shifted around in the seat, looking for a comfortable position to sit in, but there wasn't one.
Spinelli scowled and shifted again, to no improvement. She vaguely wondered how she was going to go a whole school day wearing one of these stupid diapers.
Her mother got in and started the car, sending a glance back at her daughter. Flo honestly hadn't expected Ashley to begin menstruation for another three or four years, like most girls. She only hoped that Ashley's period was a fluke – sometimes they started, and then stalled – and she hoped for her daughter's sake that the cycle stalled.
Flo knew, from eighteen years of experience, that periods were a pain.
Since the newest arrival in the Spinelli household had caused a ruckus, Spinelli would surely be late if she walked to school as normal. Besides, she hadn't been feeling up to facing T.J. alone the morning after she'd socked him in the nose – and aside from that, she was still having horrid flashbacks from the dream she'd woken up to. Flo had decided to drive her to school, to save her from being late.
Spinelli sulked the whole ride, trying to get comfortable with the newest addition to her undergarments. She'd barely gotten passably comfortable when the car slowed to a stop in front of Third Street School.
Grabbing her backpack, Spinelli bade her mother a cross good-bye and stepped out onto the sidewalk, looking up at the school's big yellow walls. For the first time in a long time, Spinelli dreaded being there.
The pad itched again as she started her walk toward the building.
"How am I going to explain this?" she wondered.
----------------------------------------
Author's Note: Since I have no recollection of who Tallie V'nessa is (unless she would like to identify herself for my sake), I'm no longer crediting this fic to her. If it were that important, she would have bugged me to finish it a long time ago. Hope you all like this chapter – I tried to keep the description of the rag as un-gross as possible, for the guys.