I packed my bags, throwing in anything I thought I would actually wear. Everything else I stuffed under my bed, hoping my aunt would not find it.

"This isn't mine!" Screeched Mary from the other room. I sighed and folded up a pair of jeans.

"It's probably Raleigh's, throw it to her." My aunt told my cousin. I soon was holding my least favorite sweater. I let out a groan when my aunt told me to pack it, incase it got cold. I shoved in the suitcase, anyways, and planned never to touch it.

"Girls, today we go and fit you for your uniforms." My aunt called from her bedroom.  

Uniforms! I swear, you heard her clearly. Uniforms. Not nice uniforms either. They where green, with ugly big bows to go in your hair, and, if you where a girl, no exceptions, you must wear the dress. Well, I guess the only exception would be if you magically changed into a boy overnight. I hoped that would happen to me daily. The only reason we where allowed to bring 'different' clothing, like jeans and tank tops, were for Sundays, when it was a day off.

"Girls, hurry up!"

Before I knew it, I was in the car, bucking my seat belt, in my nicest clothes. My aunt insisted we look our best. Outings where something she cherished.

Oh, I forgot to mention. When we go out, I'm not related to my aunt. Never. Not once, when she met her snobby friends at the salon, did she ever introduce me as her brother's daughter. Only daughter. Who could miss such an important piece of information? Am I that invisible? I would tap Mary on the shoulder, just to make sure. Then I wasn't invisible. That's when the yelling would come.

"Raleigh, stop hitting Mary." My Aunt would smile to her friends as if you say 'what can you do, the little brat's useless.'

"But-"I would start.

"What a rude child." One of the women would say.

"What a disgrace." Another would observation.

"It's not her fault. Rude parents she had."

"Had?" They would cry.

"Passed away, last year." My aunt would shake her head.

"

Oh dear, no wonder." The fat lady with the dog in her arms would always say, "And you took this child in, with your own will?"

"I hoped it would be good for her." My aunt would try and sob.

"You have tried your best."

"I am thinking of sending both my daughter and her off to a boarding school."

"Pleasant Mary?" One would cry.

"Yes, I think-"My aunt would blow her nose, "it would be the best for both of them."

Classic. It never failed, to make me look bad, my cousin better and my aunt look like a caring soul. I think the plan was wonderfully produced, but I would like it more, if it wasn't used against me.

So, today, I decided not to bug Mary, or my aunt, and try and keep quite.

We arrived at the fittings, and Mary went first. Her skinny waist and long dangling legs gave the man a hard time. He could not find a dress small enough to fit her. I grinned as my aunt yelled at him to hurry up, or she would go somewhere else.

When she was finally fitted, it was my turn. I stood on the stool, and lifted out my arms.

"Good, stand still." The man told me. I did just that, and watched my aunt watch me.

"This might fit her." The man soon found a dress that would fit me. I was glad I was wider then Mary.

"Thank you."

We left after getting some shoes, socks, hair ribbons and some sweaters.

The least I can say is my parents did not leave me a small amount of money.

And I was very thankful for that.

That night, I spent the whole night packing my new dresses away. How ugly I felt, as I closed up my suitcase.

Tomorrow was the car ride up to school.