She's just as pretty as you saw her earlier. She's changed into a short red-and-white striped dress and sandals, had her hair has been washed. She smiles at you as she walks up and stops right in front of you. "Hey. Name's Carly. I saw you walking down the road. What's your name?" You find it very hard not to stare at her chest bulging out of the tight dress. She laughs and snaps her fingers. "Up here, hormone boy." You look up and shake your head. "Sorry, Hi, my name's Jon." You hold out your hand and she shakes it.
You two walk over to the fence surrounding the horse field and lean up against it, sun beating down. "I just got here. I'm staying at Mr. Winter's." You explain. Carly laughs again. "What's so funny?" you ask, sounds hurt. "Oh, you mean Norman? Around here, neighbors are as tight as a Gordian knot. We go over there every Sunday for supper." You find yourself enthralled by the slight southern twang to her voice. "I'll be here for three weeks." You say. Carly smiles again. "Well, good! Maybe we can get to know each other."
You smile. "Yeah, I'd like that. I'd like that a lot." You find your eyes drifting downward again and look up. "Hey, you want something to drink?" Carly asks. "It's as hot as hell out here." You nod in agreement. "Great! I think mom has some Pepsis in the fridge." She turns and you follow her up the porch steps and into the farmhouse.
The foyer is small and rustic. A winding staircase leads up, and the wallpaper is tacky and outdated, covered in blue flowers, but it's so tacky that it's charming. A shelf full of knickknacks stands next to the door. "C'mon, slowpoke!" Carly says, and turns right into an archway. The kitchen is a huge country one, bright, white, and clean. A green table stands in the middle of the room and Carly goes over to the fridge and roots through it. "Darn, mom forgot to buy pop..." she mutters. You sit at the table as she pulls out a pitcher of lemonade. "This'll have to do, I'm afraid." She says, pulling two glasses out of the cupboard and filling them. She hands one to you and joins you at the table.
You talk for half an hour about where you came from, what friends you have at home, what life's like in the city, that sort of thing. "But enough about me." You finally say. "What about you?" Carly drains her glass and laughs. "Well, there ain't much to my life besides chores and school. The only reason I'm not doing any right now is because it's my dad's birthday. Him and mom are out shopping and my brother and sister have gone off someplace. I was alone until you came." She smiles again. "It's the same thing every morning. Up at six, clean the sty and coop, feed the pigs, cows, horse, fill up their water, and get done just in time for the bus. Then I get back and repeat the whole thing over again. Then it's dinnertime, and I have an hour of free time before it's bedtime at 9:30."
"What's your favorite animal here?" you ask, wondering about the colorful menagerie you've seen today. Before Carly can answer, the border collie bounds into the room and jumps onto her lap, licking her face. Carly laughs joyfully "Get off Dusty, is said get off!" she says, pushing him off. He stands beside her, tail flipping back and forth excitedly, panting happily. "Dusty's my favorite." Carly says, stroking his back and scratching him behind the ears. "My sister Allie has cat, but it only shows up for breakfast and dinner."
You find yourself enthralled by Carly and her life. How were you complaining about all this earlier? "Why don't I give you the grand tour?" she says, getting up and putting the glasses in the sink. "Great! I'd love that!" you say. Carly smiles and you follow her out the back door towards...