Chapter 85

Speaking, Carroll tucked me in again. "He is just a new acquaintance!" I watched Carroll buttoning his shirt and asked, "Are you going out at such a late hour?" "Yes. I have something at hand." I now knew how to talk back. "Oh, got it. For a blind date with girls like Euna." "Kid, sleep now. After you get well, you will have to give birth to a football team." "You're mocking me again!" I regretted what I bragged.  I was afraid that Carroll would tease me with this sentence for the rest of our life.  After I shut up, Carroll left the bedroom with satisfaction. Before his departure, he said, "Sleep!" "Got you! I know!" Lying on the bed, I tossed and turned. Old Madame Brown appeared in my mind after Carroll, so my brain was in a whirl.  It came to me that I had a meeting with Julie in Jessica's studio tomorrow.  In short, what had happened in the past few months flashed past my mind. Then, I remembered the sentence in the postcard. "Spring is over..." How many springs would I have to spend in Costsley? There were a few times I had almost died in this spring.  I got up early the next morning. Carroll stuffed an egg in my mouth and said, "Be quick. I'll give you a ride." "Okay." I took a bite of the egg. Looking at the egg yolk, I curled my lips. "May I skip the egg yolk?" "You can eat whatever you want after eating it." Then, Carroll stuffed one glass of milk into my hand. Milk and eggs were my daily diet. Back in Phoenix Village, I couldn't eat an egg a week. How insatiable people were! I became a picky eater now. Hence, I ate the egg. Carroll patted me on the head with satisfaction. "Not bad." He turned around and said to Jason. "Call the doctor for a new recipe. My kitten became picky and doesn't like eggs now." I nodded gratefully. Change! Hurry up! I had had enough eggs.  "Okay, Mr. Carroll." Looking at my miserable expression, Jason almost burst out laughing.  After a grimace at Jason, I was ready to go to Jessica's studio.  "Come back!" Carroll said. "Are you leaving? Won't you say goodbye to your best husband in the world?" "Honey, goodbye!" I ran over and tiptoed to kiss Carroll on the face. Then, I got into the car happily. At Jessica's studio, people looked at me as if they did a monster. I looked at Julie and asked with confusion, "Are there any flowers on my face, Julie?" Julie shook her head. "No." "Who are you?" Standing on the stairs, a woman in an impressive dress looked down at me. I raised my head and asked, "Who are you?" "Who am I? Don't you know me? Are you new here? I'm Jane, a disciple Jessica was proud of." Jane shook her wavy hair proudly. Wasn't she just a disciple? What was she poud of? After a nod, I asked with confusion, "So what? What does it have to do with me?" "You. How rude!" Jane was at a loss for words. She pointed at my nose and said, "Come with me! To my studio. Let me see if you can embroider the eyes of the fish!" "No!" I rolled my eyes. "I can embroider the eyes of the fish, the phoenix, and the dragon, but why should I embroider for you?" Julie tugged at my sleeve. "Everyone here takes orders from her, so why don't you do as she requested?" "Do all of you dread her? However, what does that have to do with me?" I didn't like the arrogant Jane, so I pulled Julie by the hand to her office.  Displeased, Jane blocked my way. "You can't stay here if you offend me!" "Jane, Kelly is different from us. You had better not..." Julie, shocked, took a step forward to make an explanation.  "Who do you think you are? Did you tackle your mess? Julie, you should feel lucky since Jessica doesn't drive you away after the trouble you caused. Don't forget your place." Speaking, Jane pushed Julie away.  Julie was as petite as me. This push almost made Julie fall down the stairs. I hurried to steady Julie and asked, "Are you alright?" "I, I'm fine." Julie bit her lower lip, and her eyes turned red. It seemed she would cry in the next second. "Are you a bandit? Why did you use violence?" I, angry, rolled up my sleeves to argue with Jane.  "What's wrong? Did you get your job done? How are your customers?" Jessica's voice came from upstairs. Soon, Jessica appeared with her assistant. "Jessica." Jane became a bit humble and then said defiantly, "Where did you find her? She knows nothing about respect." "I am not a student here. I will respect whoever respects me," I retorted. Jane glared at me. I blinked with a smile. "Jessica, look at her!" "Enough! Kelly is not my disciple. Her techniques about embroidery are no worse than mine." This speech astounded both Jane and Julie.  Jane recovered from the shock sooner than Julie. After a snort, Jane said, "Are you kidding me? How old is she? I have learned a little from you after all these years. As for her..." "Jane, don't you need to prepare for your blind date at noon?" Jessica interrupted Jane's sarcasm harshly. I held Julie by the hand and said, "Let's go." Then, I led Julie to walk past Jane and Jessica. Back in her small office, Julie lost control of herself. Lying prone on the desk, she cried. "Julie, don't cry. Talk back if she tries to embarrass you again." Fightback was what Carroll had taught me, and I always kept it in my mind. With a tearful face, Julie asked me, "Don't you hate me? She said that I..." I took out a tissue from my bag. Then, I gently wiped Julie's tears. "I don't think your mess will be worse than mine. I almost died in a fire, was buried in a pit, and suffered from a scandal. Jane is terrible. Who is she?" Julie stopped crying. She looked at me with gratitude. "Jane is the daughter of Jessica's best friend. She brought many male clients to our studio. She will have a blind date with an eligible bachelor today. Jessica thinks highly of her."