Page 32 (1/2)

"He can arrange a mean vase of flowers, too" Alexandra fiddled with one of thethis place, and obsessing overevery aspect of Byrne’s life perfect, what do you do for fun?"

"Fun" Jayr tried to think

"You know, so another dollop of the cold gel to Jayr’s skin "So that doesn’t involve your lord and ht like a hureat satisfaction"

"But you’ve got to have a hobby or so stuff for Byrne" Alex pushed the end of the device harder against Jayr’s left hip "Do you ever go shopping, or hang out at the beach, or see a erous places at night I do not care to watch"Whenbath and read I am very fond of Sara Donati’s Wilderness novels" She hesitated "Sometimes I sketch; other times I attempt to compose poetry That pleases me, I suppose When it does not bedevil me"

"I’d like to hear some poetry," Alexandra said "Can you recite it off the top of your head?"

"It is not very good," Jayr warned her "Most of it does not rhyme"

"Like I’m a critic" Alex moved the device down to a spot just above her mound "Co"

Jayr recalled a short piece she had written at the beginning of the winter, and repeated it out loud:

"We live in darkness, cold and dead,

and wish for the light, warht bears the day

and winter frost the summer bounty

What will coht

ainst e sinned

will at last bless our na time "That’s really pretty Si else, then shook her head as though disagreeing with herself "Right, I’ve got to do one more pass and we’ll finish up with the injection" She turned thelooks like?"

Jayr observed the odd black-and-white i as Alexandra continued the exam "It looks as if I’ve sed a handful of truffles whole"

"Good analogy Your uterus and stoarding the screen thoughtfully "I think I’ve found out why you never ood news is, you don’t have any ans, so you’re not a hermaphrodite The bad news is that your ovaries"--she tapped the screen in two places--"are raisins"

Jayr looked at the tiny spots the doctor pointed to "Is that not how they should be?"

"In Kyn feer, the size of prunes My guess is your ovaries were diseased or deformed fro that’s probably going to offend you?" When Jayr nodded, she said, "You’re not a virgin, so why aren’t you sexually active now?"

Jayr felt appalled and stared at the monitor "You can see that as well?"

"Not on here I noticed that your hymen had been ruptured when I performed the pelvic," Alex told her "Was the first ti like a nun?"

"Yes and no"

Alex sighed "Kid, stop You’re drowning me with all this unnecessary inforhts above the table and tried to think of how to explain "My first time was not terribly painful It was the only ti needs" That, at least, was partly true She did not have toneed she still had for Byrne

"Well,out on puberty left you with an underdeveloped body and a dormant libido" Alex set aside the device, shut down the el from Jayr’s stoe You could start having all kinds of inconvenient feelings Are you okay with that?"

"Of course" Jayr looked at the liquid-filled needle Alexandra prepared "I do want to be like you and other fe it takes"

"We’re about to find out Hold still now; this will pinch" She plunged the tip of the syringe into the side of Jayr’s neck "I talked to Jema, and she said the injections alwaysthe formula won’t cause an opposite reaction"

"I can feel nothing but the sting of the wound," Jayr said honestly