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Inside, a barrage of sounds, colors, and smells made me dizzy This house smelled like people Piles of shoes and boots of all sizes lay near the door, surrounded by puddles offroled with those of hot chocolate and toast and so

Mrs McG led me down a corridor into the kitchen There, up and down a battered table, sprawled her children A boy about six years old paused in the act of spitting at one of his sisters to say, "We got coe yellow dog walked over and stuck his wet nose against

"Hi" It was one of the older boys, dark-haired, wearing a plaid shirt

"Who are you?" A sreen eyes looked up atreddish braid over her shoulder and stood up She smiled "This is Ari," she said to the others "I’"

"Sit here" The girl with green eyes pulled another chair to the table next to her

I sat There were ten of theht eyes and flushed cheeks, and they watchedcurled up under the table atof cocoa with a large ave me a plate of toast splotched with cinnamon and butter I took a sip and a bite "It’s delicious," I said, and they looked pleased

"Take your time and settle in," Mrs McG said "Later you can try to learn their names You’ll never remember so many"

"Even Moirl’ or ‘boy’"

"Do you like sledding?" another dark-haired boy asked

"I’ve never tried it," I said I licked marsh?" His voice was skeptical

"Miss Ari hasn’t spent much time outdoors," Mrs McG said "She’s not a ruffian like you all are"

"I’reen eyes said She had a tiny nose with two freckles on it "I’m too petite to be a ruffian"

"Petite!" So voices

"Bridget’s plulet," said the older boy "My naet protested

"When Michael goes to bed at night, he sleeps like a soldier," Kathleen said She stood up straight and rigid, hands at her sides "Like that he sleeps Never "

"Not like Kathleen," Michael said "She tosses all the covers off and then wakes up shivering"

They seemed endlessly fascinated by each other New voices chi about how this one woke up before dawn, and that one talked in his sleep I ateto theht?" It was Kathleen’s voice, close to my ear

"I’m fine"

"We’re a noisy bunch Mom says we’re worse than ain It had a way of creeping back over her shoulder, no matter how hard she flipped it She had a small face, rather plain, but it dimpled when she smiled "Are you thirteen?"

"Twelve," I said "Thirteen this summer"

"When’s your birthday?"

Gradually the others left the room, and finally, only Kathleen and I were left at the table She talked about pets and clothes and television shows, things that I knew little about -- if anything, only from books

"Do you always dress like that?" She said it without azed atstarched dark pants "Yes" I felt like adding, Blame your mother She buys my clothes

To be fair, Mrs McG hadn’t always bought , perhaps two or three, she bought a bright paisley playsuit, its colors a swirl of red and green and blue My father winced when he saw it and asked her to take it off ht jeans and a purple t-shirt I wondered, eren’t they starched?

"Mom said you need some color in your life" Kathleen stood up "Come and see my room"

On the way to Kathleen’s roo one wall "That’s the big screen Dad bought us for Christmas," Kathleen said

McGarritts were stuffed into two sofas and assorted chairs, others lying on pillows on the carpet; all eyes were on the screen, which displayed es of an odd creature

"What is it?" I asked her

"Space alien," she said "Michael’s big on the Sci-Fi channel"

I didn’t tell her that I’d never seen a TV before I said, "Ray Bradbury writes about space aliens"