Virgin for the Woodsman by Eddie Cleveland

Author:Eddie Cleveland [Cleveland, Eddie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-04-10T16:00:00+00:00

7

Ashley

I watch the roaring fire that I’ve managed to build with a growing sense of satisfaction. The orange, curling flames lick the insides of the chimney and cascade a beautiful golden glow onto my arms.

Ugh. I crinkle my nose in disgust as I notice the soot streaked over the sides of my hands and up my arms. I sweep my eyes over the simple cabin searching for something to wash up with. I hate being dirty.

I walk across the room to the kitchenette and take a look around. I’ve already explored the tiny bedroom and closet behind doors number one and two earlier. This place doesn’t show any signs of being used in years. I was shocked to find out that there is no bathroom in this place. There’s no plumbing at all that I can see. Instead, I’ve been subjected to the indignity of using an outhouse. I was beginning to wrap my brain around the Pinterest-type rustic vibe of this place, before I learned that. There’s nothing rustic about a pit toilet. It’s practically inhumane.

I crouch down and peer into the lower cupboard smiling as I pluck the package of wet wipes from the cupboard. Perfect. Opening the plastic cover, I’m relieved to see that this has never been used. I plunge my sharp nail through the thin barrier and pull a couple of sheets out, washing my arms like I’m trying to rub my skin off.

“Ashy Ashley! Look at how dirty she is,” Hannah Kirkland pointed at me while her posse of popular girls laughed.

“I’m not dirty!” I ran my hands over my ratty goodwill shirt. Not that they knew it was secondhand. I did my best to keep my clothes clean. To keep myself clean.

“You’re so gross. Isn’t she gross, Tessa?” she spurred on her second in command.

“Totally gross,” Tessa agreed with a glint in her green eyes.

“Like, have you even heard of soap?” Hannah continued while I tried to shrink up inside myself.

The half hour before junior high classes started was always the worst. I pretty much had the entire school to myself until then. Only the janitor shared the empty halls with me, and he never did speak a word to me. He always held the door for me when we both showed up there at six in the morning, he gave me a kind look of understanding. However, he kept his distance.

“Or, like deodorant? Oh my god, I ran behind you in the last gym class and almost gagged.” Tessa added helpfully.

I crossed my arms self-consciously. Smelly sweat was just another way my body was beginning to betray me. My parents barely kept me fed most days, so asking them to pick up a stick of Degree was like asking them to lasso the moon and bring it closer to my window at night. A nice idea, but not happening. Of course, body odor was the least of my worries after getting my first period and having no pads or tampons to deal with it.

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