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Show outfits was the monograms on their sweaters. The two girls were in a tight huddle talking and didn't look eager for a third to join them, so Kim sat two seats from them, by herself. Above the clanking of silverware on china and the drone of voices, Kim could hear Isabel talking about a boy named Colin she was going steady with. "I can hardly wait for this Sunday to see him at the Club," Isabel said with a fair amount of passion." Isabel's eyes caught Kim's as she described Colin, and immediately she lowered her voice. Quickly, Kim looked away, embarrassed that she had been caught eavesdropping. To her relief, someone finally sat down next to her-a dark-skinned girl with long black hair parted in the middle. The girl, however, seated herself without taking her eyes off her plate, laid her napkin precisely on her lap and began cutting her chicken carefully with a knife and fork, not once looking up. She sat tall and straight with her chin held high. Several times during the meal, Kim thought of starting a conversation, but decided not to. The girl was a foreigner. Maybe she didn't speak English very well. And Kim wasn't sure she wanted to spend the dinner trying to translate broken English with a stranger. All through the meal Kim had an uneasy feeling she couldn't explain. At first, she blamed it on the unfriendly 45 |