Deenie Read Online Free PDF

undressed and stood in front of my mirror. Helen doesn't have a full-length mirror in her room but I let her use mine whenever she wants to see her whole self, which is practically never. I turned around and around, trying to see myself from all angles. There wasn't anything wrong with my posture! I wasn't round-shouldered and my stomach didn't stick out either. So what was Mrs. Rappoport so excited about that she had to call my parents?
    The next afternoon, when I got home from school, Ma said, "We have to be at Dr. Moravia's office by four. Aunt Rae's coming to pick us up in a few minutes. Go and wash your hands and face and make sure your underwear's clean with no rips."
    "Oh Ma! Who cares about my underwear?"
    "I do," Ma said. "So get going."
    "Okay," I told her, heading upstairs.
    I don't mind Dr. Moravia as long as I don't need a shot or that tine test which he always says will feel like a little mosquito bite, when it really feels more like a big bee sting. But I had that in April. So probably he'll give Ma a prescription for some vitamins and tell her to stop worrying because I'm just going through the awkward stage. Or maybe I'm going to get my period again. I had it once, last June. The booklet I sent for says when you start out it might be a long time before you get regular, like Helen. So maybe that's why my posture's funny. Except I never heard of bad posture as a symptom of getting your period. But if that's what it is then Ma can't be mad at me, so I hope it is.
    My mother doesn't drive. Aunt Rae takes her every place she has to go. Or else she goes by bus. But since Aunt Rae has nothing better to do she doesn't mind driving Ma around. Especially since she has a new car. It's bright blue and Aunt Rae takes such good care of it I wouldn't dare spit my gum in the ashtray like I do when I ride with Daddy.
    When we got to Dr. Moravia's office there were three kids ahead of me. Ma's always saying the best place to pick up germs is waiting at the doctor's office. By now I know better than to sit near anybody who's coughing or looking sick.
    At my last check-up Dr. Moravia filled in a bunch of forms for junior high. I got weighed, measured and had my blood pressure taken first. Then Dr. Moravia looked into my eyes, up my nose and down my throat. He also listened to my heart.
    This time when he called me into his office he told Ma to wait outside with Aunt Rae, instead of coming in with me.
    "How's everything, Deenie?" Dr. Moravia asked.
    "Just fine," I told him.
    "Good … good … let's see how much you've grown. Step onto the scale please."
    "You've gained a half pound since last April and you're an inch taller," Dr. Moravia said, when he was done weighing and measuring me.
    "Do you think I'm going to be huge?" I asked.
    He laughed a little. "You're going to be just right."
    "My mother wants me to be a model so it won't hurt if I get really tall."
    Dr. Moravia smiled. "Now Deenie … I'd like you to bend over and touch your hands to your toes."
    "My gym teacher made me do the same thing."
    Dr. Moravia pressed his hand against my side.
    "I really try to stand up straight," I said.
    "It has nothing to do with that," he told me. "You can come up now, Deenie."
    "It's not my posture?" I asked, straightening my clothes.
    "No. It's your spine, I think. But I'm going to send you over to see a friend of mine just to make sure. His name is Dr. Griffith."
    "What's he going to do?"
    "Oh, just take some X-rays and look you over."
    "You think something's broken?" I asked.
    "No. But something might be growing the wrong way."
    "What do you mean?"
    "Well, I can't say for sure, but Dr. Griffith is a specialist—an orthopedist—and he'll be able to find out exactly what the trouble is."
    "Do you think it's something bad?"
    "Nothing that can't be fixed," Dr. Moravia said, opening the door to his office and calling my mother. "Deenie, you can sit in the waiting room now. Your mother will be out in a minute."
    I sat down next to Aunt