My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we’d be gone an hour, then we should be gone one hour or less -- not one hour and one minute. And she always insisted upon us telling the truth. Now you can see how mean she was.

　　The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We couldn’t sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept - my mother actually had the courage to break the Child Labor Law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook. We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath every day. The other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace because she made our clothes herself, just to save money. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.

　　Through the years, things didn’t improve a bit. We could not lie in bed “sick” like our friends did, and miss school. Our marks in school had to live up to expectations. Our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother, being as different as she was, would be satisfied with nothing less than ugly black marks.

　　As the years rolled by, first one and then the other of us was put to shame. We graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out.

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