The Emancipation of Clementine Miles
"If there's anything that you can't find a spot for, honey, we'll come back and get it next week," Rose declared bravely, tucking new sheets around the pitifully thin mattress. "Where did they get these pathetic mattresses, do you suppose?" she asked, trying hard to be brave by being busy. Clem rolled her eyes condescendingly at her mother and kept stuffing clothes into the small chest that was meant to contain her entire wardrobe except for hung items in the door-less closet.
"Daddy, Mama, look. It's not supposed to be fancy. It's a dormitory! It's a cell! Think of it as my academic exile for the next four years, while I polish my brain and exercise my power of reason!" She knew that would cause them both to glaze over and they would change the subject. It had worked through twelve years of school so far.
"Ed, stack those extra blankets on the top shelf for Clem," Rose said, on cue.
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