![\"Tarah,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Tarah-Paige-Ramona-DeFrees_t360_t670.png\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Tarah, Paige, Ramona. “I just paid, like, $800 for a cheerleader\u2019s uniform.”<\/p>\n
July 2 and 3 \u2014 Mission Beach<\/p>\n
Three girls from Temecula Valley High School, Paige, Ramona, and Tarah, agree to talk with me. Tarah is 16 and will be a senior in the fall. She has driven her parents\u2019 car from Temecula, about an hour north of San Diego. In summer, the girls try to come to the beach once or twice a week.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.sandiegoreader.com\/img\/photos\/2026\/06\/26\/Angels-lead_t670_t720.webp?5755a55b677da5dfc6c8e05d88cfbaffe8abac5c\")
<\/p>\n
Deena, Alice, and Holly. “The voices of the others turn shrill in an unanimous longing for pierced tongues and bellybuttons.”<\/p>\n
Paige, 17, will also be a senior next year. She has auburn hair, brown eyes, and a petite 4-foot, 11 1\/2-inch figure. She describes herself as \u201creally short\u201d and \u201ckinda tan.” Actually, she has the most beautiful tan of all the young women I interview. Her clear skin teams up with the sun for a stunning effect. She\u2019s wearing a two-piece swimsuit of blue, white, and purple with flowers \u2014 a bikini she bought with $35 of birthday money.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Carmen-DeFrees_t360.png\")
Carmen. Except for living at home in summers, she is financially independent.<\/p>\n
Paige seems reluctant to talk about her appearance and personality. She thinks that her best feature is probably her smile. Her friends come to the rescue:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ashleys-Brittinie-DeFrees_t360.png\")
Ashley Carson, Ashley Temple, Brittnie, Ashley Earl. \u201cI love you is 1-4-3. (I is 1; love is 4 letters; you is 3.)”<\/p>\n
\u201cPaige is the sweetest person in the whole wide world,\u201d Ramona says. \u201cAnd she\u2019s shorter than me, she\u2019s the only person that\u2019s shorter than me, so I love her. She\u2019s really cute. She\u2019s got the best tan in the world. I\u2019ve known her probably since the beginning of last school year.” She agrees that Paige\u2019s best feature is her smile.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Beach-DeFrees_t360.png\")
“Vacationers sometimes get the urge to do something to remind them of their trip to the beach.”<\/p>\n
Tarah echoes the “really cute girl\u201d routine but adds, \u201cFun to be around. Fun to look at guys with.\u201d<\/p>\n
All have manicures and pedicures \u2014 sometimes self-applied but often professionally done. They dismiss the cost as \u201cnot all that much,\u201d even though most of them lack both an allowance and a job.<\/p>\n
^^^^^^^^^^^<\/p>\n
The Reader has started this series of its best stories from the past 52 years \u2014 2600 cover stories and some remarkable interior features \u2014 to help make up for the loss of its physical edition, which was once large enough to hold whole oceans of print. These stories will feature all the original illustrations and photos (plus easy-to-read typography).<\/p>\n
^^^^^^^^^^^<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to have lotion,” Paige says. \u201cIf I don\u2019t have lotion. I\u2019ll freak!\u201d She sports a blue pedicure and matching manicure.<\/p>\n
Describing her relationship with her parents (her mother, a homemaker; her father, employed by Pacific Bell), Paige says, \u201cWe\u2019re friends… I pretty much tell them everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she didn\u2019t tell them about the last time she cried \u2014 five days ago. Asked the cause of her tears, she says, \u201cOver boyfriend problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of her friends asks, incredulously, \u201cAlready?\u201d \u201cWell,\u201d Paige says, \u201cwe were getting back together, so-o-o…\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t cry in front of him. \u201cJust at home by myself.\u201d She confided in her best friend, Elizabeth.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn’t do anything bad, but I didn\u2019t know if I was making the right choice, getting back together with him, and I was really stressed out, and when I\u2019m stressed, I cry.\u201d For Paige, the saddest song is \u201cNobody Knows” by the Tony Rich Project. \u201cIt\u2019s about a guy that lost his love,\u201d she explains, \u201cand he is feeling a lot of pain inside. He misses her so much, it\u2019s so sad.\u201d When girls in Paige\u2019s school become pregnant, \u201cthey drop out and take care of their babies.\u201d She thinks the school has counselors to help them but is unsure. \u201cI think so. They try to keep it low key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked whether she could tell her parents if that happened to her, Paige says, \u201cYeah, I\u2019d have to.”<\/p>\n
Paige\u2019s goal is to attend San Diego State to become a physical therapist or a nurse. When she looks for a husband, she\u2019ll aim for “someone who\u2019s sweet and has a good job\u2014and funny.\u201d Funny, as in a sense of humor, figures large among the qualities of prospective husbands.<\/p>\n
Ramona, 16, an entering junior, has reddish-brown curly hair, brown eyes, \u201cand I\u2019m short, but not as short as Paige. I\u2019m five two, and I don\u2019t know, I try to get a good tan.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remark that she tends to get a few freckles and ask whether that bothers her.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot really,\u201d Ramona says, \u201cbecause I do pageants. Right now, one of the big things \u2014 Miss Teen USA \u2014 is freckly, cute, down-home girls, so that kind of helps me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramona thinks that her best feature is her smile. \u201cBecause I had three and a half years of braces, so it better be pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n
I comment on her nice figure. Why didn\u2019t she mention that?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m picky,\u201d Ramona says. \u201cLike, if I was a supermodel, I\u2019d still think I was fat. I don\u2019t care what I eat or drink. I go to the gym and work out. I run, lift weights (not the big ones, just five-pound and eight-pound). My dad is, like, big, but my mom is really skinny, so I work out because I don\u2019t want to end up like my dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s in their small white cooler with the blue top, I want to know. It\u2019s filled with carrots and regular sodas. The girls are also sharing a bag of Cheetos bought along the way.<\/p>\n
Ramona wears a red, white, and blue two-piece suit, both top and bottom divided into red and white stripes on one side, blue with white stars on the other. It cost about $20.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always shop the price-reduced at Frederick\u2019s of Hollywood,\u201d she says, \u201cand it\u2019s usually a lot more expensive, but it was on sale, so I was happy.\u201d She tries to get at least one new swimsuit every summer but hasn\u2019t yet bought one this year. Ramona\u2019s beach towel \u2014 navy blue and white with eagles \u2014 extends the patriotic motif.<\/p>\n
I comment on Ramona\u2019s unusual manicure.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, this is a French manicure,\u201d she says, \u201cso it\u2019s got the white tips.\u201d It set her back about $25 and requires a $12 fill every two weeks or so. Asked about beauty products, she says that she likes Oil of Olay and St. Ives: \u201call the facial masks and stuff. Everything I can get my hands on.\u201d She buys cosmetics in Temecula. \u201cSometimes I get them sponsored, like, from my pageants, from beauty-supply stores, but most of the time, it\u2019s me or my pageant director.”<\/p>\n
How many pageants has she been in?<\/p>\n
\u201cOoh, I don\u2019t know. I\u2019d say at least ten. Yeah. I just finished one the other weekend, and I won it, so I\u2019m kind of excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramona wants to go to college somewhere in Texas or Tennessee because she hopes to be a country singer someday and would like to be close to Nashville. The saddest song she\u2019s ever heard is Patty Loveless\u2019s \u201cHow Can I Help You Say Goodbye?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking about a music school,\u201d Ramona says, \u201cbut I really want to go to a four-year university. I was thinking University of Texas or some school like that, like a Division One school hopefully, because I love sports and I love watching all the sports I want \u2014 a school with good teams.”<\/p>\n
With a 4.0 grade point average, Ramona should be able to go to the college of her choice.<\/p>\n
Daughter of a homemaker and a quality-control technician for Hudson RCI, Ramona looks for a life partner \u201cwho\u2019s athletic. Like Troy Aikman [quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys]. If he looked like Troy Aikman I\u2019d marry him right there, but I like outdoor, funny, but not lazy, like, athletic, and really sweet, of course. Somebody who believes in love and romance, not just the kinda guy who…you know, one day…and the next girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
How important are looks?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that big a deal,\u201d Ramona says, \u201cbut of course, to notice him he\u2019s gotta be cute.”<\/p>\n
Regret colors her voice as she admits she doesn\u2019t have a boyfriend now. \u201cI\u2019m seeing somebody, but we\u2019re not that serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
One good reason Ramona doesn\u2019t want to gain weight is \u201cbecause I just paid, like, $800 for a cheerleader\u2019s uniform, and I want to make sure I\u2019ll fit into it by the time I get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I express shock at the uniform\u2019s cost, Ramona modifies her price \u2014 but only slightly: \u201cNot that much. I think it was, like, 700-something. The uniform was $500. And then you pay $240 for the letters, et cetera.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later, other teens will explain to me that the uniforms are custom-made, that \u201cthey measure every part of your body\u201d so that the uniform fits you and only you. Each letter costs about $10, and by the time you write Temecula Valley Hi and add name and class year \u2014\u00a0Ramona 99\u2014 you\u2019ve racked up $240 more in costs.<\/p>\n
Tarah is of German and English descent, daughter of a retired Texas oil-field worker and a Navy mother. She comes across as more reserved than the other two, with an edge of sadness that makes her seem older. At five foot four, she is the tallest of the trio, with golden-brown hair and green eyes. Her face is paler than her body; her complexion, not totally clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to bum a lot,\u201d Tarah says, \u201cso I put tons of sunscreen on my face.\u201d She wore braces for six years. \u201cI don\u2019t wear my jewelry on the beach, but I have toe rings and an anklet.\u201d She\u2019s also wearing two small stud earrings in each earlobe. I ask whether the toe ring opens. How is it possible to remove it?<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you have to get it fitted on and then you put lotion to slip it off,\u201d she says. The ring is a fine silver band, and she\u2019s worn it about a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd my other ones, they broke, so… See, I have a toe-ring tan right there.\u201d Tarah\u2019s nails are coral pink. She wears very small beads like those the Campfire Girls of my childhood used for making headbands. The several colors of the beads complement the purple, green, yellow, and white of her two-piece swimsuit. Around her neck she wears a fine gold chain with linked hearts.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy boyfriend gave me that,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t have my ring on that he gave me.\u201d On the beach, most girls put aside all or part of their jewelry and wear their hair up.<\/p>\n
The giver of the locket and ring has been Tarah\u2019s boyfriend for a year and a month\u2014 \u201ca long time.\u201d She says that she cried yesterday. \u201cUsually, it\u2019s over him, but lately it\u2019s because of stressing out because I\u2019m moving. I was going to move, and now I have a place to stay with some of my friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom cries a lot She doesn’t want to move. She doesn\u2019t want to leave me, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ask whether her parents are splitting up.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom\u2019s in the Navy and is being transferred to Washington, D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarah doesn\u2019t want to change schools for her senior year, so a compromise has been reached. Her mom will move. Her dad will stay in the family home, and Tarah will live with friends for a year.<\/p>\n
Future plans include attending junior college (half an hour from Temecula) and transferring to a four-year university, preferably San Diego State, to study criminal psychology. Tarah admits that she\u2019s still not sure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to know how the criminal mind works,\u201d she says, \u201cand why they do the things they do, and I like dealing with people, so it could be fun.\u201d When Tarah was younger, she entered one beauty pageant, but that\u2019s not really her thing. Instead, she\u2019s a cheerleader and a pole-vaulter. She holds three records\u2014for her school, the stadium, and her league.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve jumped nine feet two inches before,\u201d Tarah says, \u201cbut I can do higher.”<\/p>\n
I ask about injuries. She\u2019s \u201cspiked\u201d herself and pulled muscles \u201cand stuff like that.”<\/p>\n
Tarah considers her eyes her best feature. As for her best personality trait, she says, \u201cI’m mildly crazy, like to have fun.\u201d Paige and Ramona are happy that Tarah\u2019s not moving \u2014 very happy.<\/p>\n
All the girls cry when they\u2019re angry, but Tarah says, \u201cI cry over everything. When I\u2019m mad I cry. When I\u2019m sad I cry. When I see a nice commercial on TV I cry.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the main cause for tears she says \u201cMostly my parents and boyfriends. It\u2019s been hard having a relationship so long, hard sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHard,” I ask, \u201cbecause of his pressure to have sex?\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a sharp intake of breath from Ramona, then an explosive response. I look her way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t shock,” Ramona says. \u201cIt was just funny. No comment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarah says that her family doesn\u2019t do things together so much lately.<\/p>\n
Ramona interrupts: \u201cI saw the first cute guy on the beach.\u201d I ask which of the two passing guys.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one with the black shorts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m interfering with your day at the beach.”<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Ramona says, \u201cit\u2019s okay. I just had to point that out.”<\/p>\n
I say that I\u2019ll take a couple of pictures and be on my way. In the few seconds it takes me to remove the lens cover and focus, Ramona has whipped out a compact, freshened her makeup, and let her hair down. \u201cDoing\u201d pageants is a 24-hour job, and letting her hair down transforms her.<\/p>\n
Another day at Mission Beach. My challenge is to locate girls in the right age bracket. A young woman I approach tells me she is 26. I learn to look for a mouthful of braces: orthodontia is a rite of passage into adolescence.<\/p>\n
In this way, I encounter three girls from Ramona, all 15 and going into their sophomore year in high school: Holly, Alice, and Deena. They have come to Mission Beach with Holly\u2019s older sister, who works in San Diego.<\/p>\n
Holly has long, straight blond hair, blue eyes, and a wide smile that reveals the telltale braces. She\u2019s wearing a two-piece Mossimo suit of green, blue, and purple. Her fingernails are green and her toenails purple. She wears an adjustable toe ring, twisted around to look like two; tiny dolphin earrings; and a matching necklace. I wouldn\u2019t have guessed that she\u2019s five foot eight. Asked her best physical feature, she hesitates until Alice prompts her, then says, \u201cMy legs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s really thin,\u201d Alice says. \u201cVery thin.\u201d Holly weighs 125 pounds and comes from a tall family.<\/p>\n
Holly doesn\u2019t know her best personality trait. Again, Alice helps out. \u201cShe\u2019s easygoing.” The girls have been friends about three years.<\/p>\n
Asked what her parents do. Holly stonewalls: \u201cI\u2019d rather not say.\u201d Nor is she willing to give her address. \u201cWhy do you need it?\u201d she asks. I begin to suspect that I\u2019ve fallen into a nest of CIA agents’ daughters. The other two will echo Holly\u2019s refusal to give their parents\u2019 occupation, but the lure of snapshots and the prospect of seeing themselves in print is too much. Deena finally agrees to sacrifice her privacy on the altar of curiosity. She writes down her address so that I can send three sets of prints and stories to her for the group.<\/p>\n
About family activities, Holly is more forthcoming. \u201cWe go to church, so we do a lot of church things.\u201d And she names \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d as the saddest song she\u2019s ever heard. Deena chooses \u201cThe Dance\u201d by Garth Brooks, and Alice, \u201cOne Sweet Day\u201d by Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe go to the beach a lot,\u201d Holly says. \u201cWe go on a lot of family trips.\u201d Last year, the family spent a month in Europe\u2014 about a week each in France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Holly\u2019s favorite part was skiing in Austria. At home in California, she skis, plays soft-ball, water polo, and volleyball.<\/p>\n
Unlike Temecula\u2019s students, pregnant teens in Holly\u2019s school continue their studies. Most have the baby, but she\u2019s heard of some who choose abortion. \u201cYou see a lot of these Southern pregnant girls walking around school,\u201d Holly says.<\/p>\n
At some point. Holly, who answers mostly in the monosyllable \u201cyeah,\u201d asks, \u201cWhy don\u2019t we talk about Alice?\u201d<\/p>\n
I tell her that we will in a minute and observe that she must be a very private person. She agrees, \u201cYeah, I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice describes herself as having long blond hair and blue-green eyes. Her hair is much darker than Holly\u2019s. She\u2019s five feet six inches tall. Before she can answer my question about her best physical feature. Holly interrupts \u2014 more than willing to talk about someone else. \u201cHer butt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deena agrees.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd her best personality trait?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Alice says. When I suggest that her friends must know. Holly takes up the challenge. \u201cYou can tell her anything and totally trust that she\u2019s not going to tell anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deena adds, \u201cAnd she\u2019s fun to be around. She makes everything fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ask how many have boyfriends.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrently, none,\u201d Alice says.<\/p>\n
I suggest that that will change.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need a boyfriend over the summer,” Alice says.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Holly adds, \u201cwe\u2019re.. .looking at the beach.” I think that Holly\u2019s answer may be an evasion, that there\u2019s a subplot related to cute guys and adolescent yearning.<\/p>\n
I ask about the last time she cried. Is it Alice\u2019s or Holly\u2019s voice on tape saying, \u201cOh my gosh! Tuesday\u201d?<\/p>\n
\u201cOver what?” I probe.<\/p>\n
\u201cA movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it was sad?\u201d \u201cYeah!\u201d In spite of that word, I now decide it\u2019s Alice talking. I ask if she ever cries when angry. \u201cYep! I\u2019m a big crybaby.\u201d<\/p>\n
I tell them that the girls I talked to yesterday most often cried over boyfriend problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t cry over guys,\u201d Alice says. \u201cThat\u2019s ridiculous! They\u2019re not worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I say that she sounds like a feminist. Is she?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I just won\u2019t cry over them. I have a lot of other things to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Screeches erupt from the other two. \u201cYou\u2019ve cried\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice concedes, \u201cI\u2019ve cried over guys. I\u2019ve cried over guys. I have, but I don\u2019t…now I haven\u2019t in the longest time because…\u201d<\/p>\n
Is it because she has no serious relationships? I ask. I tell them how Tarah found a long relationship \u201cnice but hard\u201d and how the girls from Temecula seemed confused about resuming relationships. One of the girls agrees, \u201cThat\u2019s a huge problem.”<\/p>\n
When I remark that I think a long relationship may lead to pressure from the guy to have sex, Alice speaks up: \u201cNo. They\u2019re protective. And when you first start dating them, they pretty much know if you will, and if you give them the idea that you won\u2019t, they pretty much won\u2019t bother asking because they know you won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ask whether most of the young men they see are church members.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually,\u201d Holly says, \u201cI was dating the pastor\u2019s son off and on for three years.\u201d That would have made her 12 when she started dating.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went to our church,” Alice says. \u201cHe goes to the same church I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you don\u2019t?\u201d I ask Deena.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I go to a different church.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the three of you live close to each other?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Holly says, \u201cyeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ask Alice what activities her family shares.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe, like, have…So I\u2019m the youngest out of five, so, like, everyone\u2019s already grown and moved out, so it\u2019s, like, on rare occasions we sit down and have dinner with the family. Everyone, sometimes, comes over, and my sister\u2019s married, so their husbands and their boyfriends come over a lot. My sisters take me out a lot. We go, like, to the fair and stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd do you mind telling me what your father does?”<\/p>\n
Alice does mind. She will only say that her mother works. Time to change subjects.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think happens to the body after death?”<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter death?\u201d Alice asks.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you ever thought about that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the body or to the soul?\u201d Alice asks. \u201cWhatever you want to be done to your body.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holly says, \u201cYou\u2019re either buried or cremated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deena asks, \u201cYou mean what happens when you\u2019re buried?\u201d<\/p>\n
I say that some religions believe in the resurrection of the body.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean reincarnation?\u201d Holly asks.<\/p>\n
I mention the Catholic belief in the glorified body in heaven.<\/p>\n
Deena says, \u201cWe\u2019re Christians. We don\u2019t believe anything but what our church…We believe that we\u2019re gonna go to heaven and we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and I don\u2019t know…”<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I guess that, at your age, you don\u2019t think very much about that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cM-m-m, no!\u201d Deena agrees.<\/p>\n
I change the subject again. \u201cWhat\u2019s the most fun about coming to the beach?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people,\u201d Alice says. \u201cWatching what other people do. And laughing. We laugh a lot when we\u2019re here, at people.\u201d Turning to Deena, I ask, \u201cIs that a nickname?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, it\u2019s real.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you don\u2019t want to give me your address?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deena makes a point of saying, \u201cWe\u2019re the graduating class of 2000.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ask whether she has followed the CBS series on that.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Deena says. \u201cMy grandpa sent me some articles in a newspaper about it.”<\/p>\n
Asked to describe herself, she says, \u201cI\u2019m, like, five four.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re the shorty of the group.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. I\u2019m the chubby one too.”<\/p>\n
Her friends loyally protest, \u201cYou are not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I have dirty blond hair, and I have mostly green eyes. Sometimes they change to blue. And…I don\u2019t know…\u201d Deena wears green nail polish. \u201cAnd my toes are purple,” she says. Her swimsuit is yellow, orange, purple, and blue. She doesn\u2019t know the brand name.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou guys,\u201d Deena begs, \u201ctalk to me. Help me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are we on?\u201d Holly asks. \u201cHer best feature, her boobs.\u201d Then she edits herself: \u201cShe has large breasts.”<\/p>\n
Alice says, \u201cAnd her best personality trait is she\u2019s, like, totally fun, she\u2019s, like, she always makes everything fun and, like, she\u2019s hilarious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if we ever have a problem,\u201d Holly adds, \u201cwe just go to Deena, and Deena will go take care of it. Hey, you know what? She speaks her mind.”<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re very direct?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Deena says. \u201cI don\u2019t care what people think about me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deena may have learned this strength from dealing with two older brothers and \u201ca dad who\u2019s like them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deena fingers her gold stud earrings, and I notice that they\u2019re asymmetrical \u2014 three on one earlobe, two on the other.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes everyone wear those little ones now?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. The big old hoops are really out. Those are, like, \u201980s. Little hoops and little studs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the activities Deena\u2019s family engages in are camping trips. \u201cLike the desert sometimes,\u201d she says, \u201cor the river…the Palm Springs desert. We\u2019re supposed to go to the Grand Canyon this summer, but I don\u2019t think it will happen.\u201d I ask whether that\u2019s because of tourist restrictions in the parks.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Deena says, \u201cjust because my parents are busy with work and stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
But not too busy to talk with Deena, who can\u2019t remember the last time she cried but sometimes sheds tears \u201cwhen my brothers are mean to me. It makes me sad. I remember, I cried last week because my brothers were mean, and I don\u2019t know, it just makes me sad.” \u201cMean in what way?” Deena says, \u201cLike, he just calls me names. \u2019Cause he\u2019s got friends over and tries to act cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice says that she cried last on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. Everything. I just started crying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holly explains, \u201c Alice cries like that. She\u2019s emotional. And if something\u2019s stressing her, she just cries and it makes her feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Educational plans for the girls are reasonably firm. Deena plans to attend junior college first \u2014 probably Palomar or Grossmont \u2014 and after that, transfer to a four-year institution, but she doesn\u2019t know yet what she wants to be. Alice has her sights on a step-up program that involves two years at Palomar, followed by the University of California at San Diego. She gets good grades but doesn\u2019t really like any subject and doesn\u2019t know what to major in. Holly likes science and \u201chad a lot of fun in biology.\u201d Deena likes modern dance.<\/p>\n
The girls use Cover Girl makeup and Maybelline. They chatter about glitter worn on<\/p>\n
the eyelids, the cheeks, the lips. \u201cAnd they have this body glitter for hair,\u201d one of them adds.<\/p>\n
Alice is a cheerleader and Deena is on a spirit squad that gives halftime performances. When I ask how they can manage to pay for their uniforms, they say, \u201cFundraising. The team does it.” Activities include car washes, rummage sales, and bake sales.<\/p>\n
Alice says, \u201cA lot of people can just work it out, you know. There are some of us that need help. The only people that get money in their account are the ones that do stuff, so it\u2019s all fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deena, who has called herself \u201cthe chubby one,” has \u201ca little, like, cardio machine in my bedroom that I work on my legs and stuff.\u201d She also walks with her mom sometimes.<\/p>\n
July 4 and 7 \u2014 Ocean Beach<\/p>\n
The beach is densely packed with bodies. I walk some distance trying to find teens not with their families, but I have no luck. I decide to check out the town more thoroughly and get answers to questions raised by my interviews. On the sidewalk, I see two young women \u2014 a blonde with braces and her friend. The blonde\u2019s attention is riveted on a guy she finds attractive. Her friend urges, \u201cGo on, talk to him. Talk to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
But risking rejection isn\u2019t easy, and she hangs back. A third friend joins them, and I approach. Bad timing. When I ask to interview them, they say, \u201cWe can\u2019t do it right now.\u201d The blonde looks at her friend and says, \u201cOh my God! He\u2019s talking to another girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
They propose a 4:00 p.m. interview. \u201cToo late,\u201d I say. We compromise on 3:00 at the bookstore. Well before 3:00, I\u2019m waiting, but by 3:15, they haven\u2019t shown up, and I take the bus back to downtown.<\/p>\n
Returning to Ocean Beach on my last day, July 7, I already know the town. I stop briefly in Dr. Jefe\u2019s Body Piercing to ask the cost of a tongue piercing: $25 plus $26 to $40 for the jewelry. Bellybutton piercing is similarly priced. A young blond woman in a long loose dress has a large silver stud far back on her tongue. It gleams and glistens as she talks and laughs. Frankly, I\u2019m surprised that such an establishment can stay afloat, here at the edge of the ocean. Are customers locals or tourists? I want to know.<\/p>\n
Apparently they are an even mix. Vacationers sometimes get the urge to do something to remind them of their trip to the beach. I stop at Strands Nails to price French manicures and am told that $18 is standard. Ramona remembered hers as $7 more than that.<\/p>\n
I try walking the beach one more time and am rewarded by discovering Carmen, 17, sunning all by herself on the sand. She\u2019s attractive in a big boned, Sophia Loren sort of way. Asked to describe herself, she says, \u201cOh, that\u2019s tough. I can say what other people have said. Just that I look very Italian and I\u2019m darker and I have a strong physique. You know. I\u2019m thicker than most girls.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carmen is about 5 feet 7 1\/2-inches with brown hair and eyes. \u201cEverything on me is brown,\u201d she says. \u201cWell, the sun makes my hair really light, so it\u2019s starting to get gold.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regarding her strongest personality trait: \u201cMy best girlfriend thinks I have an uncanny ability to make conversation with people I don\u2019t enjoy being around. Just able to talk with people. You know, even if we have nothing in common or they\u2019re much younger or much older. They can\u2019t get much younger without being children. I got that from my dad, though. He\u2019s always been the first one to talk to someone, and he has no qualms about starting a conversation with a stranger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carmen is easily the most mature of the girls I interview. At 17, she is entering her second year at Cal State Northridge \u2014 a feat accomplished by starting school before five and skipping third grade. Except for living at home in summers, Carmen is financially independent. She holds a scholarship in jazz performance (she\u2019s a saxophonist) and works 25 to 35 hours a week outside of classes in the academic year. The only \u201cgive\u201d in her schedule is sleep time, so she has to watch her health. \u201cIt\u2019s hard sometimes,\u201d she says, \u201cbut for the most part, it\u2019s doable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being a performance major, Carmen explains, requires five or six years to earn a degree because most courses carry only one credit but meet three or four times a week. Long hours in rehearsal add up to a full schedule. Asked about the odds of making it in performance. Carmen says, \u201cWe\u2019ll see. It\u2019s a lot of fun, but I don\u2019t know if it\u2019ll be where I want to make my money.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Carmen\u2019s father \u2014 a doctor in the Navy who runs a yacht brokerage with his wife and who is described by his daughter as \u201cvery sensible\u201d \u2014 is \u201clooking for a doctor for me and things like that. And I guess I\u2019m looking for love first, and if the money\u2019s behind it, then that\u2019s much better. I wouldn\u2019t look for money and then love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Right now, Carmen says she\u2019s serious about her boyfriend \u2014 a 25-year-old drummer who lives in Ocean Beach and hails from Pennsylvania. He attends a private music school in Los Angeles. Her father \u201cthinks these musicians are shifty characters that don\u2019t have any money, work all hours of the night, just sleep all day, and see, that\u2019s his, what he views, and I\u2019m trying to show him that, no…”<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d Carmen concedes, \u201c[the musician\u2019s life] promotes a lot of bad things: drugs and promiscuity…\u201d<\/p>\n
Carmen is a Catholic and goes to church every Sunday. Two weeks ago, she went with her mother, but her parents work 14 to 15 hours a day, and most of the time, attending Mass as a family isn\u2019t possible.<\/p>\n
Turning to the subject of marriage, I ask whether she has any eligibility requirements. Carmen says that her husband must have a healthy body and be taller than she is. \u201cI\u2019ve dated someone who was my height, but it was awkward because most women\u2019s shoes have heels. I don\u2019t know what it is, but something about being taller than the guy makes you feel that now you\u2019re the guy. So I don\u2019t like that. So, taller than me, and I don\u2019t like out of shape…if it had to be out-of-shape, I\u2019d rather have it be overweight rather than underweight because underweight is unhealthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her drummer is about six foot three and \u201clooks like a typical beach boy. Dark, but blue eyes and blond hair. I\u2019m looking for someone who\u2019ll love me unconditionally, and it\u2019s kinda hard to have that and someone who can support you.”<\/p>\n
Asked about a projected age for marriage. Carmen says, \u201cIt\u2019s even feasible now. Just because I think if you\u2019re in a relationship for years and years and not married, it\u2019s the same thing as the ring. So if you know the person, go ahead and get married. You\u2019re going to be with that person for the rest of your life, title or no title.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carmen says that this is the second time she\u2019s fallen in love, and the last time was less than a year ago, \u201cbut the person I was in love with just wasn\u2019t ready, he had a lot to worry about on the inside of him before he could start loving someone else. But this person. I\u2019m trying to say everything \u2014 to say, \u2018No, I don\u2019t love this person.\u2019 You know, I\u2019m trying to think about it as realistically as possible, but I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is how Carmen fantasizes her wedding. \u201cIt should be in a beautiful stained-glass church and be in Latin, but really old-fashioned, not an $8000 wedding dress and $300 cakes, but really old-fashioned and very Catholic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although she\u2019s \u201cthought a lot\u201d about having children, she says, \u201cI definitely don\u2019t want to jump into it young. It\u2019s hard to say because I believe that there\u2019s a lot of.. .that would need to come first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carmen recognizes that, \u201cMy parents are strong believers in family is everything. You have your family first and then you worry about other things.\u201d She adds, \u201cI \u2014 I have a feeling I will, but not for many years. I\u2019d have to be in my late 20s before I\u2019d get very serious about children. Perhaps, too, adopt because it\u2019s not their fault they\u2019re orphans. If I have a chance to help…I mean, what’s the difference between raising that child or my own child, except that my child would look more like me.”<\/p>\n
Because her husband would have \u201c50 percent of the say,\u201d that would be another factor influencing any decision.<\/p>\n
Carmen\u2019s parents live in a big house in Point Loma, but the base closed down and they will have to move within the year. \u201cBut they want to keep a big house,\u201d Carmen says, \u201cbecause they\u2019d love to have us all live there, but a bunch of 30-year-old children can\u2019t live in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even the family members left at home don\u2019t \u201cget to\u201d have meals together because of her parents\u2019 work schedules. But they did manage one recent outing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, on the Fourth of July, we went out on a boat to watch the fireworks. A lot of my brothers and sisters are older, so they live in different places and they have their own families, so it\u2019s hard to get us all together. My younger brother Just turned 16. He and I are, like, pals. He couldn\u2019t make it to the beach today because he had summer school, but him and I are the only ones pretty much (and I\u2019m gone during the school year) that are still in the house. During the summer, we do various things as a family, but my parents work all day and they have a boat business, so they don\u2019t get home until 8:00 or 9:00.\u201d Carmen explains that she has \u201caccidentally taken on the maternal role\u201d for her younger brother. \u201clike, I do the meals and the driving, and I guess I\u2019ve had to start telling him, you know\u2014 I don\u2019t tell him the birds and the bees, he knows that \u2014 but I do tell him girls like it when you say nice things. Like nice compliments and notice them. But girls don\u2019t like it when you burp in front of them. You know, I just tell him some of the mannerisms between female and male. \u2019Cause when I think about it, how else are they gonna find out except the hard way? A slap across the face or something, but I just hope he never gets a girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked to name women she admires. Carmen chooses her piano teacher. \u201cMy mother, I can\u2019t really use her because she\u2019s a woman that believes in keeping the house clean for the husband and not having a job, and I don\u2019t admire that. But she has a lot of qualities in raising children and things like that that I admire, but…”<\/p>\n
Analyzing her own response. Carmen says, \u201c…it\u2019s not really her belief systems but her abilities that I admire.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last time Carmen remembers crying was after watching a movie. \u201cIt was a love story, but it didn\u2019t do anything for me. It wasn\u2019t the movie, but it just got me thinking about…the long term. It wasn\u2019t a sad cry or a happy cry\u2014an emotional cry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you confused?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so. Not knowing what\u2019s gonna happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ask whether she\u2019d be able to tell her parents if she became pregnant before marriage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t let it happen,\u201d Carmen says, \u201cbut I think so. See, they\u2019re very old-fashioned and it would be really hard. I would need their help, you know, and I\u2019m pretty independent. We don\u2019t speak a lot even though we love each other very much \u2014 my parents and I. We just don\u2019t sit down and have long chats on anything. They don\u2019t know too much about me, but they understand, you know, that I\u2019m not a teenager. So…I would have to tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what do you think happens to the body after death?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe body or the soul? The body dies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you believe in the resurrection of the body? We say that in the Apostles\u2019 Creed. Isn\u2019t Catholic doctrine that the glorified body is reunited with the soul?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure, but as long as you have the soul, I don\u2019t think it matters what body you have \u2014 if you change into a different one for another life or spend eternity in a different body, it doesn\u2019t really matter, but I wouldn’t want to switch souls.\u201d<\/p>\n
July 5 \u2014 Pacific Beach<\/p>\n
The first group of teens I find are not sunning on the beach. Instead, they\u2019re up on the boardwalk wearing jeans shorts and tees. All are 13 except one, who will celebrate her 13th in 19 days. All live in San Diego and are in the eighth grade at Mesa Verde Middle School. They have been friends for about three years.<\/p>\n
My first surprise comes when I ask their names and learn that three are Ashleys, and the fourth, Brittnie (yes, spelled like that!). They suggest that I use surnames for two Ashleys, but I decide to use pseudonyms for their surnames to protect their privacy.<\/p>\n
The girls were out all day on the Fourth of July, so despite lavish use of sunscreen, they are sunburned. That explains why they wear shorts instead of bikinis.<\/p>\n
Ashley Earl is five foot seven with blond hair and bangs. She has hazel eyes and is \u201clike… working on a tan here.\u201d Her vulnerable, waiflike quality contrasts with Ashley Carson\u2019s ebullient energy. All of the girls except Ashley Temple have two holes in each ear. Ashley Karl explains that she\u2019s not wearing earrings right now. \u201cI lost my other ones,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Although Ashley Carson is the youngest of the group, she seems to be its leader. She wears small studs in the upper holes and tiny mushrooms in the lower ones. Ashley Temple says, \u201cI don’t have jewels \u2019cause my mom won\u2019t let me. And I have [my ears] pierced \u2014just one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want my bellybutton pierced,\u201d Ashley Carson says, \u201cand my tongue pierced.\u201d The voices of the others turn shrill in a unanimous longing for pierced tongues and bellybuttons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want them pierced,\u201d Ashley Carson says, \u201cbut my mom won\u2019t let me. When we\u2019re 18…\u201d<\/p>\n
Five long years, I think: time for the fads and their minds to change.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister\u2019s bellybutton\u2019s pierced,\u201d Ashley Carson says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would you want that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it looks cool,\u201d Ashley Carson says, cool being definitive.<\/p>\n
Ashley Karl\u2019s mom is going to work for Mesa Verde school. She says her dad is a concession worker at ChimneySweep. When I ask about her best physical feature, she says, \u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d Her friends all talk at once. \u201cOn your face. On your body.\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Ashley Karl says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think her legs,\u201d Ashley<\/p>\n
Carson volunteers. \u201cShe has long \u2014 nice long, tall legs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd your best personality trait?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d Ashley Karl says again.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s funny,\u201d Ashley Temple says. Brittnie agrees: \u201cI think she\u2019s really, really funny. She always makes me laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley Carson supplements what\u2019s been said. \u201cShe\u2019s a really nice, caring person. She\u2019s funny too. She\u2019s really nice. Oh! she\u2019s a good basketball player. And a good cheerleader.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last time Ashley Earl cried was probably \u201cwhen my squad won the grand national [championship] in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell her \u2019bout that,\u201d her friends urge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019m on a little squad called the Champion Cheer Outlaws,\u201d Ashley Karl says, \u201cand we\u2019re undefeated. Oh yeah. At our national competition we came in, we had the highest score out of 68 teams. And then we got, like, this five-foot trophy, and we came in first in our division, and so then this year we\u2019re gonna compete again, so we\u2019re conditioning in the summer, and we practice Fridays and Sundays.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remark on the financial cost of being a cheerleader.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yes,\u201d Ashley Karl says. \u201cAnd we have to raise money. We\u2019re getting crop tops, and it\u2019s $150.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo how do you earn the money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I sold cookie dough and pizza,\u201d Ashley Karl says, \u201cand I\u2019ve made $125. And then I also play basketball, and so does Ashley Temple and Ashley Carson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brittnie says, \u201cI\u2019m in summer school. Science, and it\u2019s hard. Me and Ashley Carson and Ashley Temple and maybe Ashley Karl are gonna be biochemists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley Carson says, \u201cThat\u2019s where you make, like, makeup and nail polish and, like, nice, smelly stuff like shampoo and lotion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you\u2019d be a good judge of all that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah!”<\/p>\n
When it comes to makeup, Ashley Karl favors Clinique and Cover Girl, choices endorsed by her friends. Karl has two swimsuits: one is two-piece with flowers\u2014blue, white, and green: the other is black, two-piece, with shorts. Ashley Carson has a \u201cblack one-piece Roxy that cost $60. Kind of a netty material. It has shorts. And a black one-piece with diagonal white stripes, a Mossimo.\u201d Ashley Temple has a two-piece Roxy, Hawaiian print. They don\u2019t try to match their beach towels and suits.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a Roxy towel,\u201d one of them says. \u201cIt\u2019s blue and it\u2019s got flowers on it, and then the flowers are a rainbow. It\u2019s got a green Roxy sign.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ask whether they came to the beach on the bus.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, my dad dropped me off,\u201d Ashley Carson says. They agree that when they have kids, they\u2019ll take them to the beach every week.<\/p>\n
I ask whether anyone is learning to surf. This touches off another tidal wave of excitement.<\/p>\n
Ashley Earl says, \u201cI have a surfboard. And it\u2019s orange. And I put a whole bunch of…\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother has a surfboard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister\u2019s boyfriend has one, and he\u2019s going to teach me how.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother surfs.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remark that surfers must be really brave. It looks dangerous.<\/p>\n
Ashley Earl says, \u201cYeah! There\u2019s sharks out there, and I\u2019m scared of them. They catch \u2019em out on the pier…\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCaught a six-foot one yesterday,\u201d another says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re staying in that house right there,\u201d one girl says, pointing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. They\u2019re going fishing,” Ashley Earl says, \u201c…macaroni?\u201d Instant correction from her friends: \u201cMackerel. \u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley Carson is a compact, talkative five foot one with a heart-shaped face, blue eyes, and shoulder-length brown hair she likes to wear \u201cin a half-up, half-down and a ponytail. I call \u2019em little ponies.\u201d She wears a white T-shirt with a blue design, blue-jeans shorts, and a brimmed white hat with a blue-and-white band.<\/p>\n
Carson\u2019s mother teaches high school and her father, middle school. She has a brother, 16, who \u201ckinda likes to bully me around because it\u2019s only he and I. Sometimes he\u2019s just trying to play, but it hurts. And sometimes he\u2019s not playing and it hurts. And so sometimes I cry over that a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen it\u2019s not hurt feelings? It\u2019s physical?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Carson says. She tells about an incident that happened yesterday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cried yesterday. My brother, he had a football and he took it apart, and there was, like, a thread on it, and he whipped me, and I had a big welt on my leg, and I cried \u2019cause it hurt really bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid somebody come to your rescue?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, because my mom was down at the beach and then everyone was kinda gone, but he said he was sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
In answer to a question about family activities, Ashley Carson says, \u201cWell, my family \u2014 sometimes we\u2019ll go out to eat together. And then, like, during the summer we\u2019ll go on vacation. And…”<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes your brother go with you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. I don\u2019t think he likes to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then sometimes we watch TV together. And, like, my dad and my mom are different religions. My mom\u2019s Methodist, and my dad is Catholic, and so me and my brother are Catholic, and so sometimes me and my brother and my dad will go to church, like, on Christmas. Or Easter, just those occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley Carson\u2019s mom \u201cgoes to the Clinique lady at the mall, and I just use some of her [beauty products]. And then also, right now, if you kind of look around, some people wear glitter.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a chorus of assent. \u201cBody glitter. It\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have some on my eyes,\u201d Ashley Carson says.<\/p>\n
In strong sunlight, it\u2019s barely perceptible, but I make appreciative sounds and ask, \u201cHow do you get it off?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just wash it off.\u201d (Because the girls are so excitable and tend to talk at the same time, it\u2019s difficult to differentiate their voices on the tape recorder I\u2019m using.)<\/p>\n
\u201c…and they have that glow-in-the-dark stuff you put on your face and your scarf.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt must cost quite a bit to get all that,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, not that much. It costs a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, if you can dig into your mom\u2019s supply…\u201d \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes your mom ever get mad at you when you do that?”<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Carson says, \u201cwhen I use some of her, like, the more expensive things like face things, like the face washes and stuff like that. They cost more, and she gets a little mad at that. Otherwise, she doesn\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sometimes the girls go to the beach in La Jolla. I ask whether Carson is on vacation now with her family.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I\u2019m with Ashley and Ashley.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carson\u2019s nomination for the saddest song she ever heard is \u201cI\u2019ll Be Missing You,\u201d which she assigns to the Notorious B.I.G. Actually, the song is by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans, a tribute to the Notorious B.I.G.<\/p>\n
Ashley Temple\u2019s father is a doctor and her mother, a dental hygienist. She\u2019s five foot two with blond, straight hair. \u201cBut I have frizzies right, like, in my hairline. I have blue eyes, I have freckles, and I have lots of moles, and I hate \u2019em. And I had to get three removed, and now I get to get more, and I\u2019m so happy because I don\u2019t like \u2019em.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remark that the mole on her cheek would be a beauty spot if she lived in India.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone makes fun of me,\u201d she says mournfully.<\/p>\n
I tell her that her hair is going to be curly when she\u2019s older, but that\u2019s unwelcome news: Ashley Temple wants straight hair.<\/p>\n
Two of the Ashleys \u2014 Temple and Carson \u2014are planning a party next week (for their June 18 and July 24 birthdays) at Ashley Carson\u2019s house. \u201cShe has a trampoline, a basketball court, and a swimming pool,\u201d Ashley Temple explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we were gonna get an Astro Jump \u2014 those things you jump on,\u201d Carson says, \u201cbut they said we had enough, so…\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we wanted to rent a pool table,\u201d Temple says, \u201cbut we don\u2019t think you can do that.\u201d \u201c\u2019Cause the guys we go out with, they like to play pool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley Temple\u2019s family sometimes goes to the movies together. \u201cAnd we go out, like, to eat and sometimes we eat dinner together at home, but sometimes [our schedules] are different, and we go on vacation.\u201d \u201cSo you don\u2019t regularly have dinner together?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, we do. We do it every night. And then, but I don\u2019t go to church. Only, like, on Christmas and Easter. Like, Mom wants to go, but I don\u2019t really want to because you can\u2019t spend the night at people\u2019s houses on Saturday \u2019cause Sunday, but…\u201d<\/p>\n
Brittnie begins her self-portrait after saying that her mom\u2019s a hairdresser and her stepdad, a house painter. \u201cHe paints mansions.\u201d<\/p>\n
She describes herself: \u201cI have brown curly hair, but sometimes I make it straight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom does it \u2019cause she\u2019s a hairdresser. And I have blue-green eyes and freckles. I have freckles. Oh, I don\u2019t like them.\u201d<\/p>\n
I tell her about Ramona’s views on freckles \u2014 a plus in the Miss Teen contest, so she doesn\u2019t mind them.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, not me!\u201d Brittnie says. Her friends say that Brittnie\u2019s best feature is her smile, and her best personality trait is her \u201cheart, big heart. She\u2019s nice. She\u2019s also sweet. And if you\u2019re sad, she gives you a big hug and makes you feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brittnie says, \u201cAnd if they get hurt, I kiss it and make it better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Going to dinner with her mom and stepdad is one family activity, Brittnie says. \u201c \u2019Cause my stepdad, he takes me out. And he pays for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe go out to breakfast too. Me and my mom. And she always writes down the restaurants she likes. And she writes down the ones she doesn\u2019t like.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you go to church?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, no.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s another ripple of excitement when I announce that it\u2019s time to talk about boyfriends.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want to know his name?” Ashley Temple asks. \u201cLike, his name\u2019s Mike.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long has he been your boyfriend?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh…two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you meet him at school?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Ashley Carson\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley Carson can scarcely contain herself. \u201cYou know what? Can I tell a story? I grew up with him. I\u2019ve known him for 11 years. He\u2019s my neighbor, and we\u2019re good friends too, but she’s his girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brittnie says, \u201cMy boyfriend\u2019s name\u2019s Todd. Since the 23rd of June. Wait…the 18th of June.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy birthday,\u201d Ashley Temple says.<\/p>\n
One of the girls looks at Ashley Earl and says, \u201cShe has an amazing one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley Earl is obviously pleased. \u201cMy boyfriend\u2019s named Adam, and I\u2019ve been going out with him for five months and two days.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s so neat about him?\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t know. He\u2019s my best friend. Well, he\u2019s nice, but then sometimes he\u2019s mean, but he\u2019s joking. He\u2019s really hot.”<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s really, really cute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Somebody says, \u201cMy boyfriend\u2019s really tall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMine\u2019s, like, shorter than me, a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of these boyfriends would be husband material if the pairs were older.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you going to look for in a husband?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley Carson says, \u201cPersonality. The person who treats you nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I tell you what my mom told me?\u201d Ashley Temple asks. \u201cShe said, the way they treat their mom is the way they\u2019re gonna treat you. So, if they\u2019re mean to their mom, it isn\u2019t good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brittnie changes the subject, her news too marvelous to wait \u201cWe\u2019re getting pagers\u2014 me and Ashley Carson and Ashley Temple, we\u2019re getting pagers today. I\u2019m getting green or blue or purple or clear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m getting dark maroon or clear or black or…I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr clear gray.”<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this to keep in touch with friends?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Brittnie says. \u201cBecause my mom and dad are divorced and my dad lives in Newport and then I\u2019m not allowed to use the phone too much because it costs money because of long distance, and you can just do pager talk.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s where you just put in numbers,\u201d Carson explains, \u201clike I love you is 1-4-3.\u201d (I is 1; love is 4 letters; you is 3.)<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can just do that instead of putting in phone numbers,\u201d they explain. Nobody explains why it couldn\u2019t just as easily mean I hate you, and none of the paging companies I called knew how to crack the code. It seems to be a fabrication of the teens.<\/p>\n
At first, Brittnie can\u2019t remember the last time she cried. Then: \u201cWe all got in a big fight. We had to go to the counselor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone cried that time. \u201cWe thought our friends were being mean. And then we kind of realized that everyone is mean to each other, so it\u2019s okay \u2019cause we\u2019re friends now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Carson says, \u201cwe had to go to a counselor, but it was cool because we got to miss a lot of periods.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 Madeline DeFrees From 1936 until 1974 Madeline DeFrees was a Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary; she published her first book of poems From the Darkroom (1964), under the name Sister Mary Gilbert. DeFrees is author of six books, including When Sky Lets Go and Magpie on the Gallows, tier work has been honored by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. She has taught at a number of colleges and universities, including the University of Montana and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.<\/p>\n
This story first appeared in the\u00a0Reader\u00a0on September 18, 1997.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tarah, Paige, Ramona. “I just paid, like, $800 for a cheerleader\u2019s uniform.” July 2 and 3 \u2014 Mission…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[74,76,75],"class_list":["post-400924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}