she soon finds companionship with Cynthia, a fellow student who is even more desperate than she is for friendship. From her youthful perspective, Katie concludes that Cynthia's anxious-to-please mother is simply crazy, but she takes a liking to Cynthia's aging invalid grandmother, an Italian immigrant who enjoys screaming for attention from her bed. Having never known her own grandparents, Katie likes the chance to spend time with someone whose experiences are so different from her own.
She is also befriended by the impossibly beautiful Taylor, a part-time department store model with a penchant for shoplifting that thrills and terrifies Katie. Taylor also tries to introduce Katie to the excitement of double-dating, but Katie only finds the experience distasteful and uninteresting. She is fascinated by Taylor but she is not seduced by the girl's lifestyle. Katie knows right from wrong, and she recognizes the error of Taylor's ways.
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