Mother stood behind us in the doorway. I could see her in the mirror. She made her upside-down smile.

"What are you doing with my make-up?" asked Mother.

"Just pretending," Jill said in a small voice.

Mother made a mad huff. "Lipstick and eye shadow are expensive. They're not for children." She grabbed the blue sparkle-powder away from Jill and clicked it shut. She closed the lipstick.

Big Sister came in. Her eyes got big when she saw Jill's pretty new face. "You're in for it now," she said.

"That's enough, young lady," Mother told Big Sister. She pointed to the door. "Go to your room."

"I didn't do anything!" said Big Sister. But she went.

"I'm sorry," Jill said to Mother. "But I wasn't the only one trying on make-up—"

"Don't try to shift the blame," said Mother. She wiped the pretty paint off of Jill's face. Then she saw me and her eyes got extra-mad. They looked from me to Jill.

"If you're grown-up enough to wear make-up, you must be too old for dolls," she told Jill. She stepped toward me.

Jill rushed to get between me and Mother. "No! I'm not too old for Marissa!"

From
Saving Marissa