Volume 1, No. 1

The Plague / Hooper ... 3 

have known much about the plague, but one thing we did know was that the surest way to catch a dose was to be touched by a boy. I had to disinfect - quickly. It was an innate response.
I grabbed my eraser, my ruler, my Lepage's paste bottle, my notebooks - anything that was within touching distance of the lecherous Ricky Brighton - and frantically scribbled "f.p."on all of them. I used ball-point pen. You had to. You just couldn't risk having those two small letters rub off. As a last thought, and for extra protection, I wrote a small "f.p." on the palm of my hand. Now I, and everything I owned, was officially designated as "flea proof." If a boy dared touch me now, all I had to do was flash him the palm of my hand like a cop flashing his badge and yell "Hah - flea proof!"
By the next day, all the girls in Grade 4 had been vaccinated. Together we strolled around the playground taunting the boys -- any boy, no matter how big or how