Kitty disobeys three rules

If a stranger walked down that same street, they would see Kitty and they would indeed think her strange, but they might make some poor excuse for this and walk on. However if someone who knew about Kitty walked down the same street at the time she was, rest assured that they would quaver in their boots and their knees would start to tremble, their hands would shake so violently you would think that they might not stop. They would run and not stop until they had reached their home and bang loudly on the door to arouse someone to Kitty’s behaviour.

But as it happened no such people did do such things. Which is probably why Kitty felt safe enough to disobey three Mattaman Rules.

1.
Pondering/thinking/daydreaming.- strictly forbidden, pondering is considered a nasty crime.
2.
Skipping- Walk, Jog or Run there is never any need to skip and can only be seen as an embarrassment.
3.
Singing In Public- Singing or humming in the bath is bad enough, but in public- that’s disgraceful!
All the same, Kitty happened to be doing all three as she returned home from school. Suddenly she stopped singing and straightened up, glanced fervently at her watch and sped into a driveway up and into a spacious porch. Smartening up she rang the doorbell.

Kitty finally accepts her differences from the rest of the family.

Having been granted entry to the house, Kitty was promptly checked all over by the butler- Wayne, her hair was combed viciously by the maid, Mel and given an ugly dress of blue and grey checked tartan to wear and polished black house-boots. An old worn book was thrust into her hands, just as every other day she came home from school.

Sent up to her room as if in disgrace Kitty began to read the book she had been given. The importance of keeping busy by John Brown-Smith. With no pictures and a font so small she could barely read it, Kitty found it dull and monotonous; she put he book down and lay face up upon the bed. And started to ponder, unfortunately for Kitty she had a habit of doing this except that she called this- use of imagination- the Mattaman’s didn’t approve. At. All. All the same her thoughts turned to her birthday; tomorrow at 4.30 she would turn thirteen. Would the Mattamans take much notice? She doubted it, but they might give her a better present than last year- she had got a book on how politics works- why on earth would she be interested in that? She had always assumed that the lack of interest in her birthday had always been that she was second youngest Mattamans. Still, thirteen was a big one they couldn’t call her young forever.

Getting up she looked in the mirror, a Short, skinny, freckly girl clad in a grey and blue tartan dishcloth and horrible thick glasses looked back. Long brown hair shrouded her rather pretty face and stunning turquoise-green eyes which shimmered and glistened with thought, Kitty liked her eyes a lot they were deep and never-ending like looking into a deep intricate labyrinthine coral reef. If only they weren't ruined by those horrible glasses! None of the other Mattaman children had brown hair or green eyes or freckles; they weren’t short or had glasses and would not be seen dead in clothes such as Kitty’s. They were different and they knew it. They were all tall blue-eyed rosy-cheeked blondes. On Family outings (which were few and far between) they were adored, Kitty was overlooked. She had often felt like and outcast, as if she were a dead leaf on the family tree, like an unwanted child.

Her life was restricted in all aspects, fashion, self-esteem, reading, writing, school, home, from tooth-paste to hair bands, Kitty felt like everything was restricted, monitored and controlled. She couldn't walk out the house without being questioned, reminded how to act, forced to change posture or clothes. And Kitty for one was sick of it.