Chapter III Summary

Ursa recalls Mary Alice, her best friend from her childhood. Mary Alice is two years ahead of Ursa in school and is often sharing information from her status as the older of the two. Ursa tells Mary Alice about the monthly cycle, which she calls "bleeding." Ursa already has the basic facts, having found evidence of her mother's cycle and screaming about the blood until the women explained it to her. Mary Alice says the blood is bright red and when Ursa starts her period, she is excited that Mary Alice was wrong, saying it's more the color of chocolate, then finding out that the color changes after the initial phase and that Mary Alice is right after all.

Ursa relates the story of a twenty-year-old woman who committed suicide and how the adults say there must have been a man...