I am on the second paragraph of this chapter and it seems like the last chapter was a short story she wrote about this family and jammed it in. This chapter opens with a reminder of the whipping, but no lasting repercussions. Just that Cathy & Chris never discussed them. She often catches him staring at her. (PSST, that's because he's a teenage boy with no role models, a neckbeard spirit, and "nice guy" vibes) 

Paragraph two is where the reader is once again reminded that Cathy has breasts. 

Chris has also hit puberty, but I don't really feel like describing that. NO WAIT OMG. 

Quote

... 

Cathy has a sudden epiphany and stops polishing the school desks. I'm reminded of my old boss (both old as in, prior, and old as in WHY ARE YOU STILL WORKING) who once made fun of our ED at the time for cleaning his "work surface" which always confused me. Cathy turns to look at Cory and Carrie and is astounded because she realized that they haven't grown much in 2 years and four months. "Their bodies seemed frail flower stems too weak to support the blossoms of their heads" 

Christopher seems to think that they need to go outside and get sun. I suppose they could be lacking vitamin D. I don't know if that means that they will stop growing. Mostly it makes people depressed and susceptible to bone pain and cardiovascular events. This is where I stopped to take my supplements, as pretty much everyone in the northern hemisphere is Vit D deficient. Also, weirdly enough, Australia. Of course, if you go outside in Aus, you'll get skin cancer from the sun and/or be eaten/poisoned/attacked by creatures that live no where else. Like the Blue Ring Octopus, or the evil and DEADLY Drop Bear. Or you'll just get Chlamydia from a koala. 

The older Dollangers decide to drag the little 'uns outside. I guess they are six. Cathy... "I leaned to heft Carrie's slight weight." Kind of sounds like she's calling her six year old malnourished sister fat.  It's Thursday, so the "servants" are off and spending their day in town. Supposedly it's "safe" to use the back part of the roof. The kids wake up and flail around and panic and scream. I don't understand why they don't want to go on the roof. Carrie bites and hits Cathy. They decide that trying to force them out endangers all of them. They measure them in the school room, looks like the young'uns have only grown two inches in height in two years. Cathy brags about growing "many, many inches between five and seven". YES! I now know that the twins are seven. They should be around 48 inches and 50-60 lbs, but I'm a USA-ian so adjust those weights as needed. Cathy knows that her twin sibs were smaller at birth, five pounds each, with Carrie having an ounce on Cory. 

Cathy is bawling her eyes out into her brother's chest and hating her mother for ruining her children's lives, while simultaneously comparing the twins to plants and trembling in her brother's embrace. She decides that once they are FREE they will catch up. Oh, Cathy,  you are so naive.  She wonders if it is money or love that makes the world go round. 

Let's ask Liza

Or perhaps Meryl

J-Lo?

LMM

That's the act break, folks. Stay tuned for part two. It's gonna be good long.