This story is titled "There Was a Time" by Christina Adam. It is narrated by the main character, whose name is not mentioned, so it is assumed that it is the author's name: Christina. Christina is a strong, young teenage girl, who lives on an 80-acre ranch with her mother, father, and four-year-old sister, Clara. Christina often has issues with her father, due to his short, ,and sometimes violent temper. She often feels judged, both at school and at home, so she consequently tries to lose weight and get a boyfriend, so she can feel better about herself. Towards the end of the story, Christina does lose ten pounds, and is asked to the school dance by her crush, Brian.
The second main character is Clara, Christina's four-year-old sister. Clara is treated like a baby by her family, as it is easier on them to do so. For example, she still wears diapers and sleeps in a crib. She has the ability to talk, although she rarely does, for some reason unbeknownst to her family. She has a dangerous tendency to wander out into the family's pen of bulls, fearlessly sitting in the grass next to them, telling them stories. Clara has round, blue eyes and dark blonde hair. She is often dirty from playing out in the cow pens, and wears her tangled hair in a pink barette.
The setting of the story is an 80-acre ranch in Idaho, about 10 miles away from the nearest town, along a dirt road. There are pens with bulls and cows, with wire fencese weak enough for the bulls to break through. When teh air is clear enough, mountains can be seen across the Idaho-Montana border. There is the house which the family lives in, and a barn somewhere between the house and the cattle pen. The time in which the story takes place is not mentioned in the story, but certain clues such as Christina wearing jeans but also wearing home-made dresses suggests that this story may have taken place sometime between 1950 and 1970.
I think the title, "There Was a Time" is an appropriate title.
