Meili and Sofya stood outside the women's bathhouse. Meili looked nervously up at the sign which read Zǎotáng.
Sofya giggled and nudged her in the ribs.
"Come on Meili. It's not a torture chamber, it's a bathhouse! This is meant to be fun!"
"But it could be a torture chamber Sofya," she whispered, still staring at the hated sign. "It could be a place of public humiliation."
Sofya pealed with laughter. "What are you talking about girl? This is a public bathhouse filled with women who've seen every body type imaginable. There won't be any humiliation, except in your imagination."
Meili remained incredibly suspicious that her face and figure were far from 'normal' for a young girl, and that she would therefore be the subject of public derision. Her experience at the palace flower viewing when her veil blew off was still very fresh in her mind…
