what does "herring boxes without topses"mean? does "Clementine"a name of a girl?
The strangest thing about the girl was the flip-flops. She had feet as long and thin as Vinnie's whole arm, and instead of shoes or sneakers, she wore rubber flip-flops with bright orange thongs. Extending beyond the thongs were long, tan toes, the toenails slathered with bright purple polish.
Vinnie stared. All she could think of was Daddy singing:
"Herring boxes without tops-es
Sandals were for Clementine
The flip-flop girl, again like Vinnie, was alone on the playground. While Vinnie gawked—she couldn't for the life of her pull her eyes away—the tall girl took a piece of chalk out of her pocket and calmly drew the outline of a hopscotch ladder. Then she pocketed the chalk, stepped out of the flip-flops, pitched a small stone into the first square, and began to hop, like a solo ballerina who has the whole stage to herself.