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to my pocket and trudged back upstairs to eat.  He’d call me tonight, I just knew it.  Until then, I’d just have to wait.
    That evening, after I’d said my goodnights to Aunt Franki, I did open the laptop and checked my old email address.  Nothing but spam greeted me so I unthinkingly typed a web address into the browser.
    My little sister’s adorable, smiling face greeted me as soon as the page loaded. My heart seized as my throat closed.  I slammed the laptop shut, gulping for air, and crawled fully clothed into my bed, curling up in a ball with my eyes squeezed shut.  The pain was unbearable and how I wished for my mother or my father or my big brother.  But no one was there – no one.  And no matter what Aunt Franki or Roberta said – I knew I was in this on my own.  Alone.

Chapter Four
     
    Friday morning dawned cloudy and dreary – exactly mirroring my mood when I woke after an hour or two of sleep – and I dressed in a haze, not thinking of anything but the next step I had to take in order to prepare for school.  I swallowed some juice and headed out, not noticing Aunt Franki’s worried looks.
    The clouds in the sky followed me as I made my way to my locker, not even able to muster a smile for Damon and his friends.  I gathered my books and dragged my exhausted body through the morning, blinking stupidly when the lunch bell rang.
    I piled food on my tray and sat at the usual table, staring absently at my lunch.
    “Dude, you okay?” Damon asked as he slid next to me.  “You seem sort of out of it.  You’re not on drugs are you?”
    I shook my head, my weary eyes meeting his.  “No.  Just didn’t sleep well.”
    “Why did you come here?” he asked, point blank.  “Franki never said.”
    “Long story I’d rather not talk about if you don’t mind,” I said as I opened a bottle of juice.
    “Hey, no skin off my nose, dude,” he said, though concern lingered in his eyes.  “But I’m really good at keeping secrets, just so you know.”
    “Thanks,” I said with a feeble, groggy smile.  “I’ll try to remember that.”
    He didn’t say anything else about it as Shane and Reg joined us.  Shane immediately started in with stories about their snowboarding adventures from the previous night and I listened with half an ear.
    When lunch ended, I contemplated skipping Creative Writing but since I wasn’t all that familiar with the school or how easy it was to cut class, I didn’t want to chance it.  I didn’t want to get in trouble my first week – Aunt Franki’s disappointment would be more than I could bear.
    I slumped in my chair, studiously ignoring the other students as they filtered into the room.  When Fin entered, he eyed me briefly and sat without a word.
    Good, I thought.  I didn’t need any slack from him.  My anger-demon was poised on my shoulder, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
    The bell rang and Mr. Ellis called the class to order.  I did the best I could to follow along with the lecture, scribbling an occasional note, but his voice was like a bee on a hot, summer day when one was dozing i n the sun.  I fought fatigue with a disguised yawn in my hand, desperate to keep my heavy eyelids from closing.
    I stared at the paper on my desk, the chicken scratch barely legible, and my eyes blurred as a slideshow played in my head.  Pictures of Camille’s dimpled face blew up like bubbles and popped just as another would form.  Images of her in Halloween costumes, Easter dresses , and Mom’s heels were the most prominent.  How she used to love to dress up.
    And then there was my cousin Joanie’s wedding when Camille had been flower girl.  She’d smiled the entire day and well into the night as she’d paraded around in the long, flowing yellow dress, ever vigilant of dirt and wrinkles.
    I didn’t realize I was crying until a tear fell to my notes, smearing the ink.  I discreetly ran a thumb under each eye, slumping further in my seat, praying the