I’m so afraid that I hesitate, my eyes closed while my mind processes my environment. I hear an argument, and then a door closes, blocking out the sound. I sit up as my mom comes toward me with a tray of food.“I’m so glad to see you awake,” she says, placing the tray on my nightstand. “How are you feeling?” She runs a hand over my forehead and through my hair before easily patting my back as though I’m a young girl again.“I’m…okay. What about everyone else? What happened?”She sighs that long, drawn-out breath that means she’s trying to avoid the question. “There was an electrical fire at your school. What do you remember?”I remember Jackson and Lawrence and… “Where’s Gretchen?” I barely remember being taken from school, but somewhere deep in my fractured mind I remember not knowing where Gretchen went and worrying whether she would make it out.“She’s at the Medical Center, but she’ll be okay,” Mom says. “I spoke to her mom. She said Gretchen had a breakdown.
