I say. I can’t face going home yet. I wish I could stay away forever. Hazel answers the door when I ring the bell, looking troubled. “Hi,” she says. “Anything wrong, Rachel?” “With me?” “You don’t look very happy.” “Oh, I’m all right.” I’m wondering what my face shows. “You’re the one who doesn’t look very happy,” I say. “I’ll get over it, I guess. It’s just that I’m packing. I have to go to live with my grandmother in Toronto for the rest of the school year.” “Why are you doing that? What about school?” “It’s my father’s idea. It’s really too hard to explain, but the point is, I’m going to enrol in a school there.” Somewhere in the back of the house, I hear Hazel’s father calling her. “I’ve got to go,” she says. “I’ll call you if I get back before that.” I barely have time to say a hurried good-bye before she closes the door. There’s nothing left to do except trundle on over to Ruthie’s house. I expect her sisters will be hanging around.
