Ha! You are NOT going to believe how many times I wish I could say this in this story—MY story. The story of what happened to ME. I want this to be like the kind of story I would have written as a kid, when a ton of really awful, scary stuff happens—but then you go: AND THEN I WOKE UP. And everything’s OK. Anyway, I woke up. We hadn’t just danced till dawn. We had danced till… Uh, I don’t even know what time it had been, but it had been bright and sunny and warm, which is what the weather usually does in September. It realizes the holidays are over and turns lovely, but you can’t go and join it because you’re locked up in a classroom all day. Ah, the joyous start to a whole new school year. Only there was no more school, was there? It was late on a sunny afternoon; the veranda doors were open, fancy sheer curtains spray-painted a rainbow of colors, billowing in a gentle breeze.
