It was white, or more gray, really, with a spiderweb-looking crack that radiated out from where a chip of plaster was missing. Once her mind caught up with her eyes, Allie sat up, alert, wary. Nothing was familiar. One side of the room had a Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends poster. The other side had a poster of Snoopy dancing with Woodstock. There were tiny stickers scattered on most of the walls: smiley faces, rainbows, dragons, more Spider-Man, and Strawberry Shortcake. Allie was in a stumpy bed with a red blanket and Fox and the Hound sheets. Next to her was a peeling plywood dresser covered with more stickers. On the other side of the dresser was another bed, with Strawberry Shortcake sheets. The room smelled like an elementary-school cafeteria: stale, crowded, sweaty, sour. There was a weight in Allie’s lap. She lifted the sheet, expecting to find a cat or maybe a rabbit. Instead she found the Wonder Bread bag, molded into a lumpy tube.
