It was weird picking her up at Marissa’s house. Like who would’ve thought (say, last summer) that my prison-inmate mother would be living with Marissa and her dad. Life is strange. I would’ve visited with Marissa longer except that our appointment with Robert Bernard was at 3:45, and I didn’t want to be late. I so appreciate all that he’s doing for me, and his time is valuable. And after what went down today, I realize how valuable he is to me. I wonder how many other sixteen-year-olds need an attorney. Anyway, Shannon and I are riding in my car, and all I want is to get there, get this over with, and be done with it. Naturally, it feels totally awkward. So I pray silently and then attempt some small talk about the weather and Harrison High’s football game this week. But Shannon is having none of it. “It seems you’ve done quite well for yourself, haven’t you, Maya?” I just shrug, keeping my eyes on the traffic. “I never even asked you where you got your fancy little car.”
