“Elizabeth, what the hell did you do?” Ms. Gibson exclaimed, staring.

Elizabeth grinned in response. “Isn’t it cool? ‘Trendy,’ or however the kids like to put it.”

“Why did you do that?”

“Because I thought it would look good. I like it.”

Ms. Gibson groaned. “Lizzie, you may be high in book smarts, but you sure do some stupid things.”

“What’s so stupid about what I did?”

Ms. Gibson sighed and replied, “For starters, your hair is all crooked.”

“Your grandma didn’t want to help me, so I had to do it myself.”

“Why didn’t you get a pro to do it?”

“I’m broke.”

“Where’d the money from the fortune telling gig go?”

Elizabeth shrugged and replied, “Groceries and chamomile mints.”

“Still on those?”

“My drug of choice. Chamomile is pretty relaxing.”

“I really wonder about you sometimes.”

“Yeah, well… there’s some pretty suspect things about you, too.”


“Like what?” Ms. Gibson asked.

“I know what you’re planning. It’s a bad idea, Gabby.”

“You don’t know squat. You only know stuff by touching people. Even I’m better than that.”

“I know what you’re planning to do. You know that kid’s going to have to die. You can’t do anything about it. Just accept it. People die every single day.”

“You don’t know everything. This child happens to have special significance.”

“And what difference is it going to make if a few kids live?”

Ms. Gibson smiled, mysterious as the Sphinx, and responded, “All the difference in the world.”

“Where’s the Gabby I used to know? The one who was bitter about the society responsible for polluting the water supply and making her unable to have kids, the society that tried to brainwash her and then made her feel like a reject when she spoke against it?”

“I’ve changed, Liz. I’m an adult. I’m not a sullen adolescent anymore.”

“And instead, you cater to a building crammed full of sullen adolescents.”

“It’s better than selling your abilities on the street,” Ms. Gibson shot back. “You know, they have a word for people like that.”

“Don’t you even say it.”

“You’re selling yourself, basically, Liz. I’m just trying to help these kids. Is it so much to try to build toward a better future?”

“Why bother giving them false hope?”

“Sometimes false hope is better than no hope at all. And anyway, who’s to say that one of those children won’t make things better?”

Elizabeth smiled wryly and replied, “That’s so funny, I forgot to laugh.”


“Good news,” Valo announced, grinning.

“Your mom died?” Grant asked.

“No, not that good. But still pretty good. Turns out, the problems were because of the pill dosage. Something in it… there wasn’t enough of what I needed, which was causing the problems. So, I’ve been switched to a different brand. It’s cheaper, too; I think it’s only about $12 for a month’s supply.”

“That’s great. I was really worried. Even Jade was worried; she came to see me the other day and said I should tell you to see a doctor.”

“Well, I’ll be fine, so no more worries.”

“Right.”


“I’m telling you, Cy, it was crazy,” Ophelia complained. “People are saying all kinds of stuff about me.”

“That’s terrible,” Cy replied sympathetically. “But why would you think Mae or Tiffani would be responsible for that?”

Ophelia shrugged. “Well, who else would do it?”

“Well, maybe someone more subtle about their dislike. Emily doesn’t strike me as the type to do that, and obviously, it’s not AJ. And it’s probably not Emily’s boyfriend, since she’d probably yell at him for that.”

“What, you think Angela did it? She has nothing against me!”

“I don’t think she has anything for you either, sweetie. Look, I’m sure there’s an explanation for this.”

“No idea. Angela confuses the hell out of me. The beginning of the year, she was all Miss Fifties, and now she looks all trendy and fashionable. It’s kind of like…” Ophelia trailed off, thinking. She shook her head. “Nah, that’s just ridiculous.”

“What? Tell me.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m probably wrong.”

“Why? What were you going to say?”

“I was going to say that it reminded me of the transformation Charise underwent after meeting Dunstan.”