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dropped me off and she’ll be here any minute to take me to lunch—” She looked around wildly, willing the Volvo to pull up in front of the school. “You’ll see, she’ll be here any second!”
    “Miss Windsor, it’s understandable for this to be a terrible shock,” the officer said, his voice grave. “She got into the accident just after dropping you off. I wish it wasn’t true, but … We were called to the scene immediately, along with an ambulance. Everyone did all they could, but we were unable to revive either of the drivers. We found your mother’s wallet in her purse, and that’s how I located you.” He handed her the object in his hands—Marion’s faded brown leather wallet, with Michele’s school picture peeking out from one of the flaps.
    As she stared disbelievingly at her mother’s wallet, Michele lost all sense of herself. Her head felt light, her vision nothing more than black-and-white dots swimming before her eyes, and the only audible sound was a vicious ringing in her ears.
    “It isn’t true.” She gulped, fighting back the bile rising in her throat.
    The officer tried to console her, but Michele pushed him away. If she could just get away from the school … if she couldfind her mom and make it okay … But as she tried to make her escape, she felt as if the ground was shaking underneath her. With a cry, she fell back onto the pavement. And everything turned black.

    “Michele?” came a tentative voice.
    Michele didn’t answer, keeping her eyes shut as she lay in bed. It was the tenth day after Marion’s funeral, and Michele was spending it the same way she had spent all her time since: holed up in the guest bedroom at Kristen’s house. She couldn’t set foot in her own home, couldn’t bear to see it now that Marion was gone. Her friends had collected her things for her, and she had visitors at Kristen’s every day, but nothing eased the unbearable pain. Michele had barely spoken or eaten since her mom’s death. She had dropped nearly ten pounds, and she knew somewhere in the back of her mind that her behavior was scaring everyone. Kristen’s parents had even pleaded with her to let them take her to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but Michele refused. She didn’t want to get better. She only wanted her mom back.
    “Michele?” Kristen’s voice persisted.
    Michele reluctantly opened her eyes and turned onto her side to look at Kristen. Amanda hovered beside her. The two of them had dark circles under their eyes from lack of sleep.
    “I’m really sorry to do this, but Ms. Richards is here and she’s forcing us to let her see you,” Kristen said awkwardly. “She has news.… I have to let her in.”
    Michele buried her face in the pillow. Ms. Richards wasthe social worker who was suddenly thrust into Michele’s life after Marion died, supposedly to help the courts decide where Michele should live from now on. Because I’m an orphan now . Michele had thought those words countless times over the past two weeks, but they never ceased to feel unreal.
    “I’m not going to live with you guys, am I?” Michele asked Kristen dully.
    Kristen looked on the verge of tears. “You know we want you to! My parents are ready to become your guardians this minute.”
    “Mine too,” Amanda added, sitting on the bed next to Michele. “But it’s not up to us.… You know that.”
    Michele didn’t answer, and after a few moments, Kristen got up to let the social worker in. A petite woman with curly brown hair and gentle eyes, Ms. Richards came into the room and pulled up a chair beside Michele. Amanda and Kristen sat at the foot of the bed, watching anxiously.
    “How are you feeling, sweetie?” Ms. Richards asked. Michele didn’t bother answering that question. Ms. Richards reached into her briefcase and pulled out Michele’s file. “Well, I have some good news.”
    “I get to live with Kristen or Amanda?” Michele asked.
    “Well … no. The good news is that the court