Angela strolled into the living room, humming to herself, but she quickly quieted herself when she saw her mother sitting on the sofa, frowning. Edna Paxton rose and approached her daughter.

“Hi, Mom,” Angela said, smiling. “What’s wrong?”

“I got a call from your school today,” Edna replied. “You’ve been cutting classes.”

“I had cramps,” Angela lied. “I came back home, took some Advil, took a nap, and then took a walk to the corner store and got a candy bar.”

“You’re lying. You’ve been out of class more than you’ve been in it the past few weeks, based on what your teachers are telling me. If you don’t shape up, you won’t graduate this year.”

“They don’t do that to me.”

“They can, and they will. Angela, what’s wrong? What have I done wrong as a parent for you to end up like this?”

“Nothing, Mom. You’ve done fine.”

“Then why are you cutting classes and acting so different and running around with-- oh, that’s another thing. I don’t want you hanging around with that Dunstan Diggory. A man his age shouldn’t be spending so much time with a high school girl.”

“His fiancée is eighteen,” Angela replied, shrugging.

“I don’t care. I don’t ever want you spending time with him again or accepting any presents from him. In fact, for the next two weeks or so, you are grounded. You can go to school and to your school news meetings. That’s it.”

“Mom!”

“I’ve been too easy on you. The first time I heard about you being friends with him, I should have nipped things in the bud.”


“In this world, you won’t find many like her standing around,” Graham sang quietly. He scoffed, then crumpled the paper and tossed it into the trash can. “That’s already been done,” he muttered.

Just then, there was a loud knock at the door. “Come in, door’s open,” Graham called.

Ophelia let herself in and grinned at Graham. “Hey,” she greeted him. “What’s up?”

“Working on a new song.”

“So close to the performance? Must be a really big deal,” Ophelia remarked, peering at the notebook Graham was scribbling in.

“Don’t look!” Graham protested, shutting the notebook.

“Look, I know it’s probably about Jade,” Ophelia responded. “Besides, I come bearing news.”

“About what?”


Ophelia flopped into the nearest chair and groaned. “My cousin is engaged to the devil incarnate.”

“That bad, hm?”

“Dunstan Diggory.”

“I heard bits and pieces about him. He’s from some pretty serious old money, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So, what don’t you like about him?”

Ophelia groaned again. “Graham, if you could see how bad Charise looks… she’s got bags under her eyes the size of Alaska. Looks like a famine survivor. She’s going to look like a walking skeleton, at this rate. Charise isn’t supposed to look like that. She’s not supposed to go through life like she’s a zombie!”

“Lia, there’s nothing I can do about that, except to suggest that you talk to her and tell her how you feel.”

“I can’t do that,” Ophelia cried out, exasperated.

“Well, then, I don’t know what to tell you.”

“I was afraid you would say that.”


Emily sighed and opened the refrigerator, then eyed the contents.

“Oh, you’re home!” her mother remarked, walking into the kitchen. “Where’s your brother?”

“At Lyle’s house, playing basketball,” Emily replied. She looked over at her mother and let out an astonished gasp. “Mom, you got your hair cut! Short!”

“Yeah, I thought since I’m forty, it was time to start acting like it.”

“But, Mom, you look so young! I’ve seen college students who look older than you!”

Her mother chuckled and replied, “Thanks, sweetie. But still, it was getting to be a hassle, taking care of it.”

“I thought it looked nice.”

“It did, but I don’t have the time to fuss with it like I did at your age, Em.” Her mother smiled a little and added, “Except for your hair color, you look like I did at your age.”

“I’m sure you were prettier.”

Her mother chuckled and responded, “My best friend in high school… she was the pretty one. Curly blonde hair, blue eyes. All the boys liked her. We had a big fight-- probably over something stupid-- and lost touch with each other. Last I heard, she modeled for a while and then married and had kids.”

“Do you keep in touch with any of your old friends from high school?” Emily asked.

“I’m afraid not. But I have plenty of new friends that I made after.”

“It would be really sad if Ophelia and I stopped being friends after we graduated.”

“Well, worry about that when the time comes.”