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"What anyone else does, Gisselle. Open an umbrella," he replied. "You're not a piece of fragile china and you won't melt," he said.

"We'll be all right, Daddy," I promised.

"You will," Gisselle snapped. "I won't."

"We both will," I insisted.

"I've got to go and you two have things to do now," Daddy said. He leaned over to give Gisselle a kiss and a hug. She turned away and wouldn't return his kiss, not even a quick peck on the cheek. I saw how sad and unhappy that made him feel, so I gave him a bigger-than-usual kiss and hug.

"Don't worry," I whispered, my arms still clinging around his neck. "I'll watch over her and make sure she doesn't drop the potato too fast," I added, which Daddy knew was an old Cajun expression for giving up. He laughed.

"I'll call you two in a day or so," he promised. He said goodbye to the other girls and left with Abby's parents, who had spent most of their time talking with Mrs. Penny. As soon as they were gone, Vicki declared that we had to leave for the main building and the assembly. That started Gisselle on her tirade about the distance she had to travel from the dorm to the main building.

"They should provide a car for me and drive me to and from the school," she declared.

"It's really not that far, Gisselle."

"Easy for you to say," she countered. "You can run if you want to."

"I'll be glad to push you along," Samantha volunteered. Gisselle glared at her.

"Ruby pushes me," she said sharply.

"Well, if there's ever a time when Ruby can't, I will," Samantha volunteered happily.

"Why? Does it amuse you?" Gisselle fired.

"No," Samantha said, taken aback. She looked quickly from one of us to the other. "I only meant . . ."

"We'd better get going," Vicki said, looking nervously at her watch. "No one comes late to one of Mrs. Ironwood's assemblies. If you do, she screams at you in front of the whole school and gives you two demerits."

We started out, Abby walking alongside me and behind Gisselle.

"What brought you to Greenwood for your senior year?" I asked her.

"My parents moved and they didn't like the school I was supposed to attend," she explained quickly, but she shifted her eyes away too, and for the first time I felt she wasn't being completely honest. I thought that whatever her real reasons were, they were probably painful ones like ours, and I didn't pursue it.

"That's a very pretty locket," she said when she turned back to me.

"Thank you. My boyfriend gave it to me this morning before we left for Greenwood. His picture and mine are in it. Take a look," I said, pausing and leaning over.

"Why are you stopping?" Gisselle demanded, even though she had been listening in on our conversation and knew very well why.

"Just a moment. I want to show Abby Beau's picture."

"What for?"

I snapped open the locket, and Abby glanced quickly at the pictures.

"Very handsome," she remarked.

"Which is why he's probably with someone else by now," Gisselle said. "I told her to expect it."

"Did you leave any boyfriends behind too?" I asked, ignoring Gisselle but pushing her forward.

"Yes," Abby said sadly.

"Well, maybe he'll come to visit you and write you and even call," I suggested.