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"We'll leave this route for Gordon to find," Crystal said, "to Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Texas. Maybe he'll get as far as Florida before he realizes he's on a wild goose chase. By that time, we'll be long gone."

Butterfly laughed. We estimated where we might be the first day and the second, all of us talking at once. It felt wonderful; it felt like hope.

Later, it was almost impossible to fall asleep.

Minutes after the lights were out in our room, Raven called to me.

"What?"

"You're not going to change your mind, are you, Brooke?" Raven's voice shook slightly.

"Absolutely not. You don't think we're doing the wrong thing, do you?" Suddenly I too was scared.

"Don't worry Brooke, no matter what happens to us on the road it won't be half as bad as what could happen if we stayed."

"Good night," I said quietly.

"Brooke?"

"Yes?"

"I was just thinking . . . this is our last night here," she whispered.

I thought for a moment. Of course, she was right. Good-bye and good riddance to these four walls, I thought. Good riddance to feeling like nobody, nameless and alone. Tomorrow, tomorrow we'll be on the road To our future.

"I couldn't be more happy about it," I said. "I don't care how hard it's going to be for us after we leave. I'm glad we're doing it. I'm glad we're finally taking charge of our lives."

"Me too. Good night."

"Good night," I said and turned over into my dream.

Now that the last week of school was under way, students didn't have to go unless they had a test to take, and if they didn't have an afternoon exam, they could go home. We were all finished with our exams in the morning, but neither Louise nor Gordon knew. After our morning tests, instead of going home, we went to the bank to get our money. The teller seemed very suspicious. Crystal was afraid she would call Louise, but she didn't. We spent the rest of the day picking up little things we might need on the trip.

When we returned to the Lakewood House, we found our chores were posted as usual. Gordon wasn't going to make today any exception, regardless of final exams. We all went to work, hoping to hide our excitement and anxiety. For all of us, it felt strange to move around the property and in the building knowing that tonight we were going to leave forever. While we ate dinner that evening, we gazed at each other with conspiratorial looks. Butterfly was so nervous she hardly ate. I made her try because I didn't want any of us to do the slightest thing to draw suspicion or curiosity about our behavior.

With what felt like butterflies floating in our stomachs, we went up to our rooms to wait for the passage of time, the darkness and silence that followed when everyone went to sleep. Louise stopped by each of our rooms to ask how we did on our exams.

"I hope everyone got A's," she said. "I've always been very proud of my children when it comes to their school work. Next year Crystal will be the class valedictorian. Imagine that, one of Louise Tooey's children, a class valedictorian."

No one said much since we hoped to move her along by not responding, but she lingered to talk about the upcoming summer, the prospect for jobs and improvements she hoped to make on the property. Finally, she said good night and left us to go downstairs to her office.

"I thought she'd never leave," I said with relief. "Let's get to bed and act as normal about everything as we always do. Just keep your clothes on under your blanket so you're ready," I advised.

My gang looked frozen with anticipation, all holding their breath.

It grew late. I heard Louise and Gordon come up and go to their bedroom. From the sound of his voice, I thought Gordon might have been drinking. I hoped he had because he would fall asleep faster. I had seen him do that before. When he drank, he could sleep anywhere, even in one of those old, awkward wooden chairs, his arms and legs dangling like the appendages of some giant, dead insect.

A little after midnight, I rose, my heart pounding. Raven sat up. She had obviously been lying there with her eyes wide open, watching me.

"Is it time?" she asked.

"Yes. You go get Crystal and go down to the kitchen. The coast should be clear. Be real quiet and careful about it and remember, don't take too much. I'll go get the car keys," I said as if there was nothing more to it than fetching them from the Tooeys' bedroom.

"You're the one who has to be careful, Brooke," she warned. "If there's any chance he'll catch you, don't do it."

"There's no chance," I assured her, building my own courage.

"Maybe we should join heads first and chant."