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"Go ahead."

"What did you mean when you said you don't

have any parents to take care of you? Are they dead or

not?"

"No, they're not dead," I replied but didn't add

anything.

"I guess you're not going to tell me. That's all

right. I'll live without the information," he said and

turned a page in his notebook.

"My parents never married," I said. I wasn't sure why I should want to tell him anything, but I suddenly felt the need to do so. He was infuriating me, and it was like releasing some of the built-up

steam. It was either do that or explode in his face. "Ali, an unexpected bundle of joy, huh? How

old were they?"

"In their teens."

"So who did you live with before you came

here?" "My father's parents."

"Oh. They took on the great responsibility.

What, are they getting too old to handle you?" "No, they're still very young."

"So why do you want to go to school here?" "I need a change," I said. "Do you like going to

school here?"

"I don't think about it. I just go."

"Do you have a job for the summer?" "I do everything around our house. Maintain

the grounds, fix stuff. That keeps me busy. It's just my

mother and me."

"What happened to your father?" I asked. I

remembered what Aunt Zipporah had told me, but I

wanted to see what he would say.

"I don't know. Maybe he was kidnaped by

aliens."

"Very funny."

"Hysterical."