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“Do you care to explain what happened here, Diana?” she asked, pushing her thick-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose.

What could I say? How on earth could I explain this with anything that sounded like a rational scenario?Oh yeah, sorry, Mom. I came home and had a panic attack, screamed, and shattered all the glass in the room.Sorry about the mess. Oh yeah…I also saw a giant wolf when I ran off to have some alone time last weekend and he looked like he was human or something. I am definitely not losing my mind.

I was guilty of leaving it without cleaning up…but I couldn’t exactly drive to the hardware store and buy a new glass door, install it, and have time to make everyone dinner before she got home from work. I knew once she found the door, she would never let me leave the house again. I took the risk of sneaking off to check the library archives before she came home, knowing I would almost certainly be grounded.

“Listen…I can explain,” I started, holding my hands up to stop Jake’s objections.

What was I going to say? How could I possibly explain this?

“I was cleaning up the living room and found Jake’s old soccer ball under the couch. I kicked it, and it flew into the glass door and shattered it,” I said. I hoped it sounded remotely convincing, but Jake’s smirk told me otherwise.

“…And the lights?” she asked, her arms still folded, her mouth set in a thin line.

“Well…once the back door was shattered a bird came flying in. I was chasing it around the living room…swatting at it…” I trailed off, trying to keep my face serious but I could feel a laugh bubbling up my throat. I never was any good at improvisation. Jake looked incredulous from the armchair.

“You couldn’t come up with a better excuse than that?” Jake laughed, folding his arms behind his head, enjoying this all too much.

“This is none of your concern young man,” my mom scolded. That was his dismissal. The only good thing about having a brother that was so much younger than me was that he was never included in the “adult” stuff. Jake got up without another word, his face still bursting with the effort of holding in his laughter, and went up to his room.

“How do you expect to pay for this?”

“Payfor this?” I asked. This day kept getting better and better. “I don’t have a job, how could I pay for anything?”

“Maybe you will need to get one. I took the liberty of cleaning upyourmess while you were gone, and Jake helped put up a screen so no morebirdscould get in.” She narrowed her eyes. “Where did you run off to anyway leaving the house like this?”

“The library,” I replied honestly. I could practically see the smoke coming out of her ears.

“I am too tired to discuss this any further. Eat some dinner and go to bed.” She did look tired. Her normally perfectly quaffed hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and her shirt was disheveled and untucked. She had a hard enough time raising two teenagers alone and working crazy hours, I needed to do a better job looking after myself.

I felt a pang of guilt as I headed towards the stairs. I was old enough to be responsible, I would be going to college next year. I didn’t know how to avoid a situation such as this, when I had no explanation for it in the first place. I was too tired to eat, and I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since Friday. I could feel the exhaustion wearing on me.

My legs were heavy as I took each step. I changed into a T-shirt and a pair of old raggedy sweatpants. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and pulled my hair back in a daze. I climbed into bed and closed my eyes.

What on earth was going on? I couldn’t think clearly. My thoughts felt foggy and heavy, as if I was wading through quicksand to connect the dots. I felt Waffles join me and curl up beside me on top of the comforter. He snuggled in and began to purr. Despite my mind going back and forth, trying to reconcile what had happened today, I bundled myself into the covers, sleep quickly taking me for the first time in days.

Before I had gotten so much as two steps down the hallway of my English classroom, I heard my name called out and I turned, backtracking towards the school office.

“Diana Barnes, is that you?” the voice called in a thick southern accent.

I stepped over the threshold into the office, adjusting the strap on my backpack so that it wouldn’t keep slipping down my shoulder.

“Yes?” I replied, searching for the voice.

“I thought that was you.” Mrs. Pierce stood from behind the secretary desk. “I haven’t seen you in so long. My, how you have grown into a beautiful young lady.” Luckily, I hadn’t had to spend much time in the front office since Freshmen year when we had first moved here. Mrs. Pierce probably remembered me as the short, awkward, student from back then. I had grown at least a few inches since, and while my hair was still frizzy at times, I had learned how to tame it into soft ringlets. When I had the time to battle it, that is.

“Thank you,” I replied. “It’s good to see you, Mrs. Pierce.”

“I’m glad I ran into you,” she said, shuffling through the papers on the desk in front of her. “Someone turned in a book with your name in it last week and I haven’t had a chance to track you down…” She trailed off, checking her desk drawers.

“My Spanish book?” I asked, I had misplaced it a few weeks ago and couldn’t remember where I had left it. Luckily, I shared Spanish period with Tess, so we had been sharing her book.

“Yes, dear. I must have left it in the counselor’s office, give me a moment to grab it.”

Mrs. Pierce shuffled off down the hallway towards the counselor’s office and I turned back towards the door, hoping to catch Tess as she walked by. My next breath caught in my throat as I locked eyes with Nik sitting in one of the chairs that lined the wall by the door. His ankle was propped up on his knee, his hands clasped together in his lap, and he was staring straight at me. I quickly turned back towards the secretary desk, a blush creeping up my cheeks.

I brushed a piece of hair that had fallen into my face back over my shoulder, tapping my foot impatiently as I waited for Mrs. Pierce to return. What was taking her so long? The front office suddenly seemed especially small, and I couldn’t wait to get out and head to first period.

I heard footsteps approaching from behind, but I didn’t turn. On the counter before me were stacks of papers in bins, and a long, calloused hand reached over my shoulder and grabbed a paper out of the “Approved Absences” bin. Nik brushed my shoulder as he removed his hand, clearing his throat so close to me that I could feel his breath on my neck. This time I did turn, my hair falling over my shoulder again with the movement.