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T hat night, I unplug one of the laptops from the workroom in the basement and settle on the couch as they all watch a movie. Ellis steps over Nim’s legs to sit beside me, tucking one leg underneath, the way she always sits. That little motion reminds me of a hundred long talks we had when we were still just twin teenage girls, before the car accident that changed everything .

She tries to look at the screen, and I shift the laptop, just slightly .

“Whatcha doing?” she asks, her eyes sharpening. Damn it. She still reads me too well .

“Just surfing the internet.” For a new life .

I always thought I’d go to college when I graduated high school. Then I didn’t graduate because, well, my body was in a coma, my mind was in the Far, and everyone thought I was dead. It would really shake things up if I walked back into my old high school to get a copy of my transcript .

Ellis leans over my shoulder. “Kensey State? Wasn’t that your back up school ?”

“It’s my dream school right now, since I’d have to get a GED and…” I click back over to the admissions page .

“That’s cute,” Nim says. “You want to do things legally. Above board. Very admirable .”

“I’m not tied to the idea,” I say. “It would be easier to apply to school with a fake transcript …”

“Why apply?” Nim asks. “We could just set you up in the system as a student. You want a scholarship ?”

“Ryker and I went undercover at a university once,” Levi says. “It was awesome. I had Olivia put him in all these heavy-duty English lit classes, analyzing Shakespeare and Beowulf, and Feminist Studies and — ”

“I almost left you to be gutted by that demon,” Ryker says, but they both grin .

I stare at the admissions screen in front of me. Classes start in just five days .

“How fast can you work?” I ask .

“Are you sure?” Ellis pushes her shoulder against mine. Her tone is serious, almost sorrowful. “It’s nice having you here .”

“It’s nice being here.” I shove back into her shoulder affectionately. “I’m still not taking this whole being-alive business for granted .”

“So stay with us,” she says. “Have fun. Embrace life .”

“I love you, sis,” I tell her, “but I’m pretty sure I have to embrace my own life .”