as the Chicago skyline

dark

sun

, hitting my face. I was in

from a fall, but lik

rp and brutal

r, their kind faces. Their blood

tudent. My parents' charity

o fake. Her boyfriend,

sations. The looks of dis

pair. T

ing. My hands flew to my throat

t week of fresh

second

ever felt in my first, naive

s would not w

n the mirror. Younger, yes. But my eyes hel

e university orientat

tta

a group of new students, he

, a hand pressed to her chest in mock gratitude. "Their found

her about he

ful look in her eyes. "They prefer to stay out of the limelig

was poverty and violence, a worl

ht of her, so confident in

early triumphs. She' d used a supplementary credit card, one my parents had given her for "

this

what I knew, this impossible knowledge o

be smart.

still alive. Tha

ngers surprisingly steady. I

ad

Making friends?" His voice, warm a

estion. About that supplementary ca

rt. But it would be the first cra