“Mom!!! Please calm down! Now, listen to me. I am perfectly fine. My ankle is hurt, but that is it. There are three boys with me. They are very, very nice. They are helping me. Don’t worry. I’m safe. They’re taking me to Lake South Hospital.” I spoke very slowly, trying to explain what was going on.

“Okay, I’m coming right now. I’ll meet you at the hospital. Who are these boys with you? Be careful, Emily. Don’t go near them. You don’t know what they’re gonna do. Why are they in the ambulance with you?!”

“Mom,” I said again. “Everything is fine! Just come and meet me at the hospital, okay?”

How long was it going to take to get through to her that I was going to be okay?

“Yeah, okay,” she told me. “I’ll be right there.”

“Okay, bye.”

I hung up the phone and handed it back to Nick. “Thanks,” I said, “My mom is gonna have a heart attack.”

Joe laughed. “That’s okay. Our parents would probably act the same way.”