Miranda’s bedroom is empty. The bed has been stripped down, the curtains no longer on the windows. Sarabeth sits on the windowsill, wondering what is going on. What happened after Miranda and Megan left the room, so many hours ago? Why had they left her?

Suddenly, the door bangs open, and Miranda flies into the room. “You didn’t think I’d go anywhere without you, did you?” She murmurs into the doll’s hair. “I would never leave you behind.”

Megan walks into the room behind her. “Boarding school will be great, Miranda,” she says, clearly an effort to make her friend feel better. “You’ll start over! It’ll be like all this never happened.”

But Miranda knows that this is far from over. That she could go to a different planet and there would still be no forgetting. However, to humor her friend, she smiles up at Megan and says, “Yeah. You’re probably right.”

Maybe she is, Miranda thinks. Maybe, in a new place, I can. turn over a new leaf. Maybe I can start over.