Sashau Vortex wiped the kitchen table for the third time today. In her opinion, tidyness was the most important thing, next to making sure to assosciate with the right sort of people. She frowned, and stiffened at this thought. Her daughter was certainly pressing her luck, being seen with the likes of that Neutron boy. And speaking of Cindy, what was taking her so long with her bath?

She frowned, fighting the temptation to yell. After all, she reasoned, Cindy was going through a hard time. She really did care for Jimmy, no matter what Sashau had tried to do to stop her, so it only made sense that his being in intensive care would affect her deeply, force heartache upon her. She glanced at the clock by the kitchen and stared long and hard - it was 8:30 now. Cindy had gotten in the shower at 6:45. There was nothing that could be taking her this long..

"Cindy! Cindy!" She called as she ran up the stairs, but there was no answer. For once, Mrs. Vortex was praying her daughter had simply snuck out like a normal sixteen year old girl might. She turned right when she reached the top of the stairs and was alarmed when she stepped in a puddle of water that had probably come from the bathroom.

The door to the bathroom was slightly ajar, but to be polite, Mrs. Vortex knocked once on the door. "Cindy? Cynthia? I'm coming in." She pushed the door open and fell forward, terrified at what she saw. Tears blurred her vision, she couldn't bring herself to move, didn't want to move..she wanted this to all be a nightmare.

There, in the tub, was her daughter, under the water, her hair floating gently around her, the only part of her still moving. The pearl necklace she always had on was floating right on top of the water. Realizing that if there was any hope of saving her daughter, she had to act quickly, Mrs. Vortex jumped forward and pulled Cindy out of the water. "God, Cindy, wake up! Now! You have to wake up!" She desperately groped for her daughter's arm, feeling for a pulse. There was still one..there was still hope.

As fast as her legs could carry her, she was downstairs, dialing 911. "911, what is your emergency?"

"I just found my daughter, she was in the tub and..and..." The tears were flowing so hard, it was hard to talk. "And..oh, God, I think she tried to kill herself..she's still got a pulse, but she isn't breathing! Get someone here quickly! Please..you have to save my daughter...Save my daughter.." The operator collected her address, then assured Mrs. Vortex that an ambulance would be by in mere minutes.

But the three minutes it took them to get there felt like lifetimes to Mrs. Vortex...in her mind, hours upon hours passed as she paced back and forth, trying to figure out what to do. Trying to find some way to help Cindy..

Finally, the ambulance was there, and they took Cindy away. Just as Mrs. Vortex was about to get in the ambulance, she heard a voice behind her.

"Mrs. Vortex?"

Libby had sensed that something was wrong even before she had heard the loud, wailing sirens of the ambulance. Now her fears were confirmed - Cindy was indeed hurt, though Libby did not know how.

And Mrs. Vortex couldn't bring herself to tell her. All she could do was give Libby a small hug. "Go back home...stay there. I'll call you if there's any news." Mrs. Vortex promised, climbing into the back of the ambulance.

The doors slammed, leaving Libby standing on the Vortex's lawn for several moments. Slowly, everyone around her was leaving, it seemed..what with Jimmy in a coma, Carl in the assylum, Cindy being taken to the hospital for only God knew why, and Sheen nowhere to be found. The only thing to accompany her on the short walk home was a starless night, pitch-black and empty.

Much, Libby had to admit, like life.