Sarah sipped a hot cup of strong tea out of a tacky ceramic mug featuring the likeness of two kittens playing with a ball of yarn. Her tear-streaked face was blotched red and her eyes were droopy.

Jeanie, sitting beside her at the tiny kitchen table, put her arm around Sarah's shoulders and hugged her close.

"Thanks, Jeanie," Sarah said, using quite a bit of her remaining energy to keep from bursting into fresh tears.

"Anytime, doll." Jeanie paused a moment before continuing. "Do you have any idea where you can go?"

Sarah bit her lip and shook her head, her eyes on the table. "I have no idea what to do, Jeanie."

"Then it's settled. You'll stay here with me until you figure it all out."

"No, Jeanie, I couldn't put you in that position. Not only would it be imposing, but I really don't want to get you involved in all this more than I already have."

"Nonsense. I can't have you sleeping in your car all night." Jeanie got up and put her cup in the sink.

"Jeanie…"

"You can have the sofa bed."

"I…"

"I don't want another word about it." Jeanie went to Sara's side and knelt down to look her in the face. "I consider you a very close friend, Sarah. It pains me to watch you go through this. And while I can't change the situation, I can at least offer you a place to stay."

Sarah hugged the tiny woman and thanked her profusely. Jeanie showed her to the sofa and helped her pull out the bed. Once Sarah was equipped with pillows and extra blankets, she laid her weary body down on the squeaky mattress and fell at once into a dreamless sleep.

The next thing Sarah knew, Jeanie was gently nudging her awake.

"Sarah?"

"Hm?" Sarah blinked sleepily.

"I just thought I'd ask whether you wanted to go to school this morning. I'd completely understand if you didn't, but on the off chance that you're feeling up to it, you'd probably want to get up now."

Sarah lifted her head slightly and pondered the notion for a moment.

"I think I'll go. Besides, I have to cancel my date with Lucas." She threw back the covers and stretched as she got up. She noticed that her bags had been brought inside and were sitting just inside the front door.

"Do you really want to do that?"

"Of course not. But I don't know if I can pull it off while my life is this crazy."

"Sometimes a nice guy can be a pretty awesome cure for craziness." Jeanie lifted a red eyebrow.

Sarah smiled. "I really don't want to cancel."

"Then don't. Between the two of us, I think we could pull off just about anything."

Sarah arrived at school a bit early and ran into a few friends on the way to class. She didn't tell any of them about what happened. While they all considered each other friends, Sarah had never felt quite that close to any of them.

As the day went by, time crawled and flew at the same time and Sarah just floated through without saying more than five words to anyone.

At lunch, she decided to sit under the huge oak at the edge of the campus. This brought back bittersweet memories of freshman year, when she spent all her lunches here. She read, she wrote, she pondered, but she was always alone. It was her escape from the lonely horror that was school…but at the same time it was her barrier against all the shallow idiots that shared the school with her.

Sarah now seated herself under the tree for the first time in three years, and immediately she felt a familiar comfort coming from the texture of the bark against her back and the smell of damp dirt. She rested her head against the thick trunk and lost herself in her thoughts.

From the corner of her eye, she saw someone approaching her. She didn't bother to see who it was.

Luke sat down next to her. Sarah waited for him to say what he'd come over to say, but he remained silent. He just sat with her, enjoying the cool breeze that contrasted the bright sun.

Finally, he turned his head to look at Sarah and said, "Nice little spot you've carved out for yourself here."

"I haven't sat under this tree in a very long time."

"Why now?"

Sarah shrugged. "I felt like I could use the familiarity. This tree has quite the connection with my childhood."

"Does it?"

Sarah just nodded. Luke didn't inquire further and after a moment he said, "So, are we still on for tonight?"

"Most definitely." After a beat, she added, "Oh, but, there's been some complications with my living situation, and I'm staying somewhere different than where we met."

Sarah scribbled the address on a scrap of paper and Luke stored it in his pocket.

After a hesitation, Luke said, "These complications, I take it they're serious."

Sarah nodded, praying she wouldn't start crying again. "Very."

"Anything you'd want to talk about?"

In any other situation, Sarah would have thanked him and said that no, everything's fine. She didn't like confiding in most people; most were simply too shallow to understand and Sarah didn't feel close enough to any of her peers to let them into the intricacies of her life. But for some odd reason, Sarah felt compelled to tell him everything.

Before she could stop herself, she'd told him the whole story and was still battling tears. Distantly, the lunch bell rang telling them both to get to class. Luke stood up, offering his hand to Sarah. Before they went their separate ways, he embraced her silently. The hug was long and sincere, and Sarah felt instantly cheered. Luke promised to see her later and went off to his class.

As the day went by, time crawled and flew at the same time and Sarah just floated through without saying more than five words to anyone.