Oh, in case you're wondering, "How come her last name isn't Chambers?" Well, my father wanted to separate us from his brother and his family, so we wouldn't be scrutinized as much(though it really didn't help any), so he legally had his name changed to his great-grandmother's last name, Shaw. I don't mind it, but I kind of think it's stupid to try to hide that sort of thing from people. (I'm one to talk, I should tell my parents I go over and visit my aunt and cousins, but I'd be grounded for a month.)

It was a Saturday. All had been pretty quiet. There had been no news from Chris about Aunt Jane or the kids, and I couldn't help wondering that was a bad thing. I hated it when things were quiet like that. It was like being in the eye of a hurricane and you wanted to get out as fast as you could. But I couldn't bring attention to it. My mother would sniff, avoid my eyes, and pretend I hadn't asked anything at all. My father would rant on and on for about an hour, then trail off. There was just no point in it. So that afternoon, I called up Gordie, who was hanging out with Teddy and Vern for the first time in a couple of weeks. I asked if I could go over to his house, have him help me sneak over to Chris's.

"Sure," Gordie said. I could hear Vern and Teddy laughing at a cartoon on the television in the background. Teddy shouted, "Who are you talking to, LaChance?" I heard the sound of Gordie's hand covering up the mouthpiece. "Hannah, you wet end. Shut up, will you?" I laughed. "Tell Teddy I said hi." Gordie shouted, "She says hi, you loser." Teddy snickered. I rolled my eyes. "They're a bunch of...", I was about to say pussies, but my mother walked by, immersed in a cookbook. She was making notations with a pencil and muttering, "I would like Margaret to make that... and that... and..." She went around the coner, still mumbling to herself.

"Yeah, anyway," Gordie continued. "Come on over. I know Chris is home, I talked to him about an hour ago. He... he seems alright, Hannah." I sighed. "I hope so. Okay, I'll be right there." Gordie hung up first. I placed the phone in the cradle and scribbled a note saying where I'd be, leaving it on the table.

(Sorry this chapter's short, I'm having a bit of writer's block for this story. Any ideas, send them my way, you will be credited for them!)