The Tough Girls Club

Chapter 11: Revealed

        Recap: Jamie goes to her mom's big trial and finds Alana there.

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        My mind started overworking connecting the dots and then I saw blue stars and everything went black.

        I woke up to my mom shaking my shoulder. I slowly opened my eyes, immediately recognizing the white lights of the small hospital that sits next door to my mother's law firm. It smelled like cleaning liquid. I wondered why I was in the hospital. But my thoughts were all muddled and unrecognizable, and I had a pounding headache. All I could think was that I wanted to sleep.

        I sat up, knowing that something was very, very wrong. I had to find her. I had to find Alana.

        "Mom," I said urgently," I have to go home. I want to go home."

        "Honey," she said, stroking my hair," I have to work for three more hours and then I can drive you home. Just sit here and I'll bring you my phone so you can play some Flappy Bird or watch a movie or something. Okay?

        " No, it's not okay!" I said as loudly as I could with my throat feeling so dry.

        "Honey, what's wrong with you? What time did you get to bed last night? Maybe you're delirious or something. Nurse! Come take my daughter's temperature please!"

        "No! I have to talk to...I have to...Mom, you don't understand," I said, feeling so, so helpless.

        "Oh, sweetie. I know you're still not feeling so good, but just lay down and go back to sleep."

        "But Mom!"

        She placed a finger over my lips. "Shh, Jamie, shh."

        I squirmed, trying to free myself from her grasp, but she pinned me down, obviously frustrated with me. So I had no choice but to lay down on the hospital's plasticy sheets and wait for her to leave. Once I had settled down she kissed me goodbye and left the room. She came back a moment later with an apple and her phone and then left for good. I let myself wait for five minutes more and then snuck out, creeping down the hall, making sure no one was around, feeling exactly like a ninja.

        I soon realized I had no idea where Alana was. So I decided not to look. Backwards logic, I know. But I felt like she was probably looking for me too. It was one of those weird gut feelings I'd been getting a lot since this summer started.

        I could have gone home, but I didn't feel like it. Another weird gut feeling. So I went to the cliff. The one we went to that night where we skinnydipped. It seemed like years ago. I rode my bike along the dusty path, which looked so different in the daytime. Then I went over the rocks and onto the side of the cliff, plunking my butt down a little too hard. I gazed over the water, wishing it could wash away everything that happened and make me as naive as I'd been in the begginning of June. But now it was July, and everything was just sort of...different. Like instead of everything going right, everything went wrong. I laid down, shielding my face from the too bright sun. Then I turned on my side, and found myself staring right into Alana's eyes. Why did this keep happening?

        "Huh," Alana said, her eyes twinkling,"You must be stalking me or something."

        I snorted. "Or something."

        Alana laid back down so I couldn't look her straight into the eye. "I guess you want to know what is going on."

        She looked, sad. And just a little helpless.