Lucy pulled a map out of the glove compartment and discovered she was only about 25 miles away. “I can be there in about half an hour,” she promised.

“Hu-u-urry,” wailed Sara.

“Just take it easy,” said Lucy, ending the call and peeling out of the rest area with the gas pedal pressed to the floor. This was definitely one of those times that called for prayer. “Lord,” she said, raising her eyes skyward, “please let there be no state troopers for the next 25 miles.”

Chapter 18

When Lucy arrived at Lake Wingate High School she didn’t have to go looking for Sara; she was sitting on the front steps of the sprawling brick building waiting to be rescued. A bank of clouds was building in the west, and the wind was whipping her hair across her face. Lucy could hear crowd noises and the amplified voice of an announcer calling the plays, punctuated by the band playing a few bars of the school fight song from the football field behind the school.

“What’s the matter?” asked Lucy, as her daughter got in the car. It was obvious she had been crying and equally obvious that she didn’t want her mother to know it.

“I just don’t feel good,” said Sara, staring straight ahead.

“How don’t you feel good? Tired? Nauseous? Headache? Fever?” Lucy took her foot off the brake and proceeded down the drive at a reasonable speed.

“Yeah.”

“Which?” demanded Lucy, placing her hand on Sara’s forehead to check for a fever.

“All of them.”

“You don’t have a fever,” said Lucy, turning onto Main Street and heading for the highway.

“I guess I’m just tired. I should’ve stayed home, like you said. It’s probably PMS.”

Lucy wasn’t buying it. Sara had always been healthy as a horse and hardly noticed her periods. “Are you sure something didn’t happen on the bus? Did those players harass you again?”

Sara was quick to deny it. “No, Mom. Nothing like that happened.”

Even though she was convinced her daughter was lying she also knew it was futile to keep questioning her. The more she prodded, the more tightly Sara would clam up.

“Well, just relax. We should be home soon,” said Lucy, intending to have a talk with Renee and Sassie, and their mothers, too. This couldn’t go on and Lucy was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Lucy switched the radio on to Sara’s favorite station and soon Sara began to relax, tapping her fingers along to hits by Britney, Jessica Simpson, and Madonna. When a fast food restaurant came into view, Lucy asked if she’d like a Coke or something and Sara surprised her by asking for a whole meal. So much for being sick, thought Lucy, but she wasn’t about to press the issue.