Her mom’s face twisted with that oh, my little girl look and she took her hands. “It’s nothing like that, Sarah Beth. We asked for this meeting with Pastor Dee. You’re doing great here, and we just want to involve you in big decisions about your future.”

“Big decisions?” she asked, now feeling more confused and worried than ever.

“I’ve been doing some thinking,” her mom said, then glanced at her dad and quickly corrected herself. “Your dad and I have both been doing some thinking. We had a long talk last night and as a result, we’ve had a change of heart about your education and training here.”

A wave of panic hit Sarah Beth. Despite whatever middle school drama she had with her roommates, she would literally die if they pulled her out of St. George’s. How could she possibly live with all the gifts and voices and visions and bad things, without the security and community of this place? She might not fit in perfectly here, but out there she was just a freak.

“You’re not pulling me out of school, are you?” she stammered. “Please don’t say you’re putting me back in public school.”

“No, no, sweetheart,” her mom said and pulled her in for a hug. “Quite the opposite . . .”

“Oh, good,” she said with a shaky sigh of relief. “Because I like it here.”

“Pastor Dee says y’all can go on in,” the receptionist said with a smile, ending their conversation.

She followed her parents into Pastor Dee’s office, noticing they seemed different this morning. Her dad seemed taller or something. More confident. And he looked stronger than she remembered. And her mom seemed less angry and stressed out than usual. Like somebody had lifted a thousand-pound weight off her back. Her smiles were like they used be—not the fake, forced ones she’d been wearing all the time recently.

“Hello, Yarnell family,” Pastor Dee said from behind her large and somewhat-cluttered desk. Her voice felt warm to Sarah Beth, as it always did. Sarah Beth reflexively took her usual seat—the left corner of the gray leather sofa across the coffee table from the oversize chair Pastor Dee preferred. Her mother squeezed in beside her close, taking her hand, a move that would have horrified her in public but felt soothing here. She let out a sigh and reached out into the mind place, looking for Pastor Dee’s thread. She found it, but then Pastor Dee frowned and shook her head slightly, so she pulled back in.

Don’t do that, Sarah Beth. It’s impolite . . .

The rebuke, her mom’s voice in her head, surprised Sarah Beth since she’d not opened herself up to her. She shot her mom a quizzical look, but her mom just shook her head and put a finger to her lips.