It was snowing lightly on Monday morning. Mom stood in front of the kitchen window, holding a mug of steaming coffee, rambling about how they should call a snow holiday.

Dad recognized her nervousness. “Everything’s going to be fine, Liz,” he said. And to Rose, “You hold your head up high, darlin’.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said.

Jerram looked up briefly from the homework he was hurriedly scribbling to give an encouraging wink. Rose pretended not to notice. He had come down for breakfast in a perfectly normal way.

“I’m sure your friends won’t act as badly as Mrs. Emerson did,” Dad went on.

“Never thought I’d hear you say kids had more sense than adults,” Jerram said.

Mom saw the bus through the trees on the other side of the ridge. “Five minutes.”

Before Rose went out the door, Mom grabbed her and gave her a hard, brief hug. “Keep safe,” she said. Rose disengaged without responding, unnerved by this sudden display of the old affection.

Grace looked pinched and unhappy when Rose sat down next to her on the bus.

“My mother’s been awful,” she was complaining. “Forcing me to catch up on all my homework. I’m really sorry I never called you back.”

Rose was unimpressed. “What homework?” Grace had never been behind with homework in her life.

“You know how mothers can be,” Grace said vaguely and looked out the window.

“Sure.”

Rose stared out the window, too. It was snowing harder.

“Oh, all right, I’ll tell you,” Grace said suddenly. “She wouldn’t let me talk to you. Something about stuff that happened in church. She acted like you were personal non whatsis …”

“Persona non grata,” Jerram put in from the seat behind. He always sat behind them, to listen in on their conversations. It had been a habit for years and had never bothered Rose until today. She felt exposed and vulnerable with Jerram at her back where she couldn’t see him.

“Whatever,” Grace was saying. “She acted like Rose was something contagious. What happened in church?”

“Nothing much. Mrs. Emerson called me a witch.”

Grace’s eyes bugged. She drew her breath in sharply. “Oh, Rose, that’s awful. How did you feel?” she whispered, looking around. There was a tinge of excitement in her voice.

Rose shrugged numbly. In that moment, Grace began to move away from her, backing into a murky distance she couldn’t reach anymore. Had they been growing apart before this?

“Well, it’s nothing to worry about, is it? I mean, you’re not a witch, are you, Rose, even if you do have some crazy ideas?”

“Thanks a lot.”