Doc Ramsey had that kind of power. An aura of protection surrounded him. It wasn’t like he was a wimpy guy or anything, but the sense of protection I got from him didn’t come from anything physical. It was more about the way he knew how to explain baffling things, so when you left his class you felt like life was a little less mysterious and confusing than it was before. That the problems in your life had solutions. Having a father should feel that way.

Yes, I’m well aware that Doc’s not my father. I keep hearing the dramatic flair of Maury Povich’s voice telling me, “It is 99.9 percent certain that Doc Ramsey … [Suspenseful Pause] … is NOT the father.” But that doesn’t mean he can’t be fatherly to me, right?

I was confident Doc would be able to explain why Kori had died. Why I was still here.

But he didn’t have us talk at all. He just popped in a DVD—Sliding Doors. He’d started it the Friday before, and ever since we’d had to endure the BBs debating if Gwyneth Paltrow was really English or not and the Hauties’ sudden overuse of British curse words. Bloody ‘ell an’ bollocks.

I already knew the ending, because I’d rented it over the weekend. I was so sure there was something significant about it. It just wasn’t like Doc to drop the ball by babysitting us with a movie. But after watching it, I was more confused than ever.

I imagine Doc wanted us to determine for ourselves if we really believed in fate and destiny. But I was more interested in what he thought. What he believed. Because I really didn’t think he believed the answer to “why” was as simple as which train you had the dumb luck to catch or if your eighth-grade lab partner was a crushy stalker boy who ruined your favorite T-shirt.

But Doc never tells you what he thinks. All his lessons are designed to let you determine for yourself what to believe. And that was just it. I wasn’t so sure I believed in dumb luck at all.

I wanted a reason, needed a reason, for Kori to be gone.

As I started to leave after the bell rang, Doc called me over to his desk.

“There’s something I wanted to talk with you about. I’m going to be meeting with your mother next week.”