"Betty murmured a thank you to the principal with the other parents, walking slowly around the gym and staring at nothing in particular. She had been ...oncerned about her daughter who, for the past two weeks, had been acting very withdrawn.Annette had always been somewhat quiet, especially since her father's death three years ago. But, lately, her quietness had become very disturbing. It was with this in mind that Betty came to the parents' night to talk to the teachers. There had been no. " Oh," Mrs. Walsh responded, slightly confused."I just mean that she is used to getting her way always and I don't play that game," Layla explained, confidence oozing out of her."Of course," Mrs. Walsh responded, rubbing her neck.Layla, seeing her opportunity, offered, "Let me give you a neck massage, Mrs. Walsh, you look stiff." Oh, no, no, no, I am fine," Clara responded.Layla ignored the Mother's weak resistance, standing up and explaining, "It's ok, Mrs. Walsh, I have taken a couple of. The tubs were a string of huge potholes supposedly gnashed out of the earth by a glacier. Now a sparkling creek ran through them, cascading down through a series of higher and higher waterfalls, a trail maintained by private hiking groups. I’d been hiking it since I was a kid, my Mom often taking me up there, always angling off through the dark woods to a small isolated waterfall bounded by a deep pond of icily clear water. She’d taught me how to swim there when I was five, the water so cold. Goodnight...I guess.” She smiled a him.“Night, Ash.” He smiled back. He thought about her smile all night.When Armand woke up, he stared at the ceiling and thought about Ashley. “I'm so fucking stupid!” he thought out loud. He looked at his nightstand and grabbed his iPhone; he checked the time and unlocked the touchscreen. It was 9:30AM. Mom and Dad will be home in a few hours, he thought. I better get downstairs and clean up the kitchen before they get back. Before he got up, he looked.