‘I can’t promise anything I’m afraid, let’s just hope it’s not that bad.’ I giggled slightly, hoping to lighten the tone. He looked direct...y into my eyes. I could see the base of each eye covered with a silky form of liquid. He moved his hand to my face, touching it lightly, before moving it back into his lap, his eyes staring down before talking again, ‘I only wanted to see my brother grow up.’ The words hit me like a ton of bricks. ‘What do you mean? What do you mean your … your brother?’ I. Everyone who worked a register was trained on how to handle a robbery. Open the cash register, raise your hands, and back away. You also mashed the panic button on the floor as you backed away, and the police usually responded quite quickly. We only had three the first year, pretty amazing really. The fact that I kept two coffee pots going in the office and we never, under any circumstances, charged the police for snacks, probably helped a little. Plus, the guys they caught got the shit beat. Sam would be headed out on Tuesday, but there was no way he’d make the early matches and it was pretty much guaranteed I’d be playing in one of the first two flights. Pairings would be announced Monday morning.“So how would you like to be Ice Queen for a day?” Lissa asked Allison. “I’m depending on you to make sure Tony settles in, gets to the right places at the right time, and wins his matches, got it?”“You’re really going to risk sending your boyfriend across the country with me?” Allison. She had called her mother’s sister Jena a week before and told her she was thinking of going to college near Philadelphia. Her aunt was ecstatic at the thought of her living with her and going to school. Janet drove almost straight through, stopping in St Louis for a full night sleep, otherwise sleeping in her car.When she got to her Aunt’s house, she was true to her word. She started taking classes at the local college and worked as a waitress when she wasn’t working. College was hard, mainly.