‘Nothing’ is my bet, if she’s as smart as Daniella thinks. She’ll lick her wounds, and plot.”“And if you’re wrong about that?” Lori as...ed.“Life will get even more interesting.”MagdaThe ride back to Chorale South felt like defeat.“I really thought more people would be interested in our new school proposal.”“Give it time, sweetheart,” Margaret said. “You made a good pitch-”“Which you helped immensely,” Magda said.“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. We’ll see. No matter what you said, you weren’t going. I'd have to take it easy on that so I didn't open up the wound. My left foot felt dead. I mean, it wasn't numb, it wasn't the normal feeling of no feeling, it wasn't asleep, there was more nothingness there. I rolled over and crawled to the nearest tree. There was a stick on the ground that looked like it would work as a crutch. It even had a bend at the top so I could rest it under my shoulder. I used it and the trunk to get to my knees, then I watered the ground. It seemed to go on forever.I. I looked at the clock on the table and it said 6:01, so I went back into the main room to wait for Bryce. I got the newspaper off the top of the desk and started skimming the movie listings. I didn’t really find anything interesting so I waited for my wife to come out to let her choose. At around 10-after, she appeared and looked absolutely stunning. Over the undergarments I had already seen, she was wearing this erotic short grey dress that reached half-way down her thighs. This was nothing. The sheltered teen stared outside, like she had the past few days, waiting to see if the mailman would stop in front of their mailbox.Because finally, after so many years, she had finished all her homeschool coursework. Even after her father left, even when her mom had to go back to work to support them and couldn't help her with it, the girl had muddled through. And finally, after so many years, she was done. Finally... after so many years... she had graduated high school. All she needed now.