“Hi Cyn ... where you been? Thought I’d see you before PhysEd.” Cyndi pulled her off and to the side, looking around “What is going on with yo...? People are talking ... and saying a lot of ... bad stuff...”Niki was at a loss, she was not sure what to say, or even how to say anything about what had happened to her, nor why folks might be saying stuff. “I dunno” she lied. “Maybe Sam told stories, you know he was pissed that I would not, you know, give him a blow job after the movie. He’s such a. But it had never occurred to me that I might want to. “No! I just want to ask for his help with something.”The Coincidence Fairy waved her magic wand and Michael arrived at that very moment.“Wassup, dudes!” he said, then realising I was standing there with Dennis and Dimitri, he expression changed to wariness.“I need your help,” I said. “Would you mind walking to school with me while these two keep each other company?”“I guess,” he reluctantly replied.Dennis and Dimitri set off ahead of us, but. " I will. Thank you." Good. Now let's eat."We ate while Lena and Tamara were admiring the watch."You have good taste in watches. Why don't you have one for yourself?" asked Tamara."I have several watches. The one I wear most of the time is one my mother brought me from Switzerland."I went upstairs with the girls to help them and we spent the rest of the evening organizing. I ended up going to bed while Tamara was still upstairs. I vaguely remember her snuggling up against me when she came to. The sound of a door slamming shut woke her. She sat up in the bed rubbing her eyes, noting the stench of alcohol and urine that suddenly filled the room.Lightning cracked open the skies and the glass windows illuminated the face of the man who stood towering over her. Anjali gasped and recoiled back in her bed. Her father-in-law was soaked to the skin, water dripping down his thick grey beard, which reached down to his chest.His eyes were sunken and red, and he looked like a vagrant in his.