Helen cut him off at the pass. ?I?m fine! Really. I don?t want to
talk to Dr. Cunningham, I don?t want drugs. I just want to go inside
and eat,? she said in a rush. She got out of the Jeep.
Her father watched her with a small smile as she plucked her
heavy, old-fashioned bike off the rack on the back of the Jeep and
placed it on the ground. She rang the bell on her handlebar jauntily
and gave her dad a grin.
?See, I?m just peachy,? she said.
?If you knew how hard what you just did would be for an average
girl your age, you?d get what I?m saying. You aren?t average, Helen.
You try to come off that way, but you?re not. You?re like her,? he
said, his voice drifting off.
19/395
For the thousandth time Helen cursed the mother she didn?t remember
for breaking her father?s sweet heart. How could anyone
leave such a good guy without so much as a good-bye? Without so
much as a photo to remember her by?
?You win! I?m not average, I?m special?just like everyone else,?
Helen teased, anxious to cheer him up. She nudged him with her
hip as she walked past him, wheeling her bike into the garage.
?Now, what is there to eat? I?m starving, and it?s your week to be
kitchen slave.?
20/395
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF?NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
.....................................................................
Chapter Two
Still without her own car, Helen had to ride her bike to
school the next morning. Normally at a quarter to eight, it
would be cool out, even a little chilly with the wind blowing