I am in my senior year of high school again (already a nightmare!) and am in charge of organizing freshman track and field. The high school building looks like an abandoned, old stone building. Half the building is fallen apart so you can see both the first and second floors from the outside. There is an elevator that works with a bright red runner rug leading to it.
I see a group of freshman and try to corral them to the track. They don't want to listen to me and I tell them I'll carry all their track and field supplies, if they just listen to me. They laugh and make fun of me and I roll my eyes at them. I ask them if they treat their parents like this! Again, they laugh. But I can tell they are making their way to the track so I guess that's good. I ask Michelle if she'll help me carry all the supplies and she tells me she is in the cafeteria. I take the elevator down and have to cross a flowing creek. The water is down right now so koi fish are gasping for air amongst the reeds. It upsets me but my demeanor instantly changes when I see Michelle!
Michelle gives me an awkward wave. It seems as though we haven't seen each other in a while. I mention the koi fish to Michelle and she says her dad might know about it. She leads me into a fancy French-style home. We go up to a loft where I see a bed with mint and purple bedding. The walls are also a mint green. I ask Michelle if this is her new room and she nods. I feel uncomfortable but don't want to leave Michelle. A woman who looks to be about Marie's age knocks and walks in. She asks Michelle who I am and gets taken aback when Michelle says I was once her sister. A man walks in who looks very similar to the dad of my high school friend AH. He tells me it's best if I leave. I understand these to be her adoptive parents.
Robert meets me outside and can tell I'm upset. I tell him that I never understood why Michelle left us for another family in the first place. My parents never explained it to me. As we're walking I get a phone call. It's Michelle's adoptive mother. She tells me she's contacting Marie and Otis but we need to get there asap. I begin crying knowing it's bad news. Robert tells me I have to go, but I beg him to take me home. I tell him I can't go back there because I don't want to know what the outcome is. Robert sits me down and explains why Michelle left so long ago (I guess Marie and Otis had asked him about it). He tells me Michelle has peripheral neuropathy and it caused severe psychosis that specialists needed to take care of otherwise she could go insane and take her own life (scary, but peripheral neuropathy doesn't do this as far as I know?). I know this means the worst for Michelle. We find out she tried to take her own life after I left and almost succeeded. I burst into tears. Her boyfriend doesn't know about it yet. Marie says we need to go out to dinner with him so he doesn't cause a scene. Marie, Otis, Robert and I meet her boyfriend, Michael at a restaurant. As soon as I see Michael I begin crying again. Marie tells me to keep it together. I tell her every time I think about Michelle, I cry. Otis scolds me and tells me I'm being selfish.
I sit next to Michael and slip him a small torn piece of notebook paper with "what do you know about Michelle right now" written on it. Marie catches me and tells him not to listen to me.
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