I visit them again the next week, promising them that I would be there to pick them up when they get out. Today is that day. The day they are freed. Mom drives me to the jailhouse and I anxiously watch the clock face on my watch tick close to 11:30. As I do so, many different memories rush through my mind. I remember when Alex and I were young, only 7 or 8, and we were waiting for the ice cream truck to drive by.

"It's almost time, Lucy! It'll be here any minute now!" Alex said. The ice cream truck always came at the same time every third saturday, at 11:30. He held the money tightly in his hand. We were kneeling on the couch, leaning against its back and looking the window, down the street. Suddenly, I heard music. "Lucy! It's here!" I caught a glimpse of the white truck before Alex pulled me down off of the couch. We ran out the door and to the ice cream truck.

"Hello there. What kind of ice cream would you two like today?" the man asked. He had a smile on his face that spread from ear to ear. His glasses were crooked and his hair was messy, but we didn't care, or even notice. We just wanted what he had to give us. Both of us got our usuals. I got a plain vanilla ice cream cone and Alex received a chocolate popsicle. We gave the man our money and we took a walk around the block.

"Do you know what the best thing is about days like today?" Alex asked me. He moved his popsicle from his right hand to his left, so he could lick off his fingers.

The answer was obvious to me. "Ice cream," I replied. A dog barked as we passed by its house. I jumped and ran into Alex.

"It's just a dog, Lucy. There isn't anything to be scared of. As I was saying, the best thing about these days is this walk we take. It's the only time that you and I are really alone. It's the only time we can really talk to each other." Alex said.

I smile at the memory. It is one of the few I have from my childhood, and it is my favorite. The hour hand on my watch jolts to the six. 11:30, finally. I look out of my window and I see the doors open. They are all dressed in the clothes they came with. Alex is wearing a blue and white striped t-shirt with his favorite faded blue jeans. Emily is wearing a red button-up blouse with grey jeans. Danny wears an old baseball shirt, probably from a team he played in. His jeans have holes at the knees and are frayed at the bottom.

I roll down the window and I frantically wave my hand in the air, until they see me. I roll it back up and I slide to the left side of the backseat. Danny gets in first, as I suspected. He scoots into the middle, next to me, and Alex gets in next to him, leaving the front seat open for Emily, which she happily takes.

"I see that they kept your clothes for you. At least they didn't make you wear the big orange jumpers out into public," I say as Mom starts the car. I imagine Danny sitting next to me in a bright orange body suit. The image makes me laugh.

"There is no way that I would even walk out of that door with that thing on." Danny shakes his head. "I'm so happy to be out of there, though. Maybe tonight I can actually get some sleep. Has Alex always snored in his sleep? Or is this a new development?"

"I'm pretty sure that Alex has always snored. Of course, I haven't slept in the same room as him in over 15 years," I say. I lurch forward as Mom slams on the break.

"Sorry, guys.This car just got in my way and blocked my path," Mom apologizes. After the car moves out of the way, she continues down the road.

I look out the window. I see a young mother helping her little girl learn to ride a bike. Alex was the one who taught me how to ride a bike. I look over at him. He would always remind that he was there, to keep me up. He is staring out his window, thinking about something. I can tell by how his head is resting on his hand and how his knee is bouncing up and down. I turn back to mine just in time to see a squirrel that got run over by a car. Its eyes are no longer in their sockets, its jaw is open, broken. There is a pool of blood collecting by the creatures head. This accident was recent. I pull away from the window. "Why does life always have to be so, depressing?"

"Life is life, Lucy. Everything happens for a reason, even if we don't see it quite yet," Emily answers. She turns around and looks at me. "That is how it has always been." She faces front again.

I nod. "I know, but why can't everything be happy, instead of terrible and sad."

"Not everything is sad, Lucy. Think of all the fun times we have had together, doing different things. We have served others, and done it with a smile on our face. We have helped each other and wonderful things have happened because of it," Alex says.

"And think of all the bad things that have happened from those same things. You guys were sent to jail and I lost my leg. That only happened because you helped me escape." That sounded like I was blaming them. I don't want them to think that I blame them. "But don't feel bad for what you did." I hope that was enough. I look up again and I see the garage door opening. No one responds to what I said, which bothers me. Do they think that they're responsible for everything?

I sit in the car as I wait for my mother to bring my wheelchair. Danny stays next to me, frozen. "You're right, you know. If I hadn't thought up the plan to get you out, none of this would be happening right now. We would still be in school, as if nothing had happened."

"But I'd still have to be talking. That would have changed. Don't be so hard on yourself, Danny. Maybe things would have been different, maybe someone else would have found a way for me to escape. I might have lost my leg either way." I place my hand on his shoulder.

"I should probably go home now. My parents will want to see me." Danny leaves, with his head hung low.

"Danny! Please, come back!" I holler, but he doesn't return. The door next to me opens. "Mom, are boys always this stupid?" I get into my chair.

"Not always. Sometimes they are the only ones who are there for you," she says. I think back to all the times Danny has comforted me. On the morning he asked for a ride, when he helped me escape, he comforted me when I was worried about Alex. Danny may be silly at some point or another, but, who isn't? With these thoughts plaguing my head, I go to my room.

"Lucy? What's wrong?" Alex knocks on the door, but walks in anyway.

"I've made a mistake with Danny. He thinks everything is his fault. I've tried calling him, but he won't pick up. I don't know what else to do." I lay flat on my bed. "Maybe I've ruined our friendship."

"Danny will recover in a while. Just give him time. Wait for him to come to you about this, because he will, trust me." Alex crosses his arms. When he does this, it reminds me that I really can trust him. It says many things in a simple movement. I nod. "Good. Maybe you should get some sleep, to relax yourself." I nod again. "Remember that we're going back to school tomorrow."

"Uhh. Thanks for the reminder. I don't want to have to explain to everyone why I'm in a wheelchair and why I can talk suddenly."

"You'll have Danny, Emily, and I with you the whole time. You'll be just fine." Alex walks out of my room. I close my eyes.

"Lucy, there's someone here to see you," Mom tells me. My eyes peel open. I look over at my clock. 3:30. I've been sleeping for over three hours. I groan. "Don't give me that. He has come out of his way to visit you. Just come out for a moment."

"Fine." I leave the comforts of my room and I wander into the living room. I see the man standing there, talking to Alex. He looks familiar, but I can't place him anywhere, until he turns around. I see his lanyard. The principal, Dr. Elliot.

"Hello Lucy. I'm just dropping in to see how you guys are doing. Alex told me that you're coming back to school tomorrow." He seems too enthusiastic. I nod. "You can talk to me, Lucy. Besides, everyone at school knows about your secret. Everyone knows that you can actually talk."

My heart pounds. Everyone knows? I guess it'll make my life easier tomorrow. No one will be surprised that I can talk. Now I'm afraid that everyone will judge me even more than they did before, now that I'm in a wheelchair. "Oh." What else is there to say? I don't know if I'm happy or sad right now.

"Well, I need to be on my way now. I want the four of you in my office tomorrow before you go to class, is that okay? So be here well before school starts," Dr. Elliot says. He walks out leaving Alex and I in silence.

"Maybe tomorrow will be easier than I thought. I mean, if everyone has been talking about us, we won't have to do any explaining. Everyone already knows," Alex says.

"But everyone will have to adjust around me. My whole day will be different. I can no longer take the stairs. I'll have to actually talk to people. I'm not good at that. I don't know what tone to use with teachers versus classmates. Everything has changed." I turn down the hallway. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe tomorrow will be easy. I shut the door to my room.

I stay in my room until I have to leave. Until school the next day. Danny drives with us to school again today. We're leaving early, just like Dr. Elliot had asked. "What do you think he'll say to us?" I ask.

"Maybe he will simply tell us things. Give us the homework we've missed then send us on our way." Emily shrugs.

"I think it'll be more in depth than that. I don't know what it is yet, but he's going to tell us something important," Danny says.

"I feel like he wouldn't just give us our homework and let us live our lives peacefully. There has to be something else." Alex says as we pull up in front of the school. Danny gets out and he comes back with my wheelchair. I smile at him before I get in.

"Are you ready to be back, Lucy?" Danny asks. He pushes me toward the school.

"No," I tell him. "I'm not ready to come back. Not after everything that has happened. Now everyone is going to stare at us where ever we go."

"Don't be so dramatic. I'm sure no one will even notice us walking in." Danny holds the door open for me as we enter the school. "Or maybe not." I look around and all eyes are on the four of us, but mainly on me. The room slowly falls silent. I feel like I'm in a circus and we're the main event. As if we're from some foreign planet.

"Just get to the office," I say. Danny obeys. I keep my head down as a path is cleared for us. The trail never ends. I don't think I'll make it to the office. But I do. As the door closes behind us, I hear my classmates start whispering. I hear my name. The door clicks into place.

"Welcome back, students. Dr. Elliot's office is right in there." The secretary points to an open door. Alex anxiously takes the first step. The rest of us follow.

We enter the small room. It smells of oatmeal and shaving cream, not a very pleasant mixture. The walls are covered with inspirational messages like, 'You can do it!' and 'There is no I in team.' There is one desk and a chair. There are a few pictures on the desk, but they're facing away from us so I can't tell what they are. Dr. Elliot stands with his back to us, looking out a small window, onto the courtyard. He turns around.

"Hello kids. I'm glad you made it. I just have a few things to say. First, all of your schedules have been rearranged, so you are all together. I had to sacrifice a few of your electives to do this." Mr. Elliot hands Alex a paper. "Secondly, you won't have to make up your homework, consider this my treat. And finally, if you ever need to talk about anything, I will always be available to help you."

"Thank you, Dr. Elliot," Danny says. He's always being polite, no matter if we are facing friend or foe. "I guess we better be on our way." Danny turns me around and we leave the office. "What's our first class, Alex?"

"Umm." Alex quickly unfolds the paper and his eyes scan the words. "English with Mr. Thomas." Danny and I both groan. I'm glad I'm the only one who doesn't like him. "What?"

"He's not the most normal teacher ever. He's... interesting,"Danny replies. "Plus, Lucy and I had him before, in the same period, so everyone there knows us. It'll be an awkward reunion."

No one else says anything the rest of the way to the class. As we enter line of sight to the class room, Mr. Thomas sees us. He stands. The look he gives us makes me tense. I clench my fist and my back straightens. I take a deep breath.

"Welcome back," Mr. Thomas says as we walk in. Not even Danny says anything. "You four are sitting here." He points to four desks in the middle of the classroom. We each pick a seat. Danny sits in front of me, Alex is to my left, and Emily is at my diagonal.

The person to my right, Molly, insults me. Danny turns to me. "Lucy, look at me." I lift my eyes off my desk and they find his. "You need to ignore them. The sooner you do, the sooner they'll stop. Understand?" I nod. My eyes stay on his.

Molly laughs. "How weird that Danny of all people would be the one calming Broken. The same Danny who used to insult her the most." Her group, The Queens, as everyone calls them, laughs with her.

I close my eyes. Two things she said strike me. I haven't heard the name of Broken in a long time. And I don't want to be reminded of who Danny used to be. I've forgiven him. Danny covers my hands with one of his, but he doesn't say anything to comfort me. Instead he rubs the back of my hand, which is better than any words he could have said.

"Welcome to class. We have 2 new students and 2 returning classmates here today. Each of them is going to stand up, even our returning classmates, and they'll tell us about themselves." Mr. Thomas waves us up.

"Do we have to stand?" Danny asks. He's thinking the same thing I am. I don't know if I can stand, I haven't tried.

"Yes."

I sit in fear as Alex and Emily introduce themselves. When Danny stands, I wake from my trance. I'm next. "I'm Danny. Everyone knows who I am." He looks over at his friends. They smile at him, in a way that I can't interpret. Danny sits down.

My turn. I force myself to lift off the chair. All my weight is on my left leg, but my prosthetic is touching the ground. My left leg hurts under the pressure. I start shaking. "I'm Lucy. And no one knows me." My leg can't hold me anymore so I quickly sit down. Danny gives me a concerned look. I give him a faint smile in return. My breaths are shallow and I'm still shaking. I put my arms on the desk and I rest my head on them. Danny touches my arm.

Mr. Thomas starts teaching the lesson and Danny whispers to me, "Are you okay?"

I look up. "I don't know. My leg is killing me and I can't stop shaking." I lift my hand up to prove my point. He grabs it and pulls it back down.

"Just relax." Danny releases my hand.

"Mr. Miller. You just earned yourself and Lucy a trip to my desk after class." Mr. Thomas keeps talking. Danny turns around. If I don't have him to comfort me, I'm going to lose it. My shaking gets worse. I ignore Mr. Thomas for the whole class period, I focus on my breathing.

"Tell me, why you two were talking while I was teaching my lesson?" Mr. Thomas asks after class.

"I was just comforting her after you made her stand up. I suppose you didn't know that she hasn't stood up since she lost her leg until you just made her." Danny crosses his arms. I keep my mouth shut.

"No, I didn't know that. I guess I owe both of you an apology. I'm sorry. I should've known better and I shouldn't have just assumed that you could stand. You may leave." Mr. Thomas keeps his eyes down as we leave the room.

"Are you okay now, Lucy? Are you still shaking?" Danny asks. He turns a corner.

"A little, but I'll be fine. It was just the stress of standing. Don't worry about it," I say to assure him.

"I never stop worrying about you. It's kind of a problem."

"I'm not a little girl, Danny. I can take care of myself. I don't always need someone looking out for me," I say, which isn't entirely true. I like knowing that someone always has my back.

"I know you are, but there's nothing you could do to keep me away," Danny says. We turn another corner and I see Alex and Emily waiting by our next class, US History, just like we told them to.

"What did he say to you? Are you in trouble?" Emily asks.

"We're fine. We told him the truth and he backed off. I bet the way that Danny was looking at him helped, though," I laugh.

Danny rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah." He lets out a nervous chuckle. We walk into class together, and we stay that way for the rest of the day.