【正文】
loser to than anyone else on the pla, was never in harmony with me, never on exactly the same page. Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain. But the cause didn39。t matter. All that mattered was the effect. And tomorrow would be just the beginning. I didn39。t sleep well that night, even after I was done crying. The constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof wouldn39。t fade into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head, and later added the pillow, too. But I couldn39。t fall asleep until after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle. Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here。 it was like a cage. Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me. Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabis, and white linoleum floor. Nothing was changed. My mother had painted the cabis eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchiefsized family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by the procession of my school pictures up to last year39。s. Those were embarrassing to look at — I would have to see what I could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least while I was living here. It was impossible, being in this house, not to realize that Charlie had never gotten over my mom. It made me unfortable. I didn39。t want to be too early to school, but I couldn39。t stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket — which had the feel of a biohazard suit —and headed out into the rain. It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eaves by the door, and locked up. The sloshing of my new w