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caught fire.
    The class erupted into chaos—everyone yelling at once—as Gretchen waved her flaming arm before her face. Mafer grabbed the sweater from the back of her chair and tossed it over Gretchen’s arm, then turned off the gas.
    “What happened?” Ms. Hoover ran over, shouting. “What did you do?”
    “Gretchen is going to the nurse,” Mafer announced. She took Gretchen’s other elbow and started to lead her out of the classroom. The students cleared a path for them. It flashed into Gretchen’s mind that her classmates were a little afraid of Mafer.
    “Yes. Yes, of course.” Ms. Hoover looked serious. “Okay, everybody back to work. Nobody come near this burner.”
    The noise subsided as the door to Ms. Hoover’s class shut behind them.
    “It doesn’t hurt,” Gretchen said.
    “You’re in shock.”
    Gretchen followed obediently as Mafer drew her away from the door. “Just down the hall,” Mafer said before Gretchen could ask the question. They walked to a small door, and Mafer pulled it open. A bored-looking overweight woman looked up from her desk.
    “This girl probably needs to go to the hospital,” Mafer said. “She’s got a bad burn.”
    “What?” The nurse hurried over to Gretchen. Her large hands were gentle as she pulled away the red sweater wrapped around her arm. The sleeve of her orange shirt was charred. Gingerly the nurse peeled the fabric away from Gretchen’s arm.
    The skin was pink, completely unharmed. The nurse pushed the fabric up further, and Gretchen held up her whole arm. There was no sign that the fire had ever touched her.
    Gretchen looked at Mafer, whose eyebrows lifted slightly.
    “You’re lucky,” the nurse said after a moment. “You put it out in time. It just caught your sleeve.”
    Gretchen stared at her charred sleeve. How had she escaped getting hurt?
    “So … should we just head back to class?” Mafer asked. “I mean, she was just on fire.”
    The nurse looked at her sternly. “You can go back to class. This one has to fill out an injury form.”
    Mafer put a gentle hand on Gretchen’s shoulder. When Gretchen looked up, they locked eyes for a moment. “Are you okay?”
    “I guess,” Gretchen said. She didn’t really know the answer.
    Mafer nodded. “All right. Take it easy. Go home after this. It’s just the first day—you won’t miss anything.”
    “She can’t just go home,” the nurse said primly.
    “Oh, come on.” Mafer shook her head and walked out the door.
    The nurse frowned after her, then stood up and turned toward a large black filing cabinet. “Name?”
    “Gretchen Ellis.”
    The nurse flipped to the
E
’s and pulled out a folder. She flipped it open, then frowned. “This isn’t complete.”
    “It isn’t?”
    With a snap, the nurse pulled the paperwork from the file. “Your parents forgot to fill out some of their medical history.” She handed it to Gretchen. “Please bring this back to me tomorrow, along with the signed injury report.” She sat down heavily in the office chair and pulled a blank form from a drawer.
    Gretchen looked down at the paperwork in her hands. Her mind swam, and she had to lean back on the table.
    “Are you all right?” the nurse asked.
    “Not really,” Gretchen replied.
    The nurse came over and touched Gretchen’s hair. It was a kind gesture, almost motherly, and it leftGretchen feeling tired. “Maybe you
should
go home,” the nurse said after a moment. “You’ve had a scare. Do you have a ride?”
    Gretchen nodded. She had her car. Not that she wanted to face the journey over the bridge alone, not with the howling wind outside. Besides, she didn’t want to strand Will at school. She let out a sigh. “It’s the first day,” she said at last. “I think I’ll stay.”
    “Hey.” Will smiled at her warmly and indicated the seat across from his.
    A few hours had passed, but Gretchen was still getting over her scare from the morning. It was good to see Will, though. Peace settled