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sat there, and where pathways and gardens used to be evident,
nature eventually blurred the outlined edges and took the land
back. One part of the land had been dedicated to growing pine
trees, because besides processing olive oil and walnut oil from the
vast walnut orchards to the south, they also collected and sold
freshly roasted pine nuts. Michelle knew the place pretty well,
because during mushroom time of the year everyone would go picking
the golden yellow fungi that would sprout out at the bases of the
tree trunks after the first rains of the season.
     
    Michelle and Samantha sat in the car looking
at a large sign that said “Danger! Private Property Under
Construction! Do Not Enter!” But as they saw all the activity that
was taking place beyond the chain-link fence, the girls’ curiosity
got the best of them and they decided to step out of the car to get
a closer look. There were green tarps stretched along the fence,
but Michelle found a hole large enough to peek through. Inside, she
saw large slabs of foundation with rebar and large steel framings.
Even to somebody like her who had no experience in the construction
industry, it was quite obvious that whatever structure was being
built there, it was going to be beyond huge.
     
    Later on that evening during dinnertime,
Michelle asked her father if he knew something about the new
construction site. Although she had her own theories of what was
going on there, she was curious to see if she was right. In a
serious tone her dad revealed that her thoughts were correct. “Yes,
that is where the new school is being built.”
    Michelle's mother didn't take the news too
favorably. She tried to suppress her emotion, but it was obvious
that it was hard for her to swallow the food that was in her mouth
before commenting flatly, “I'm really surprised that nobody told us
about the construction before it began.”
    “Well honey,” said her father, “they didn't
let us know until about a week ago. Didn't I tell you?”
    “Well, I guess I forgot about such a
non-event…”
    Michelle could sense that this line of
conversation wasn’t going to end anytime soon, so she excused
herself and went upstairs to her room. She called Samantha
immediately. “Samantha! I was right! That’s where the new school is
being built!” Samantha had to think about that for a while before
she let Michelle know that she wasn't sure how she felt about the
school being so close to their homes. After all, all somebody would
have to do would be to cross the narrow woods and climb right into
their backyards. Michelle knew that Samantha was reacting in that
way because that's how her mother would react, and when it came to
her fears, she was just projecting. Samantha's mother was someone
that wore the title of 'Nervous Nelly’ to perfection. But once she
hung up the phone, Michelle started to wonder what the
ramifications would be if she were wrong and those new kids were
more disturbed than anyone in town had been led to believe. Her
mind started churning with all kinds of bad scenarios, and
eventually she got mad at herself because a whole hour had passed
and she was supposed to be doing homework and studying for another
test in Italian.

    Every time Michelle thought about that class
she got sick in her stomach. She had never had such a feeling about
anything before, even if she wasn't doing too well at school. This
year, she put a lot of pressure on herself to do well, and being so
far behind in Italian was spiraling out of control. This foreboding
started affecting Michelle at school very negatively. On the days
that she had her Italian class she felt agitated and depressed. And
right before the class, she would get sweaty palms and her heart
rate would go up to the point where she felt dizzy. There was one
mean kid in her class that obviously sensed her weak energy and
started picking on her. First it was just a mean look. But later,
he even threw crumpled pieces of paper at her, and when