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which was a bummer.   The freshman with the stitches in his cheek, however, displayed his war wounds with pride.   That the kids were good-naturedly calling him Frankenstein seemed to be the crowning glory of an unnerving morning.
    Sara was filled with joy. The girls in this school seemed more than willing to be friends, and the fact that Nate already acted interested in her broke the ice that might have formed had Sara been on her own. Although both Chloe and Nate were bookish and a little more hip than their counter-parts, they were not ostracized. Indeed, Chloe’s outlandish hairdo and puckish grin drew people in like flies to honey.
    Although Nate seemed oblivious of his own charms, Sara could tell that some of the girls were a little envious, if not surprised that Nate was drawn to Sara. It was as though the other teens sensed, instinctively, that the two young people were a perfect match, and belonged together.
     
    Sara and Chloe ate French fries with gravy, and visited with the kids until the cook (and owner) finally said it was closing time. Although there was no damage to the restaurant from the earthquake, the bread truck was unable to complete its rounds. So, instead of closing at 11:00, as usual, he was forced to close the doors at 9:00 to ensure that there were adequate supplies for the breakfast crowd.
    Sara was sorry to see the night end, but she wanted to be home when Thomas arrived, so she picked up her backpack and waved goodbye. Chloe smiled and called out, “Hey, I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
    Nodding, Sara left the café and started walking the mile and a half home. Thomas had promised to buy her a car before school started in the fall, but, for now, she was just as happy to walk, especially since it was a beautiful evening and she felt fat and full from the fries and gravy she and Chloe had eaten.
     
    She thought about Nate as she made her way home in the dusk. Although the sun had set about a half hour earlier, there were streaks of pink and lavender in the velvet twilight sky, a sky that was just as blue, just as brilliant as Nate’s eyes. He was busy with dishes and bussing tables while she sat and visited with Chloe and the other students, but she saw how he stopped what he was doing, occasionally, to glance her way and she couldn’t help but notice how his smile lit up his whole face.
    His long, dark hair was glossy, and his lithe young body hinted at what he would become as he matured… tall, graceful and strong.
    Sara realized that for the first time, in a long time, she was at peace. Her dad was finally recovering from the loss of his wife and she had already begun to make friends. In addition, there was Nate… maybe, she thought, things will work out for us here.
    She saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned to stare into the tall grass by the side of the road.
    “Murraow!”
    It was that scruffy old cat again. Sara frowned and said, “Shoo”, but the cat seemed to grin, eyeing her speculatively from the opposite side of the road.
    Rolling her eyes, Sara kept walking. From the looks of it, the cat seemed wild and somewhat lonely, as if he had belonged to a family once and remembered the kindness of people, although it had chosen to go its own way for some reason.
    She tried to ignore the feline as it suddenly darted across the road and marched ahead of her with its tail held straight up in the air like a backward question mark.
    “Murraow!” It stopped, turned around and sat down directly in her path.
    Sara slowed and repeated, “Shoo, kitty. You’re starting to freak me out!”
    Suddenly, Sara cringed as a bird cried out overhead. “Caw!”
    She stared up into the branches of a tall pine tree, but it was too dark to see anything. Shrugging, Sara started to move forward, but stopped. The cat was stalking her now, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the look in its eyes. Some errant beam of light illuminated the cat’s golden orbs, and the intelligence she