7

Sasha

An ambulance and a fire truck finally pulled up in the school parking lot. Mrs. Hill helped guide a few people, including Ms. Midio, over to the paramedics. Then she returned to Sasha, Liam, and Ray. “Ready to get out of here, honey?”

“Is it safe to go home?” asked Sasha.

“I don’t know yet. We’re not supposed to go back until we hear from city authorities. So I figure I’ll drop you off at the community center, where they’ve got the emergency shelter set up, and then go get Jeremiah.”

Sasha glanced worriedly at Liam and Ray. Ray’s parents both worked in Davis, an hour away. Liam’s mom was all the way in Sacramento, which was almost a two-hour drive. With road damage and post-disaster traffic, it could take them all day to get back to Edson. Sasha didn’t like the idea of ditching her friends in the school parking lot. “We’ll be fine,” Ray told her, clearly reading her mind. “We can always just walk to the community center.”

“Yeah.” Liam nodded. “There should be food there, at least.”

“Why don’t I just give you boys a ride there?” asked Mrs. Hill.

Two minutes later, they were all inside the Hills’ car. Ray and Liam helped disassemble and store Sasha’s wheelchair after she transferred into the front passenger’s seat, so they were ready to go in record time.

“Thanks for this, Mrs. Hill,” said Liam as Sasha’s mom steered around the fire truck to exit the parking lot.

“No problem,” she replied.

Except, as it turned out, it was kind of a problem.

The streets were in bad shape. A power line lay across Holland Avenue, so Mrs. Hill had to detour to Carpenter Street. But the light was out at the intersection, forcing cars to move in a nervous start-stop-look-okay-now-go dance. Fallen trees blocked part of Altatierra Street. A water main had burst on Phoenix Drive. Sasha didn’t see a lot of damage to buildings, but everything else was a mess. Twice, Mrs. Hill had to pull over to let emergency vehicles race past her.

After the fifth or sixth detour, Mrs. Hill said, “Guys, I don’t think it’s safe for me to be driving at this point. I’m not sure I can get us all the way to the community center. I’ll be lucky if I get as far as our house.”

They did get as far as the Hills’ house, and it didn’t seem damaged: no broken windows, no obvious missing pieces. Sasha and the boys stayed in the car while Mrs. Hill checked it out. When she came back, she reported, “Nothing’s on fire. I didn’t smell gas. And the walls and ceiling seem stable—and if they’re not, I’ll sue that contractor. I think we’d better call it quits and stay here.”

“That’s fine, Mrs. Hill,” said Ray quickly. “Liam and I can walk the rest of the way to the community center. You’ve gotten us a lot closer, at least.”

“You’re welcome to hang out at our house until things settle down a little,” Mrs. Hill offered.

“Thanks, but we wouldn’t want to be in the way,” Ray said. “I’m sure you’ll have a lot of cleanup to do.”

“Can you stop by Harper’s house on your way to the community center?” Sasha asked the boys. “Just to make sure she’s all right? Since none of us have heard back from her.”

Liam nodded. “Definitely.”

Mrs. Hill was frowning, but she said, “All right. Just be careful. Can you send Sasha a message when you get to the community center so we know everything’s all right?”

“For sure,” said Ray.

“Couldn’t I go with them?” Sasha asked her mom. “At least as far as Harper’s? Just to—”

“Absolutely not!” said Mrs. Hill. “The sidewalks will be a warzone.”

Sasha knew this was completely reasonable. But she was also tempted to curl her hands into fists and punch her legs. It wasn’t as if she’d feel anything if she did.

“I could use my mountain bike wheels . . . ” For her last birthday, her uncle had gotten her a pair of hardcore shock-absorbing tires. Compared to her usual tires, they were way sturdier and less likely to puncture. Sasha used them for most of her outdoor activities now.

“Still no,” said her mother firmly. “There’ll be aftershocks. And I need your help getting the house back in shape.”

Sasha bit the inside of her cheek. Her family was really good about not telling her to sit in a corner and rest. They encouraged her to be independent. And like her friends, they treated her like part of a team, not like someone who had to be helped and protected all the time. But still—I need your help getting the house back in shape? How was she supposed to take that seriously? As if sweeping the kitchen floor was on par with confirming someone’s safety.

“Message me as soon as you get to Harper’s,” she told Liam and Ray. “I’ll feel a lot better once I know she’s okay.”

“We all will,” said Liam grimly.