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To save money, Alix and Laurel cos down to the Laundromat It was Alix’s turn to deal with the laundry and she hated it, which was one reason she went there early MondayShe’d feel like a success if one day she was rich enough to afford her oasher and dryer

Sitting on the hard plastic chair, she reached for a azine The date on the issue of People was Christo and Alix set it aside once she realized she’d read it on her previous visit In fact, she’d read everything the Laundro her ars and closed her eyes She sht about Jacqueline Her friendto try on a knit dress One look at the price tag and she’d nearly passed out That dress and sweater combination cost over a thousand bucks A thousand bucks for a dress? That was crazy!

Her experience at the hairdresser’s had been even worse The French wo Alix said She had her own ideas of what needed to be done and simply dismissed Alix’s instructions By the time Desiree, or whatever her name was, had finished, Alix was ready to scream To be fair, her hair did look fairly decent--if she’d wanted to reseet it styled the way she liked it after Desiree had snipped off so much with those fancy scissors

Alix didn’t mean to sound unappreciative; Jacqueline had wanted to do sorateful, especially since her friend was footing the bill But Jacqueline’s efforts had backfired She just didn’t understand Alix’s taste, and Alix wasn’t letting the other wohter note, Carol was back at A Good Yarn this past Friday and--surprisingly--in a great mood Everyone had been worried about her after the news of her , to say She wanted Carol to know she was sorry, but at the sa up a painful subject in case Carol wasn’t ready to talk about it Jacqueline and Lydia obviously felt the same way

Then Carol had arrived for class as cheerful as ever, and Alix was stunned Everyone was Carol see would be able to adopt a baby Alix was full of questions, but when the others didn’t ask anything, she took the hint and didn’t either Carol hadn’t provided any details, so they all pretended everything was fine Alix worried that Carol was in denial or caught up in soing, but frankly she was concerned

Carol wasn’t the only one in the group Alix was concerned about So with Lydia She just wasn’t herself, acting subdued and withdraalking around in a fog Jacqueline had noticed it, too At first Alix assuuy she’d been so keen on all summer That could be it, but she was doubtful When questioned, Lydia clai was fine, but Alix didn’t need a psychic to see that things were definitely off kilter

And Laurel…Laurel was even worse than before Having a roommate was a mistake, but they were stuck with each other For the past threeshe was being helpful, Alix gave her a tabloid with big headlines about aher in the face Alix had avoided her roo at the video store She’d quit the week before and taken a job at a day care center as an assistant, whichup spilled juice and putting away Lego blocks She hadn’t taken courses or anything But Laurel didn’t seem to like that job any better

The washing ot up from the chair and dumped the clean clothes into the plastic basket She was ready to bring the load to the dryer, but when she turned around she nearly bumped into Jordan Turner

She hadn’t seen Jordan since their disagree a fool of herself she didn’t expect a second chance with hiive her a fashion makeover was in the hopes that Jordan would notice the difference, that it ive him an excuse to talk to her She should’ve knohat to expect Everything she’d ever done to improve her life had ended in this saht that was you" He studied her hair "I like the new style Nice color"

"You do?" Alix couldn’t uns the construction guys used "This is my natural color Well, almost, from what I remember" Until Jordan’s comment, she’d always viewed her hair as uess we should talk," he said

She shrugged, too nervous to speak

"Have you got a e wall dryer and du the coins, she waited a mo him

He sat at the table used to fold clothes It was early in the day and the Laundromat wasn’t busy yet By ten it would fill up Alix preferred to avoid the more crowded times, when kids ran around out of control and people squabbled over whose turn it was for the dryers

She lowered her head, struggling to find the words to apologize

"I heard what you did," Jordan said

Alix frowned as she tried to figure out what hehouse"

"Oh" Alix had nearly forgotten that "Yeah, well, she wanted out but didn’t want to admit it"

"Lori’s a troubled kid"

"Who isn’t?" She didn’t mean to sound flippant, but it was an honest response All teenagers seeh a period when they were convinced the world was out to get them The only defense available was to lash back Her own rebellion had led her down several dark paths, and in retrospect, she wished there’d been so house

"Lori asked rateful for what you did"

That wasn’t the way Alix rerateful, too," Jordan said

She nodded dis in that house with those aze

"I know that"

Jordan refused to release her eyes "Are drugs a problery, and she would have snapped back a retort, but she sed her outrage It was a fair question, since she’d voluntarily walked into a drug house "Not anymore I’ve used in the past, but these days I don’t"

He nodded, taking her word for it

"I suppose I should apologize," she said in as offhand aJordan standing in the church with that perfect all-Aht to feel the things she did, but that didn’t seem to matter In her heart she viewed Jordan as hers The red-hot suspicions that burned through her were too consunore, so she’d reverted to a tiain

It wasn’t Lori who should be grateful, but Alix The girl’s danger had brought her back

"Apology accepted" Jordan grinned at her