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Cass

"Oh ht your entire life fro two extra bags, as well asthe ay toward our doret to be e says, prancing ahead of s She’s a full minute older, but you’d think years separated us with the authority she holds over e’s choices narrowed down to Berkley and McConnell, and Berkley was definitely her preference But for me, it was always McConnell, and only McConnell They had the best sports and rehab-ram in the country, and that’s what I wanted to do--what I was destined to do Butthousands of miles aithout someone around to keep an eye on me Supervision--the word made my skin crawl, I had heard it so often Supervision andords bandied about so often--in conversations about me, but never in conversations with me God, hoished just once someone threw in the word normal

So, as much of a pain-in-the-ass as my sister is, she’s also a saint, because she picked McConnell…and I’m the only reason for that I owe her--I owe her e starts as soon as we get our bags, mostly hers, loaded into our dor to rush a sorority Mom and Dad don’t need to know that I won’t technically be living with you"

"Works foropen the lid on e’s purse abruptly sla the spot where the leather strap smacked my bare skin

"The least you could do is pretend to , her frown showing she’s a little hurt

"Oh, Paigey, I’ll miss you I just hate that you have to be my babysitter--still!" And I do hate it I think that’s the worst part about being a teenager withto go wrong

It started in the et this pain in o, weeks between each occurrence When I couldn’t ignore it any longer, I told my parents, and ent to the eye doctor My vision was fine He told the in soccer leaving nosis It was also coain, easily summed up with too much soccer practice, which, of course, led to truly uncoI just "need hts that I hid the tingling from them That went on for months, until it was summer Then one day, I couldn’t walk

I could stand froet to my feet, but that was it The second I atte et dressed I wobbled and fell I felt like the town drunk without the benefit of the booze in a paper bag I screae and my parents, and I knew by the look on their faces that my life as I kneas done

After ain--all of ician waves in front of your eyes until it isn’t there Only, just like that ician who secretly tucks the ball behind his hand, hts continued, and nosis, ot depressed My dad supported ain--of course, under strict circu pretty much sucked for the next year

It was a series ofout what side effects I could handle I also got really good at giving myself a shot--three times a week, for three years, until they came out with the pill version last year I didn’t h What I minded were the constant questions and lectures froued? You should rest; stop working so hard"

Paige never lectured Through it all, she just stayed the same True, she’s terribly self-absorbed--there were ot because of my disease--but it was more about the attention and the fact that it wasn’t on her And I liked that

We ht for it for months-- about MS It never goes away; it’s alithtrials, therapies--they can’t cure the disease; they can only slow it down Like the front line of the Pittsburgh Steelers--except nowhere near as effective Maybe more like the front line of the Miaotto let MS be a part of any conversation I’m just Cass Owens, and my story ends there