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Miss Ahtly forward, waiti

ng Every student turned to look at Katie

She felt Savannah's hand on her bent elbow and knew her sister was trying to co; not now She was too cold to feel even the er warmth of Savannah's touch

She sed thickly and forced her gaze doard

The yellowed pages blurred before her eyes She blinked rapidly, swiped the moisture from her eyes

You can do it this time You can

She stared hard at the first word: h-T-e

Panic sucked at her, made her heartbeat thud in her ears h-T-e m-n-a h-a-s a n-e-p

She mouthed the first word, but knew before the effort that it was no word at all She tried again, focusing on each letter

Kids started whispering The sound of laughter penetrated her concentration She kneas probably all in her iination?Savannah had told her that a dozen ti sounded so real So close

She jerked her head up and stared wildly around Countless eyes stared back at her Sally Burman's skinny lips were curved in a triumphant smile

Katie lurched unsteadily to her feet and whirled away from the wobbly desk Tears of shame and frustration coursed down her face and burrowed into her mouth They felt warm and wet and salty Like failure "Katie!"

She ignored her sister's call and ran as fast as she could Blasting through the door, she hurtled down the creaking steps and kept running

Savannah scooped up the books strewn across her desk and stood up "I'll go get her, Miss Ames"

"Me, too!"