Kara and Bethane sat in terrified silence during the rest of the ride. Bethane clutched Kara's hand, which was intended to comfort Kara, but it did little more than make her even more scared.

Finally, the car pulled into the courthouse parking lot. Kara whimpered, and Bethane visibly shuddered.

"Out," the Officer grunted, handcuffing Kara and Bethanes' hands behind their backs. Kara was about to struggle, but she stopped herself. Why should she be concerned? She hadn't done anything wrong!

Still, her mind rebelliously drifted back to Bethane attacking the Officers with the pipe, and her cluelessness about it afterward. Perhaps a similar thing had happened to her, for whatever reason? Kara shook her head, dismissing the thought as ridiculous. Bethane's attack had been a freak accident.

By then, the pair had been led into the court building. Kara walked confidently into the room, to find Alice's family already seated. Alice looked quite pretty, with her blonde hair pulled back into a fancy bun. Kara thought about her own dark, straight hair, and blushed. She didn't look the part of an innocent little girl in the least.

Bethane walked briskly over to some empty chairs, and Kara sat down next to her. She nervously crossed and uncrossed her legs, wondering what would happen.

The last time she'd been here was when she was very small. It had been a custody hearing between her mother and her father over her, where it had been decided that Kara's father's financial situation was far too unstable for Kara to live with him. Her mother had been elated, even through her sickness which had been slowly gaining on her, though she hadn't had any idea. Kara had been happy as well; as much as she loved her father, she feared him.

Kara came out of her reverie when the Judge entered. He was dressed in long black robes. He was old and portly, but he didn't have any of the stereotypical jovial demeanor of fat old men. A frown was planted on his face, and he gave Kara and Bethane a very disapproving glance. He stepped up behind his desk, and cleared his throat.

"This hearing will be carried out in standard fashion, with the plaintiff giving their speech first," he said gruffly, nodding at Alice.

Rising, Alice clicked over to a platform in her impossible high heels. She wore a pink suit and skirt, and she looked very professional. She laid a notecard on the table before her, and began a well-practiced speech.

"Sir," she said, nodding to the Judge, "I am here today to tell you of a horrible crime commited by Kara Matherson, my fellow classmate. You may have heard of the disasterous fire that struck my house several days ago. You may have heard that, upon closer inspection, authorities determined the cause to be arson. You may not have heard, however, that I know exacly who did it. Kara Matherson. Her." Bethane turned, and pointed fiercely at Kara, one pink nail quivering in her direction.

"There I was," Alice continued breathlessly, "cooking in the kitchen. I had just finished making my food and I sat down, when I looked out the window into the darkening sky. There stood Kara, in the middle of my lawn, holding a burning match in her hand. She had a terrible smile on her face; it frightened me out of my wits! Then, she walked up to my house and dropped her match. I screamed because her eyes were blank and white. Then, she took a matchbox out of her pocket and lit more matches and threw them upstairs. Then, she vanished, leaving no trace of her having come. By that time, I had to run because my house was on fire!"

Alice dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, sniffling and generally making a big show of everything. Kara, however, was deep in thought. My eyes were blank and white... she thought, and shuddered. Bethane, seeing her, put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her close. Somehow comforted, Kara relaxed and listened to the Judge.

"The defendant may now speak in her defense," he said, and Kara froze. She had no idea what to say! She stood, and walked shakily over to the platform, very concious of her baggy old jeans and too-big black shirt. Brushing a few stray wisps out of her face, she did her best to look confident, and stammered out a reply.

"First of all," she began, "I am very sorry that this had to happen to Alice and her family. I wish to say that I had nothing whatsoever to do with it. I...I...I --"

Suddenly, Kara's words were no longer her own. They flowed from her mouth like a waterfall, but they had no origin in her brain. They formed just behind her lips, and flew out on wings that Kara had no control over.

"I can't believe the atrocity of her accusations," she said fiercely, startling everyone in the room. "I was home the entire time, caring for my sick mother. Add Anna Matherson to Alice's list of things you may have heard of! The first time I heard about the arson, I was watching the local news!"

Finished, Kara came back to herself. Startled and confused at her outburst, she returned to her seat, flushed and frightened. Bethane, however, raised an impressed eyebrow. Kara smiled softly, but she was screaming on the inside. Something very weird was going on. Where had those words come from? Why had Bethane attacked the Officer? Had Kara really set Alice's house on fire?

Suddenly, Kara didn't know anymore.

Meanwhile, the Judge was mulling over the evidence. "Do either of you have anything more to say about the arson on Alice's house?"

Both girls shook their heads.

"All right," the Judge replied. "I strongly suspect a rivalry between the two of you, but I cannot find any evidence in the plaintiff's statement that gives proof of the defendant's attacking her home with a lit match. I'm sorry, Alice and family, but, for lack of evidence, your case is dismissed."

Alice screamed in fury, and stormed off, kicking the chairs along the aisle. Her parents, used to always being right in their suburban community, weren't much better.

Kara, filled with relief and joy, started to get up, and the guard ignored her. However, when Bethane made to follow, the guard shouted and hit her across the shoulders with his arm. Gasping softly, Bethane sat down again, and Kara was shoved away.

"You attacked an Officer for no reason," the guard said flatly. "You're going to have to serve time for that."

Bethane gulped. "How much?" she asked, growing pale. Kara suddenly remembered that Bethane didn't remember a thing about the brutal beating she gave the officer that had taken Kara. A chill ran down Kara's spine.

"Two months for your first offense," the Officer said. "Should be more. But we can't contradict Them, now can we?"

Bethane shook her head, petrified.

"Please," Kara said, "she...I don't know what happened! It wasn't...it was...she doesn't remember a thing about it!"

"She still did it," the guard said flatly, taking Bethane's arm and dragging her along beside him. "Now git."

Kara bit her lip, and watched Bethane be dragged away.

Sighing, Kara turned and walked out of the courthouse, a strange feeling of foreboading creeping up to rest on her shoulders.



Kara could hear the laugh before she even got through the door. Groaning, Kara trudged in and flopped down on the couch, not willing to go in and see her mother yet. She just felt too sick. It was as though a period of her life was ending. She had been generally happy for the past day. That is, up until an hour ago.

"Kara?" Dr. Young called from her mother's room. "Is that you?"

"M-hm," Kara muttered, getting up and strolling over to the door. "Yes?"

"Your...your mother's home," Dr. Young stammered, expecting to see relief and delight on the girl's face. Instead, he saw an emotionless mask. Then, he remembered how many times Kara had gone through this routine before, and he shook his head sadly. It was unfortunate. Unfortunate indeed.

Ignoring Dr. Young's concerned face, Kara nodded. "I saw," she replied.

"She had one small seizure at the hospital, but nothing as major as the attack you described. We cannot find the cause, and it doesn't seem like there's anything very wrong with her, other than...."

Another awkward silence ensued, during which time Dr. Young thought of another question.

"Where's Bethane?" he asked. "I thought she was staying with you."

Kara sighed. "Well," she said, "some weird things happened." She proceeded to tell Dr. Young all about what had happened...or, at least, her version of what happened. The Officers had come to her house for no reason that was remotely logical, and had claimed that Kara set someone's house on fire. The accusations were ridiculous, but Bethane stuck up for Kara anyway, and she got landed in jail for two months. The Officers had said that Bethane had attacked them, and, since there were no witnesses, their word was trusted over Bethane's.

"That's awful!" Dr. Young said furiously. "How can I get her out?"

Kara shrugged. "There's bail," she offered.

Dr. Young nodded. "If that's what I have to do," he murmured distractedly, frowning to himself. "I just don't understand...." Sighing, he stood. "I'm very sorry, Kara," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Kara pulled away instinctually, and Dr. Young withdrew as well. "Well, again, there doesn't seem to be anything very wrong with your mother, aside from the conditions she already suffers. If she has another seizure, call me up. I gave you my phone number on the clipboard."

Kara nodded emotionlessly. She didn't feel like acting happy and relieved. She wasn't. It was the same old story, minus a few more worries on her mind. Dr. Young would vanish, and her life would return to normal.

"Thanks," Kara grunted, and Dr. Young nodded as he walked out of the room.

"Take care of yourself, Kara," the doctor called as he exited her house. "Good luck."

Kara sighed. "I'll need it," she replied to thin air, before getting up to escape the laugh.



Kara's memories of her father were few, but they were bad ones.

Kara's father was always drunk when she saw him. He would go out of the house for long periods of time, then come back even more drunk than he had been when he left. Kara's mother had always said that Jason was stressed, and that he needed time to himself so that he could feel better. Kara had not been impressed with his method for relaxation.

Some nights, Kara wouldn't be able to sleep because Jason was yelling. In a drunken stupor, he would stand in the middle of the kitchen and scream his head off over nothing, while Kara's mother cowered in a corner. One night, he had physically attacked her, or tried to, because Kara, 10, had run out crying and begged him to hurt her instead of her mother, who hadn't been feeling well lately. Jason couldn't bring himself to hurt his daughter, so he simply left, and stayed away for months.

When he came back, Kara's mother's sickness had ensued. She was bed-ridden and could barely move, she was so weak. Jason had been nearly sober, and he looked very tired and sad. Kara's eleventh birthday had been two weeks ago, and he had come to give her her gift.

"Kara," he had said, "this is from me, so that you will remember me." He had then given her a necklace, and he had hung it around her neck. It had a glistening emerald set in gold, and it hung from a gold chain. "I feel like you're meant to have it," he said. "I got it from my mother when I was your age, so I hope that you'll give it to your son or daughter someday." Remarkably, Jason walked without stumbling into Kara's mother's room. He had been in there a long time before he came out and hugged her, something he'd never done before.

"I have to go," he said, and he had had tears in his eyes. "I hope I can see you again someday." He was about to say something more when he froze, and took off running for the door. "Good bye!" he shouted, before bolting out and slamming the door behind him.

Kara got the necklace off of her neck as fast as she could, and looked for someplace where she could destroy it and never see it again. But, just as she was about to take a hammer to it, something stopped her. Though she didn't know why, Kara put down the hammer, and locked the necklace safely in a box in her room.

And there it lay, waiting for Kara to take it out again. Eventually, eventually.