1. Chapter 1 (2/2)

other murdered their parents?" she finishes for me.

"exactly," i hug her again. "let's go inside, 'kay?"

"okay."

when we step inside, ellie heads upstairs. it's only 7 pm, but she deserves the extra sleep after what happened tonight. i head back to the kitchen to finish the dishes, but i find rachel finishing them for me. "oh, thank you, rachel, you're the best!"

"it's nothing," she insists, but i know it's not. rachel hates doing dishes more than i do. i leave the kitchen and go to the gathering room. we do something here every friday night. sometimes it's a skit, sometimes a game show, sometimes a concert. always done by michael, nick, ethan, melani, rachel, me, and a few volunteers from the audience. i find ethan, michael, and melani already there.

"nick went to gather the kids," melani lets me know. about 3 minute later, rachel and nick join us at the front of the room as the kids file in. when they're all seated, ethan steps forward and pulls a fake microphone to his mouth. "hello, folks! it's time for the most entertaining game show within a 10 foot radius! yep, you guessed it . . . we're playing trivial triviaaa! our contestants tonight will be mark, lily, steven, emily, and hannah!"

trivial trivia is kind of dumb, but its lameness is what makes so great. most of the questions are things like "what is michael's favorite color?" or "how often does rachel

ush her teeth?" with a few questions about history thrown in for variety. (blue and 3 times a day, in case you were wondering)

"so, hannah, you're up first! your question is: what is allysa's favorite chore here at the orphanage?"

"umm . . . working in the garden?" she guesses.

"that is correct!" ethan exclaims. i grin. he's so hilariously over-the-top with theses things. i bet he'll actually host a game show someday. or maybe he'll replace millon faydaye as . . . royal announcer person? huh. i don't actually know millon's official title.

"alright, steven, you're up! so tell me: how long ago did sarah and daniel found this lovely establishment?

"16 years ago,"steven answers confidently, but, unfortunately, incorrectly.

"oh, so close!" ethan says. "sorry, steven, but the correct answer is 15 years. better luck next time!"and it goes like that for another hour, until we finally call it a night and send the kids to bed. ethan thanks all the participants for competing and hands a cheap plastic trophy to mark, who beat hannah by a single point.

"uh, ethan?" mark says, "this is for girls' soccer."

"look, it's the only trophy we had, okay?"

"whatever," mark laughs a little bit. "i always wanted to be a girls' soccer champion, anyway." he shrugs.

"well, you haven't achieved that goal, yet, boo," melani points out. "because that trophy's just for participation."

"oh, come on!" mark pretends to be really upset and stomps upstairs. we all laugh. normally, i'd stay downstairs and hang out with everyone, but i'm really tired, and i want to check on ellie, so i say "guys, i'm going to bed, now, okay?" i get a chorus of "goodnight"s and "sleep well"s and a hug from everyone. we're all really close, in case you hadn't guessed. when i get to michael, i put my hands on his hips, lean up a little, and press my lips against his. he kisses me back, and it's pure and sweet and gentle and a thousand other words that mean wonderful. "goodnight, michael," i whisper in his ear. "i love you."

"i love you, too," he says. "more than you know." i kiss him one more time, on the cheek this time, and then head upstairs. behind me i hear nick say, "dang, you've been dating for two years already; are you ever gonna stop doing that?"

"never," michael says.

"never," i repeat to myself.