Coach Mars cancelled field hockey practice Friday night. He told the team that since they’d beaten a rival school Tuesday and had a great week, he was letting them off the hook. Plus, it was Halloween weekend. Sarah’s phone beeped as she made her way to the parking lot. Since she no longer had practice, she’d worked an extra couple of hours after school to complete her overwhelming amount of homework. That saved her from having to squeeze it all in during her Miami trip. She checked her phone. The message was from Kurl.-Little Bunny! Hop-Hop-hopefully I will get a whole bunch of pictures of you from Miami. I’m stuck at an athletic event this weekend for Columbia, otherwise I would have gladly joined you down there. Miss you. ~KShe wished Kurl was going on the trip. Now that she’d learned Bent was trapped in his ‘man cave’ state-of-mind mode, he probably wouldn’t be very nice to her all weekend.At least he’s still cycling back and forth from A to B, she thought. He could easily push into C category and be gone forever. She stiffened. What if he already HAD reached C? Maybe that was why he was so awful today? Maybe he lost interest in her and didn’t know how to tell her? But part of her couldn’t believe it. She recalled how he’d acted so upset when he couldn’t find her in the stands at his soccer game. And how much fun he’d been hanging out with her afterwards. Could he really have shifted that quickly to not wanting her in his life anymore? Better not think about it, she scolded herself. You can’t jump to conclusions until he tells you he never wants to see you again. She felt a little better now. Pulling her keys from her bag, she looked over to her usual parking place. And stopped dead in her tracks. Her Jeep wasn’t there. It was still at home in her driveway. The HUMMER had dropped her off at school that morning. “Good grief,” Sarah mumbled. While she didn’t live that far from school, it was a far enough walk to be annoying. “Thank goodness I’m already packed for Miami,” she muttered as she began the slow trek home on foot. She’d dropped her overnight bag by the stairs that morning before she’d left. And before she’d realized how ridiculous it was to wear this outfit. She let her eyes skim over her revealing red blouse and short black skirt. She still couldn’t believe Bent had criticized her. Why would he assume she wouldn’t wear the clothes he’d picked out for her? She could almost understand his anger if she hadn’t worn them. Clearly boys didn’t think things through at all. Sarah suddenly tripped in a divot in the sidewalk. She let out a slight scream, but caught herself right in time. “Whew!” she laughed to herself. At least no one was around to witness that. She would have felt like an idiot if she’d face-planted onto the hard concrete. Imagine going to Miami with your two front teeth missing? she thought. That made her giggle to herself. Would Kurl even like her anymore if she had lost her front two teeth? Probably, though he’d make fun of her for weeks. But would Bent? Considering he had a taste for snotty, flawless models. What difference does it make what Mr. Perfect thinks? she decided. He might already NOT like you! Then again, maybe he did???She shook her head to clear it. Regardless, she wouldn’t let herself be sad. She was strong. Well, strong enough for her own sake. Whatever happened in her future, well, that’s what would happen. Maybe she’d marry Kurl? Or a guy like him? If it didn’t work out exactly the way she’d hoped…and she wouldn’t think about what she secretly hoped for…then fine, it wouldn’t. And she knew she’d still be okay. She would just keep telling herself that. A friendly sunbeam peeked out from behind a cloud. Its warm, wonderful light seemed to flow through her, encouraging her to shake away the stress and anxiety she kept bottled up. “Hello, Mr. Sun,” she giggled. “I can’t be down with you around. Thanks for checking up on me.”As she strolled along the sidewalk, happily swinging her field hockey bag in one hand and her leather purse in the other, a sleek black sports car rolled silently to the side of the road. It came to a stop several yards ahead of her. The car’s passenger door swung open. “Sarah!” Bent called.