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bus would be a bus full of Samsons. Wonderful. She had already considered the possibility of sneaking onto another bus, but the bar codes on their waistbands make that an impossibility. It’s all perfectly organized, and foolproof. Still, Risa occupies her mind with all the scenarios that could lead to escape.
    That’s when she sees the commotion out of her window. It’s farther up the road. Squad cars are on the other side of the freeway, and as the bus changes lanes, she sees two figures in the road: two kids racing across traffic. One kid has the otherin a chokehold and is practically dragging him. And both of them have run right in front of the bus.
    Risa’s head is slammed against the window as the bus suddenly pulls to the right to avoid the two kids. The bus fills with gasps and screams, and Risa is thrown forward, down the aisle, as the bus comes to a sudden, jarring stop. Her hip is hurt, but not bad. It’s just a bruise. She gets up, quickly taking stock of the situation. The bus leans sideways. It’s off the road, in a ditch. The windshield is smashed, and it’s covered with blood. Lots of it.
    Kids around her all check themselves. Like her, no one is badly hurt, although some are making more of a fuss than others. The chaperone tries to calm down one girl who’s hysterical.
    And in this chaos, Risa has a sudden realization.
    This is not part of the plan.
    The system might have a million contingencies for state wards trying to screw with things, but they don’t have a plan of action for dealing with an accident. For the next few seconds, all bets are off.
    Risa fixes her eyes on the front door of the bus, holds her breath, and races toward that door.

3 • Lev
    The party is big, the party is expensive, the party has been planned for years.
    There are at least two hundred people in the country club’s grand ballroom. Lev got to pick the band, he got to choose the food—he even got to select the color of the linens: red and white—for the Cincinnati Reds—and his name, Levi Jedediah Calder, is stamped in gold on the silk napkins for people to take home as a remembrance.
    This party is all for him. It’s all about him. And he’s determined to have the best time of his life.
    The adults at the party are relatives, friends of the family, his parents’ business associates—but at least eighty of the guests are Lev’s friends. There are kids from school, from church, and from the various sports teams he’s been on. Some of his friends had felt funny about coming of course.
    â€œI don’t know, Lev,” they had said, “it’s kind of weird. I mean, what kind of present am I supposed to bring?”
    â€œYou don’t have to bring anything,” Lev had told them. “There are no presents at a tithing party. Just come and have a good time. I know I will.”
    And he does.
    He asks every girl he invited to dance, and not a single one turns him down. He even has people lift him up in a chair and dance with him around the room, because he had seen them do that at a Jewish friend’s bar mitzvah. True, this is a very different kind of party, but it’s also a celebration of him turning thirteen, so he deserves to get lifted up in a chair too, doesn’t he?
    Lev finds that the dinner is served far too soon. He looks at his watch to see that two hours have already gone by. How could it have gone so quickly?
    Soon people grab the microphone and, holding up glasses of champagne, they start making toasts to Lev. His parents give a toast. His grandmother gives a toast. An uncle he doesn’t even know gives a toast.
    â€œTo Lev: It’s been a joy to watch you grow into the fine young man you are, and I know in my heart that you’ll do great things for everyone you touch in this world.”
    It feels wonderful and weird for so many people to say so many kind things about him. It’s all too much, but in some