The cold wind chilled her bones while it whispered through the bare tree branches. Each blade of grass twitched as it rubbed her fingers through its browning top. The brown, fallen leaves flittered over the grass with the wind following and pushing them to their unknown destination. The longer she sat in the mysterious environment, the colder the ground and air became. The once blue sky, dappled as far as she could see, soon became gray with clouds.

She wondered why she was even there. As she looked down at her watch she realized she had been sitting in a trance for three hours. She wondered why her parents hadn't come looking for her yet. It was pretty cold outside, but after a while she got used to being out there and it didn't seem to bother her as much, probably because she was so busy trying to figure out why she had run away in the first place. After a while she didn't seem to be as hyper as she had been when she had first come out. She thought a lot about what she had said to her parents and she started feeling a sense of guilt. She realized she didn't really hate them and she didn't want them dead. She just simply didn't want to go to a private school.

Why couldn't they understand this? She figured if she could show them how serious she was by threatening she'd never return, they would change their minds. So she sat and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. She was determined to remain until they came for her. As it darkened, many thoughts ran through her mind. What if they did die? Her mind wondered. I wish I could run to them and tell them how sorry I am. I was really acting like a spoiled brat. She realized she should appreciate the fact they could send her to a private school. But, because she'd always been extremely stubborn, she just couldn't go home.

After another fifteen minutes, through the woods came her mom and dad. She wanted to run and hug them, but instead she pretended to be asleep. Her dad gently picked her up and carried her home. As he entered the house he said, "Helen, all I ask is that you try that school for one year, and if you still feel the same way, you can return to Duxbury. Just remember, Duxbury may leave you with some good memories, but your education will bring you a good life!" n