Free Sisters in Sanity by Gayle Forman

building that looked not unlike Red Rock. Cassie had bulging muscles under a DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS T-shirt and was juggling bricks. We all had capes, and on the bottom of each card Martha had written, “Sisters in Sanity: Superhero Series.”
    “Because you guys are—you’re like my heroes,” Martha said.
    Nobody said anything for a second, and we all got a little misty.
    “Darling,” Bebe said. “Who knew you were such an artist?”
    “These are great,” Cassie said.
    “Really?” Martha asked, her eyes shining.
    “Let’s raise our chocolate to Martha,” V said.
    “Thanks, Martha.” I gave her a hug.
    “You three outdid yourselves. And now I’m the one feeling a little silly. I’m afraid my present will be a little anticlimactic,” V said.
    “Come on, V. We don’t even need a gift from you. You’re the reason we’re all here,” I reminded her. “That’s the biggest gift.”
    V’s eyebrows arched up. “Wrong, Brit. We’re all here because of one another. We’re in this together.”
    “Now who’s full of false modesty?” I asked. “You’re the one who gives all the good advice, teaches us how to get around, and makes this place bearable!”
    “That’s sweet of you to say, Cinders, and it falls in line with my gift. On my last field trip into town, I met these women at the movies. They cornered me in the bathroom, actually. Turns out they used to be counselors here, but unlike the rest of the ghouls, these two had a conscience. One got fired for complaining about how we were treated, and then the other quit in protest. They live in St. George and they share our hatred of Red Rock. They told me that if I ever needed help escaping for the night, or getting ahold of someone on the outside, they’d try to arrangeit. So, my gift to you is an IOU. I promise to arrange a prison break for each one of you. I’m totally serious. This is a real IOU, not one of those fake coupons good for doing dishes that you used to give your parents on their anniversary.”
    “V, it’s too dangerous,” Martha said.
    V shrugged her shoulders. “I like to live on the edge.”
    “I’ll say one thing, sister,” Cassie added. “You got balls.”
    “Cassie darling, don’t you mean she has eggs?” Bebe asked. “You of all people should know better.”
    “Oh, shut your trap,” Cassie said affectionately.
    Then they turned to me, and I was suddenly more nervous than I’d been onstage at my first gig. I took a deep breath.
    “All right. First you have to imagine this with guitars, two of them, both acoustic, kind of echoey, like Nirvana unplugged. And then it goes from G to D to A minor, kind of like this.” I hummed the chords.
    “You wrote us a song?” V asked. I nodded, and she flashed her completely disarming smile my way.
    “So, as I was saying, it kind of goes like this, and then it’ll have a low bass and a really soft drumbeat.Very Beck-in-his-quiet-phase-sounding.”
    “Brit, just sing,” V said.
    And so I did.
    There are monsters all around us
    They can be so hard to see
    They don’t have fangs, no blood-soaked claws
    They look like you and me.
    But we’re not defenseless
    We’re no damsels in distress
    Together we can fend off the attack
    All we gotta do is watch our backs.
    Your body is beautiful how it is
    Who you love is nobody’s business
    We all contemplate life and death
    It’s the poet who gives these thoughts breath.
    The monster is strong, don’t be mistaken
    It thrives on fear—keeps us isolated
    But together we can fend off its attack
    All we gotta do is watch our backs.
    In your darkest hour
    When the fight’s made you weary
    When you think you’ve lost your power
    When you can’t see clearly
    When you’re ready to surrender
    Give in to the black
    Look over your shoulder
    I’ve got your back.
    We ended the first annual Divinely Fabulous Ultra-Exclusive Club of the Cuckoos Christmas party hugging each other with misty eyes. Then we clinked imaginary glasses of eggnog