her that.
I assume youâll need to be
in touch with them. But
do you really have to?
Iâm so scared that if you
send me back to Boise,
theyâll make me return
to Tears of Zion. Mama
says Iâm possessed, claimed
by Satan, and she really,
truly believes that. Please,
please, find a way to keep
me at Walk Straight. Iâll do
anythingâwork here for free,
or go to work somewhere else
and pay you to let me stay.
Whatever it takes. I canât go
home!â But now, sheâs shaking
her head, no. I wish I could
tell you okay, Eden, but the law
is very clear that I must report
your whereabouts to your legal
guardians, who happen to be
your parents in this case.
They have a right to know
youâre alive and safe. Besides,
what about your young man?
Sheâs completely missed the point.
Still, I knew this was not
only possible, but probable.
Iâll find a way to make it work.
And sheâs right about Andrew,
if nothing else. âI understand.
Do whatever you have to do.
But is there a way for me to
maybe talk to a judge about
emancipation?â The word swims
out of my subconscious.
That is a possibility. As long as
youâre at least sixteen, as per
Nevada law, you can petition
the court. Youâre seventeen, yes?
And when will you be eighteen?
âI just turned seventeen
last month. Right before I
came here, in fact.â A birthday
to remember, alone on the street,
sleeping behind a Dumpster.
I Learn
The requirements
of emancipation,
which are pretty
much the same in
Idaho as in Nevada:
Must be at least sixteen.
Check.
Must be living away
from your parents.
Check.
Must have the financial
security to be independent.
Almost check.
Walk Straight can
help me find a job.
Must stay in school
until youâre eighteen.
Check.
And this is where
things get tricky.
Both mother and father
must agree to let the child
emancipate.
Guess thereâs only one
way to find out.
I Also Learn
The pros and cons
of emancipation.
Pro: You can enter
into contracts without
a parentâs signature.
Con: You can be sued
if you violate said contracts.
Pro: You can also sue
someone, if thatâs a priority.
Yeah, me? Sue who?
Con: Cannot drop out
of school without written
permission from
the school board. No problem.
I want to be educated.
Pro: Can go to the doctor
of your choice and parent
doesnât have to okay
treatment. Wonder if that
includes mental health.
And just FYI: Still canât vote
until age of majority; canât drink
till twenty-one. And worst
of all, canât marry without
parental consent until eighteen.
Which Brings Me Back
To Andrew. Everything seems
to. Six months ago, I believed
we would marry as soon as I
turned eighteen. Yes, I knew
that was young to make such
a momentous decision, but
the overwhelming love we felt
for each other trumped common
sense. Now, I donât know if
even the deepest affection
can overcome the reality
of who I am, what Iâve become.
This isnât a romance novel,
not that Iâve ever read one.
Mama would have gone off
the deep end had she ever
found me in possession
of a steamy confessional.
Wonder what sheâll say when
she finds out whatâs become of me.
If she suspected Satanâs handiwork
in my relationship with Andrew,
sheâll have no doubt at all that
heâs holding court inside me
once sheâs privy to why Iâm here.
I Look at Sarah
Who stares back at me, and I see
something in her eyes. Something
dark. Hidden. Something like
a secret. Suddenly I know. âYou
were in the life once, werenât you?â
No hesitation. Yes, Eden, I was,
although the circumstances were
somewhat different from those
of most of the girls here. Once
upon a time, I was a world-class
gymnast, used to having all eyes
on me. After a horrible fall,
I could no longer compete or
perform, but I