Let’s get your backpack.”

She slipped her arms through the purple straps, keeping the rabbit pressed tight against her ribs as she climbed out onto the wet asphalt of the school parking lot.

I watched her walk toward the front doors until the crossing guard waved her in.

***

The glass doors of Holloway Real Estate on Main Street opened onto a cool, air-conditioned lobby hung with framed architectural drawings.

Natalie Price sat behind the dark mahogany reception desk, her fingers racing over a black mechanical keyboard.