She agreed.

She told me about work and a class she was taking.

I told her about my science club and my plan to apply to colleges where I could study environmental health.

Neither of us pretended to be close.

The letters were careful, sometimes awkward, and honest in a way our childhood conversations rarely had been.

I became interested in how small environmental dangers become emergencies when people ignore warnings.

My science teacher helped me research public-health programs, and Margo described what a community nurse does when a patient has no easy access to care.