(BTW, just so there's no confusion, here are the 'genders' of Meg's emotions.

Joy: male

Sadness: male

Anger: female

Disgust: female

Fear: female)

Ω

Ω

It was morning when the alarm went off and Meg opened her eyes again. Pale sunlight streamed innocently into the room. The deep shadows and strange noises of last night were just a purple-tinged memory, and her mind quickly reasserted control.

Okay. You guys all saw that, right? As usual, Anger paced around the console and led the discussion while her colleagues shuffled sleepily into HQ. We took out the light bulb, we practically BEGGED Riley to talk to us...and still, nothing. Let's just come out and admit it: we're hearing things.

You mean we're going nuts? Disgust recoiled at the thought.

Fear hugged herself and shivered. We're crazy? Are they going to lock Meg up and make her wear one of those funny jackets?!

Sadness shook his head. No, girls. I think Anger means we just heard a few noises when we were half-asleep and THOUGHT it was Riley. I hope not...I really wanted to be with Riley again. But I guess she has a point.

Come on, dude! We can't give up that easily! Joy folded his arms. We didn't just hear her, remember? We saw her! Two nights ago, standing right on the doorstep. How do you explain that?

How do YOU explain that we haven't seen her since? Anger countered. Look, I know you and Sadness really wish Riley WAS here, but it's time to stop the silliness. She's in San Francisco. We're still in Duluth. Period. Now let's practice with Dad, go to school, and get on with our life.

She turned to the console and began punching buttons.

Meg jumped out of bed with a determined frown on her face. First she screwed the bulb back into her lamp. Then she took some clean clothes from the closet and grabbed her favorite headband from the shaky wooden desk her father built. It was there that she saw the book lying open. She closed it and glanced at the cover. 'The State of Hockey: An Illustrated History.' The book Riley had given her. She did not remember putting it there.

Meg grit her teeth. She stuffed the book back in its place on the shelf and stalked out of the room.

Ω

Ω

Riley is so lucky she missed the spring trimester, thought Meg. Douglass Elementary was okay on the whole, but her class schedule this time around was exceptionally dull. Even the school calendars cheerfully proclaiming 'Friday!' were not enough to lighten her mood.

First she had Mr. Ciskan the Art teacher, who taught the students less about art itself than his own career as an artist. Then came Mrs. Sjodin, the new Chemistry B teacher whose hair was prematurely white-rumor had it, as a result of an accident with her chemicals. Midday brought lunch and Ms. Loweller who disliked both Home Economics and fifth-graders and, naturally, taught both. Social Studies C was Mr. Smith, whose droning voice did little to bring his subject to life. By then Meg was barely awake and wondering if her one interesting class, Sports History with Bridget, would ever arrive. But mostly she thought about Riley.

Maybe Mom was right. Maybe that one time she saw her was just a dream...

But that made no sense. How could something so real be a dream? And if it was, then how could you be sure that you were ever awake? Meg bit her lip and stared out the window, not seeing the blue sky beyond.

Mr. Smith turned on his projector. That meant it was time to take notes. Meg opened up her notebook and remembered how Riley used to draw hockey sticks in place of bullet points. After a moment of hesitation, she did the same.

The rest of the day went by in a slow-motion blur. Meg was quiet and preoccupied all through dinner. Her parents didn't seem to notice; they were having an animated conversation about the movie they were going to see that evening. Meg did not want to talk. She wanted to take a bath, get back to her room and...then what? Wait for something to happen?

Enough, she thought to herself. This is all just nonsense. As soon as I can I'm going to call Riley and find out what's going on.

Ω

Ω

"Lights out, Little Red," her father called from the other side of the door. "The next playoff game is tomorrow, so practice again in the morning."

"Okay, Dad!" Meg sighed as his footsteps receded down the hall. She had lost track of the time. She was still sitting on the edge of her bed and staring at the phone, wondering if this was a good idea after all. If she was right it would bring up a whole bunch of problems, and if she was wrong then this whole thing really was her imagination. Or she was nuts. If that was true, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

She scowled, suddenly upset with herself for being so timid. Megan Larsson didn't hide from the truth! She grabbed the phone and selected Riley's number. It rang once, twice, three times. On the fourth ring it stopped. She held the phone up to her ear and listened hard.

"Meg?" Riley's voice said.

The room got brighter, and the entire world along with it.

"Riley! Is it really you?"

"Of course it is!" Riley chuckled on the other end. "Wow, I'm really glad you called! I've had a lot of stuff going on, and...anyway I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner."

A warm smiled spread across Meg's face. "You should be! God, I was so worried about you I could've had a heart attack!"

Riley chuckled on the other end. "You were? Why?"

"Well, you didn't call for a few days, and..." Meg hesitated. "Listen, this is gonna sound weird and maybe I'm just imagining things, but you are in San Francisco, right?"

Now Riley sounded a little worried herself. "Yeah. Yeah, of course I am. I don't really want to be, but you know how it is."

Meg breathed out slowly. It was a relief to know her friend was safe, and yet she felt so disappointed she thought her heart would break. "So you're sure everything is okay? Like, nothing's been going on lately?"

"Well, it's really funny you would ask, but I guess I had to tell you sooner or later. You have to swear you won't tell anyone about this. But a few days ago, I did something really stupid."

She held her breath all over again.

"Things are really different down here. It's like nothing is right anymore. The school, hockey, the dead rats-"

"Dead rats?!"

"Long story. Anyway I guess I just got so sick of it here that I, um, kind of got on a bus and tried to go home."

"Y-you did? Really?" Meg's eyes widened. Her throat felt as dry as a desert. She'd been right after all! Maybe this was Riley's way of breaking it to her. Just act like everything was fine, and then...

"Yeah, really. I almost got out of town but then I chickened out," Riley laughed a second time, but it sounded a bit forced. "Too bad, huh?"

Joy faltered. What? No way! There has to be more to it. We all saw her, didn't we? It can't be a coincidence!

This is so freaky. Aren't you guys scared? Fear whispered.

What scares me is that for once I agree with HIM. Anger jabbed a finger in Joy's direction. Time to turn up the heat!

Meg bristled, gripping the phone more tightly. "Oh, give me a break, Riley. This is serious. I saw you."

"Saw me? What are you talking about?"

"Here in Minnesota! What do you think? You were standing right here at my front door two nights ago! Look, you don't have to tell me everything if you don't want to, but at least let me help you! I promise I won't be mad, okay? Just tell me where you're hiding and I'll come get you."

There was a pause. When Riley spoke again, she sounded nervous. "Listen, Meg...I don't know if you just saw someone who looked like me or what, but I'm still here."

"Riley, it was you! You talked to me and everything!" Meg shouted.

"I wish I was back there with you. I really do. But that's not the way it is anymore, you know?" Riley sounded strange all of a sudden. Like an alien. Or worse, like a grownup.

She was lying. Meg didn't know how she knew this, but she did. She took a deep breath. "Riley, I know you must be really scared right now. But I'm still your best friend. And...and I love you. Now swear to me that you're not here."

"Meg, please-"

"SWEAR!"

"I..." Riley's voice quavered slightly. "Look, I gotta go. I'll get back to you, okay?"

"Wait! Riley, don't-"

CALL ENDED, the screen said.

Meg growled in frustration and threw the phone into the mess of blankets at the end of her bed. She knew it! Of course Riley couldn't promise she was gone, because it wasn't true! Why couldn't Riley just trust her?

There was another knock on her door.

"Meg, honey? Are you all right in there?"

"I'm fine!" She winced at the anger in her own voice. "I mean...I'm fine. Sorry, Mom. I'm going to bed now."

Her mother sounded uncertain, but she left her alone. "All right...just let me know if you need to talk."

Meg needed to talk, all right, but not to Mom. She sat staring at the wall and wondered what to do next. If Riley wouldn't let her help, then what could she do? She couldn't search the house for her because it would make too much noise, and she couldn't check the garage or the shed because she wasn't allowed out after nine. Unless...what if she sneaked out? She'd never done it before, but it was just her own backyard after all, and climbing down and up the trellis below the hall window would be a snap.

She waited a little while until she was sure her parents had gone to bed, even though every passing second was torture. Then she slipped out of her bathrobe and put on a black sweatshirt, gray tennis shoes, and her darkest blue jeans. She took a flashlight from the closet, too. It was neon green and the beam was kind of weak, but it would have to do.

The upstairs hallway was dark and quiet. Meg closed the bedroom door behind her as quietly as possible. Then she crept past Mom and Dad's room, scarcely breathing until she reached the window. Mom always left it halfway open when the nights got warmer, and when she pushed it up just a little more it moved without a sound.

Meg leaned out and examined the yard. It was clear; there was barely any moon and a tall fence going all around. Their neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Marling, were older folks and probably sleeping already. She could look around for a little while without any problem. She stuck one leg out the window and found a foothold on the trellis, then began her slow journey downward.

There were no four-foot-tall shadows slinking around out here, just a few birds and the occasional creak of a budding tree branch. She pulled up the hood of the sweatshirt to hide her shock of red hair and quickly went to work. She looked behind every tree and bush, and when she found nothing there, she poked around in the garden shed as well. Lots of rusty tools and spilled bags of fresh topsoil, but no Riley. That left only the garage. She slid the shed door closed and was hurrying back across the lawn when something stopped her cold.

The light was still on in her room, and behind her curtains, a familiar shadow stood watching.

Meg's heart pounded in her chest as she bolted up to the trellis. Climbing up was harder than climbing down, but she managed without making too much noise. With silent bounding steps that would have looked amusing if anyone were there to see, she rushed back up the hallway towards her room.

The door stood open, spilling a yellow ray of light out onto the floor. But the figure was gone.