Nothing could have prepared Mary Anne for the awful news that Amelia Freeman, a friend and a partner on her English project, has suddenly died.

"Did you listen to the radio this morning?" Stacey asked.

"No," I said, trying to fluff my hair, which was still damp from the shower. "I overslept, and then Sharon was rehearsing her speech for a big presentation at work. What happened?"

"I guess there was a car accident out by the mall last night," Stacey replied. "But I only caught the tail end of the report. I didn't hear any details."

Mallory pointed to Claudia, who was waiting for us at the next corner. "Maybe Claud heard. She always listens to the radio."

I grinned. "Yeah, in hopes that school will be canceled due to snow, or rain, or -"

"Or a heat wave," Logan added, coming up beside me.

"How long have you been there?" I asked in surprise. "I didn't even hear you."

"That's because there's shampoo in your ear," Logan said, swiping at a patch of bubbles that had dried on my cheek.

I could feel myself blush down to the roots of my hair. "I was running late," I confessed. "I must not have rinsed completely."

Normally Logan would have cracked a joke at my response, but by that time we'd reached Claudia, and the look on her face stopped him.

"Did you hear?" she asked. "There was a terrible accident on the freeway just outside of town. One person was killed. A thirteen-year-old from Stoneybrook."

We all gasped.

"Did they give the name?" I whispered, afraid to hear the answer.

Mary Anne and the Memory Garden
Published by Scholastic Inc. 1996
ISBN: 0590228773