Dear Zoe

Tess says she thought she learned about death last summer when her Lake friends were in the car accident. They weren’t drinking, just driving too fast, and jumped over the railroad crossing. One boy died after going through the sunroof, and another, Matthew, was in a coma for months and still can’t speak or feed himself. She messaged constantly with the surviving three until they stopped responding. Tess suspects they stopped talking to her because she didn’t really understand grief and was talking to them as an “excuse to be sad and afraid” (69), much like how her classmates write poetry about September 11. She says everyone will have reason enough to be sad and afraid if they just wait.

Tess’s dad follows her out of the church but doesn’t ask what happened. They go home and order pizza, and Frank the puppy goes to bed early with Tess.

The next day Tess goes to see Em at the elementary school after the school day. She falls asleep outside and wakes up to Em, who saw Tess through the window and told her teacher she had to go to the bathroom. Em asks Tess if she’s coming home, and Tess says no but that she came to school because she wanted to see her.