The Year We Disappeared

Although Cylin’s classmates have been told not to talk to her about her father, her friend Amelia can’t resist. Rather than feeling traumatized by the conversation, however, Cylin is happy to have someone to talk to, although she bends the truth of John’s condition hoping to put a positive spin on it so “Amelia would go home and tell her mom so maybe she would still think he was handsome” (161). When she sees Meg, an old friend at school, she asks why she doesn’t ride the bus anymore. Likely fearing for her daughter’s safety, Meg’s mother forbids her from riding the bus, but Cylin interprets Meg’s distance as cruelty.

Returning home, Cylin finds Don Price and several other officers sitting with John, Eric, and Shawn. Price tells the boys he is going to teach them how to shoot. Cylin sneaks into her parents’ room to check out John’s medical supplies and equipment. She decides to ask for his hospital bed when he is recovered, but, after seeing several dark stains on it, she changes her mind. When Polly comes home that night, Cylin recounts the conversation with Meg and asks for an explanation. Polly is angry with Meg’s mother and tells Cylin not to talk to Meg anymore.