Morning arrives and Lena hears her mom’s phone ring. She eavesdrops on the conversation.

Mom: Yes, uh huh. OK. So, what do I do now? Uh huh. Yeah. I understand. Thanks for calling. Bye.

Lena hears her mom grow silent. Suddenly the world around her feels cold. She hears her mother make a call. Again, she eavesdrops.

Mom: Hi Rob. How are you? Yeah, no, I’m alright. Listen, so the hospital just called me to say that Jesse’s in multi-organ failure. Yeah. No, they didn’t say. We must just hope things get better. Don’t tell Mom yet.

Lena pulls away from her door and drops onto her bed. She lies very still for a while, not even breathing. Eventually tears start rolling down her face. She grabs the pillow and gives a silent rage-like scream. She goes quiet for a while, then sits up, takes a deep breath, and dabs her tears away.

Lena: (dabbing tears) Dab, don’t wipe. Dab, don’t wipe. (She breathes and then smiles.) I’m fine. (Lena smiles. She is seated on her bed, back straight, chest out, and smiling as she looks out the window. Her smiles drop, and her face becomes emotionless.)

The girls can be heard playing loudly in the background.

Lena: (shouts) Shush! I’m in a meeting. Stop being so loud!

The girls stop and Sienna can be heard telling Tia, “Shhh you’re going to make her angry. She’s busy.”

Lena: Please. Thank you.

Tell us: What do you think will happen next?