As she crumpled the wrapper to put in her backpack, Jodi noticed something glinting overhead. A six-sided star swaying from a tree limb.

Her star.

Jodi stood to pluck the star from the branch. She thought about all that had just happened. About what she knew about their mom. About her secret. “I’m afraid,” she whispered, staring at the the still-glinting star on her palm.

“It’s understandable.” The tattooed lady’s voice whispered in her mind.

“But what do I do?”

“Tell the truth.”

Her father’s car pulled up then, parking near her downed bike. Jodi closed her fingers around the star, putting it in her pocket, as her father, step-mother, Stacy and Henry piled out of the mini van.

Jodi’s heart pounded as they approached, and the wind picked up. She heard the tattooed lady’s voice whisper in her mind, “Begin where you are.”

“Okay,” Jodi whispered. She pulled out the star. “I’ll begin here. With a star.”

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