Chapter 5

It wasn't until nine o'clock that the teacher called Clara.

"Mrs. Thompson, Riley didn't come to class today. Is she sick?"

Clara was so angry she slammed down her pen.

She suppressed her emotions and apologized to the teacher.

"I'm sorry, teacher. This child had a little conflict with us yesterday. I didn't expect her to skip school out of spite today."

"I understand. I'll find her and have her apologize to you."

After explaining to the teacher, she called Michael.

"Your daughter is now skipping school!!"

"Hurry up. You go to your mom's house, I'll go to mine. We have to bring her back today and set some rules for her!"

"So irresponsible! Nathan's medical bills, her food and clothes—how much does all that cost? If she makes us lose another day's wages, I'll dock her allowance for a year!"

Then they split up to look for me at their parents' houses.

But no one was there.

They also called the homes of several of my good friends.

Everyone said they hadn't seen me.

In a flash, the whole day passed.

Clara and Michael came up empty.

On the way to pick up Nathan from school, Clara received a call from Michael.

"Honey, I asked at Madison's house too. There's really no one left to ask."

"Do you think she might have been tricked by some creep… Should we call the police?"

Clara opened her mouth. From the shape of her lips, she seemed about to say "okay."

Just then, Nathan walked out of the school.

Clara swallowed her words and waved at Nathan.

"Nathan, over here!"

Nathan walked to Clara's side and looked up at her.

"Mom, I told my friends today that our house is so fun! We have a pool, a playroom, a home theater, and even a sauna room!"

"They didn't believe me. They said no one's house has that many rooms. Mom, can I bring them over to see?"

He pulled Clara's hand and shook it.

I was the one who taught him this trick.

Clara froze for a moment. I wondered if she was thinking of me.

Then she snapped back to attention at Nathan's urging.

She nodded at Nathan, then said to Michael on the phone:

"I know. We'll talk when you get back."

"The chance she was tricked is low. We've always taught her not to trust strangers."

"Nathan wants to bring his classmates home. He's been taking time off constantly—it's not easy for him to have friends. We can't ruin this for him. Hurry home and tidy up the house, cut some fruit and have it ready. We need to treat the kids well."

Michael agreed and hung up.

I wanted to stop Clara, afraid it would scare them.

But I couldn't do anything.

Half an hour later, Clara brought Nathan and his classmates home.

They saw the pool, played with the toys, and toured the home theater.

Finally, everyone's footsteps stopped at the sauna room door.

One of the classmates spoke up.

"I've never used a sauna before. Nathan, can we try it at your house?"

As soon as this suggestion came out, the others chimed in.

Nathan agreed without hesitation and pressed the heating button.

Michael called them to eat fruit while Clara called the parents of the classmates.

First to ask if their children could use the sauna, and second to tell them the kids might come home late so they shouldn't worry.

Everyone was busy with their own tasks.

Nathan went to the sauna room to test the temperature.

The moment he walked in and closed the door, he screamed.