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Lena cringed.

Karen laughed. She held up a bowl of M&M's. "I always offer candy to the kids when they visit, but I guess you're not a kid anymore, are you? Let me see—are you fourteen? Or fifteen?"

"I turn sixteen next week," said Lena. She took a couple of M&M's. "Thank you."

"Oh!" said Karen. "You're so petite, I guessed too young." She winked. "When you're my age, you'll appreciate that."

The three adults shared a slightly-too-hearty laugh, and Lena smiled, putting the M&M's in her mouth so she wouldn't have to respond.

"Well," said the Boss Guy. "Shall we give Lena the grand tour?" He turned to lead them down the hall.

The guy—Don, Lena reminded herself—introduced Lena to the other people in the office, most of whom had already met her father. Lena thought it was the politest group of people she had ever met, everyone smiling and saying nice things about her dad.

"Let's take a look at the view from my office," said Don.

Lena followed them into a spacious corner office, dominated by a floor-to-ceiling window that curved around the edge of the building.

"Come look, Lena," said her dad. "Isn't this something?"

She stood next to him, the glass of the window so crystal clear that it seemed as if they were standing at the edge of the twenty-ninth floor with no window in front of them ... nothing to keep them from falling. She took a breath and looked down. Cars and taxis, buses, and bicycles flowed up and down the streets, advancing and stopping in a traffic dance. People moved along the sidewalks, colorful and distant. There was a grassy park across the street, ringed with trees and flowers. A bubbling fountain was the centerpiece of the park, with a bunch of little kids running around it in circles. San Francisco Bay glinted in the distance.

Lena's face grew warm, and a light sweat broke out on her forehead. It felt like the building was swaying, as if in a heavy wind. But the flag on the flagpole across the street hung slack.

She lifted a hand, as if to hold on to something. But there was nothing there. She focused on the park across the street to regain her perspective. The water in the fountain sparkled and splashed, sparkled and splashed. As she watched, suddenly she felt like she might plummet out the window, not falling straight down, but sailing through empty air like a bird, against all laws of gravity, until she crashed into that bubbling fountain.

The pressure in her ears returned, along with a roaring sound.

Lena opened her mouth, trying to take in more air. The back of her neck felt hot, and she thought, Oh, no—I'm going to throw up in front of my dad's new boss!

She fell forward against the glass, which was suddenly hard and reassuring under her palms.

Darkness swam into her eyes, and the last thing she heard was her father calling her name from far away.

CHAPTER 3

"Absolutely. Yes. You're right." Lena's dad, his voice brittle, talked on the phone while Lena stared out the window of the car. Her mind kept replaying the moment when she woke up in that guy's office with a bunch of scared faces looking down at her. She would never forget it, no matter how long she lived. That Karen woman had wanted to call 911! Errgh. She leaned her head against the side window.

"We'll be home in less than an hour," said her dad. "Okay. Here she is." He handed the phone to Lena.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hi, sweetie."

The sound of her mom's voice caused a lump to form in Lena's throat. "I don't want to go to the hospital."

"I know, sweetie. Dad and I talked about it, and we decided it's probably not necessary, but I'm going to call Dr. Feldman."

"Mom, I'm fine!"

"Of course you are. You probably just had a little attack of vertigo, but I still want to talk to Dr. Feldman."

Lena sighed, even though she knew her mom was right.

"See you in a little while."

"Okay, bye." Lena closed the cell phone and handed it back to her dad.

He plugged it into the charger and started the car. "Sorry about the shopping, Leen, but—"

"I don't care," said Lena. Her dad was supposed