"Yeah." We both eat in silence for several minutes. I fumble with the paper on the muffin, and Talise reaches over to help me but stops when I glare at her. Despite this setback, I still finish first because Talise is reading her book.

"Umm…" I begin. She looks up. "Are we going or not?" It’s the last day before school starts, and I’m going to take my driver’s test today. The book closes with in a flutter of pages and a sigh.

"Look, Ashley, I still don’t think this a good idea."

"Why not? We’ve been over this a thousand times Talise." I say, frustrated.

"And yet somehow it doesn’t penetrate that thick skull of yours. What if you have a seizure when you’re driving? You could kill someone."

"I know when they’re coming. I’ll pull off to the side of the road. " My hands are clenched into fists.

"Then, what? What if you have another big one and you don’t have time to call for help?"

"What if you have a spasmadic foot cramp? For God’s sake, do you think I want to have to ask you for a ride to the beach every few days? It’s been almost a year since I had a seizure. Dr. Sherman’s already signed the forms." We’ve spent the entire summer preparing for this, and she’s going to bail on me now? At this point, I’m pacing back and forth. I’m eighteen. I want to drive and be free. "You might be okay with living in your parents’ house for the rest of your life, but I’m getting out of here once I finish high school if I have to walk!"

"Will you be practical for once? You know that with your-"

"You’re exactly like everyone el-else. You can act l-like y-your better, but you same. Think I not good… second…" I grasp for syntax and grammar and pronunciation, but my speech is falling apart. That brings me close to angry tears. Slamming my fist on the table, I push out away from the table and storm up the stairs.

From the room I share with Talise I can hear Joe faintly snapping at her over "causing disturbances at 8A.M.", managing to cause another in the process. I burrow into the darkness of my sheets. In my ticked off mood, they’re too rough, and I kick them off, snarling. Joe and Talise might as well be right in front of me. If they were in front of me this wouldn’t be so bad. Joe must be screaming his silly head off, and Talise is probably giving him her cold look because I don’t hear her anymore. The more I try to ignore it, the more prominently his voice rings in my head which doesn’t help my mood.