The knock came before the sun did, soft and unnecessary, because the door opened before Alondra had the chance to answer it.
She was already awake. She'd been awake for hours, lying there watching the dark start to thin at the edges of the curtains, waiting for the day to arrive the way she used to wait for exam results, dread pooling low and patient in her stomach. Clarise stepped in carrying a folded garment bag over one arm, her expression doing the careful, quiet thing it always did now, like she'd learned to soften every word before it reached Alondra's ears.
"Everything's packed," Clarise said. "The car leaves in an hour."
"Packed." Alondra sat up. "Funny, I don't remember packing anything."
Clarise set the garment bag down at the foot of the bed and didn't rise to the bait. "The
