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Back to "Amy's Hero
Amy sat there for a long time. She had expected to feel much better now that she was back at the MHRC. But she did not feel that way. She did not feel bad. It was just that…she felt nothing. It was not the same place. Nothing was the same. Her room was not her room. Her sanctuary downstairs had disappeared under the weight of grey file cabinets. And this place, this place where she had sat and talked with…friends? For a moment, she thought of Roberta and she wondered what the older woman was doing.
She gave the break room a critical look. Susan obviously did not get it quite as clean as Amy could. She was tempted to grab a rag and set to work. She started to stand. But then she remembered what Jane had told her. She sighed and sat back down.
There was nothing to do. She could not go outside. She did not have a room of her own. Now that she was completely calm, she was beginning to feel embarrassed about how she had emotionally lost control in front of Jane.
In the middle of the afternoon, the District Supervisor appeared at the doorway to the break room.
To her surprise and discomfort, as soon as she saw the alien, Amy's eyes began to moisten again. She could not help herself. She flung her arms around the alien and, pressing herself against that huge body, she began to weep. She barely was conscious of the wide pad that suddenly rested gently on the back of her head.
"What's wrong, Amy?" said the mechanical voice from the device fixed around the aliens snout.
"I want to go home," sobbed Amy. "I want to go home."
"Amy, you can not return to the home of your parents," said the alien.
"Not there," hiccupped Amy. "I want to be here. With you."
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