When the song is over, he kisses her. "I love you, Jackie," he says.
"Oh, Andre, I love you too," she says. They're about to kiss again when a hand taps her on the shoulder.
"I need to speak with you," Mr. Herschowitz says. His face is more flushed than usual. She wonders what she could have done to get in trouble. Andre moves to follow her and Mr. Herschowitz until he adds, "In private."
"I'll be right here when you get back," Andre says.
In front of the trophy case outside the gym, Mr. Herschowitz takes her hand. "I'm very sorry, Jackie," he says. "I just received word from the police. There's been a terrible accident. Your aunt has passed away."
"What? How?"
"There was a fire. The entire house is lost I'm afraid. She didn't get out in time. I'm sorry. I know this must be awful for you-"
"You don't know anything!" she screams. Her parents and now Aunt Beth. Dead. She doesn't have anyone. Except for Andre. He loves her. Everyone I love ends up dead, she thinks. I can't do this to him.
She pushes Mr. Herschowitz away and bursts through an emergency exit. The sound of a fire alarm rings in her ears as she escapes into the night. Like Cinderella she leaves a shoe behind as she runs all the way to the highway to hitchhike in her prom dress. After a few minutes of waiting, a tractor-trailer pulls over. When she climbs up into the cab, the driver asks, "Where you heading?"
"I don't care."
"I'm going to Albuquerque. I can drop you there."
"That's fine," she says.
"You come from a wedding or something?" he asks.
"A funeral," she says. A funeral for both Aunt Beth and Andre. She's alone now, for the rest of her life.
A click brought her back to reality. "Hands up," the agent in the T-shirt and shorts said.
"I didn't kill him," she said. She knew this would do no good. The murder weapon was the same caliber as hers. She was here at the same time the murder happened. That was more than enough to keep her for questioning.
She turned around with her hands up just as Assistant Director Tanner came into the room. "I'm sorry, Sam, but you've left me no choice," he said.
"I'm sorry too," she said. She ripped the gun away from the agent in the T-shirt, knocked him to the floor with an elbow, and then shot his partner in the knee before he could fire. This left her to deal with Tanner. She aimed the gun at his chest. "I've got to leave now," she said.