June gave Michelle a big hug and handed Michelle the purse she'd left next to June's on her desk. She was so proud of her baby sister -- off to interview with one of the most prestigious law firms in town! June had effortlessly lived her dream of being a principal some day, but Michelle had worked day and night in law school, just to reach this point. Both June and Michelle cried a little, but in a happy way.
As Michelle headed off, June briefly thought she'd had a student helping her out today, but dismissed that as something like deja vu. She wandered over to her cabinet absentmindedly and found a small, incandescent stone sitting there. That's funny, she thought. I don't remember putting it there. Maybe it's Michelle's? She made a mental note to bring it along when she and Mark met Michelle for dinner tonight. Absentmindedly, she picked up the stone and began turning it over in her hands.
Thinking of Mark made her smile. Mark Stevenson was the best thing that had ever happened to her -- and she knew it! She'd been so unlucky in love before she met him, now she couldn't imagine life without him. She'd caught him ring-shopping on the internet just the other day.
Poor Michelle, she thought. She's had an even worse run of creeps than I have. Speaking out loud, she murmured, "I wish Michelle would end up with a guy just as wonderful as Mark."
Meanwhile, a shadowy figure entered the Black household in a trance, turned up the stairs, and headed for Karyn's room.
