Ruth took Rachel down to her foster home building, called Pretty And Pink Foster Care. Rachel had heard of the place before, but she'd never seen it in person. It was a lot bigger than she expected-four stories high. "This is your foster home?" Rachel asked.

"Well, it's not really 'my' foster home," said Ruth. "Pretty And Pink Foster Care has establishments in Virginia and Pennsylvania, too. The company is owned by Angelina Aguilar-our founder. But our Nashville location is the one that I'm in charge of managing."

"So what's it like?" Rachel asked. "Am I gonna get my own dorm, or will I share it with someone?"

"Yes, you will share it with someone," said Ruth. "I have set you up with three roommates in a dorm on the first floor. They're all around your age, so it should be easy for you to get along with them."

"Okay..."

"And there's one other thing," said Ruth. "I know you're still very sad about losing your family in that house fire. If you feel like you need some grief counseling, I can set it up for you."

Rachel thought for a moment. Ruth was right: the loss of her family was still eating at her. But she still wasn't sure if she trusted the Pretty And Pink people enough to do grief counseling with them. "I'll think about it," she said.

"Very well," said Ruth. "Let's get you to your room."

Ruth took Rachel inside the building and down the hall where the first floor's dorms were located. They stopped at Room #106 and knocked three times. "Come in!" said a female voice from inside.

Ruth opened the door to the dorm. Rachel entered and saw that the room had two bunk beds, a couch, and a TV. Two other girls her age were watching the TV, and another one was folding laundry. "This is Vanessa," Ruth said, pointing at the laundry girl. "She will be your bunkmate."

Vanessa turned and awkwardly smiled at Rachel. She had blue-rimmed braces, thick glasses, and blonde hair. "Hi," she said.

"And these," said Ruth, "Are Hattie and Maddie."

Rachel looked at the girls on the couch and gasped. She recognized them! They were Hattie and Maddie Dominguez-the two meanest girls at Randy's middle school! Hattie and Maddie were twins, and they ruled the school's hallways with iron fists. Wherever they went, the crowds parted for them. Anyone who crossed them was met with a mean look and a snarky insult. Randy had gotten on their bad side once, and he'd really come to regret it. And to think that Rachel would now be sharing a room with them...

"So you're the new kid," said Hattie. She and her sister both had flaming red hair, smooth facial features, and dark brown eyes. The only think that set them apart was that Hattie had pierced ears, and Maddie had a pierced nose.

"Uh...yeah," said Rachel.

"Welcome to Pretty And Pink," Maddie said, though she didn't sound particularly happy to see Rachel.

"What's your name?" Hattie asked.

"Oh...I'm Rachel," said Rachel. She was still getting used to using her new name.

"Well, now that you're introduced, I'll just let you mingle," said Ruth. And with that, she left the room.

The second Ruth had closed the door behind her, Maddie and Hattie both got up and stared down Rachel. "Listen up, Rachel," said Maddie. "In here, my sister and I are in charge. Just stay out of our way, don't try to 'borrow' any of our stuff, and we'll be good."

Rachel awkwardly nodded. "Okay," she said. "Can...can I just go take a shower?"

"Of course," said Hattie. "The showers are behind the bathroom."

Vanessa looked up from her laundry. "Want me to show you?" she asked.

"I guess," said Rachel.

Vanessa led Rachel into the bathroom area that was attached to the dorm. Once they were out of earshot of the other girls, Vanessa said "Don't worry about them. They're actually not that hard to live with."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. You just have to avoid crossing them."

"Yeah, like that's gonna be easy."

"Well...yeah, Hattie and Maddie are pretty ruthless," said Vanessa. "I've learned not to start anything with them."

"Me too," said Rachel.

"What-you know them?"

Rachel bit her lip. She remembered what Ruth had said about not divulging her gender situation to anyone. "We've met," she said. "I just didn't think I'd end up having to live with them."

"Well, at least you're not alone in not liking them," said Vanessa. "C'mon, this is the shower area."

Rachel's jaw dropped when she saw that there were no stalls in the shower area. It was just a wall with a bunch of nozzles and a bench for clothes and towels. "Are you kidding me?" she asked. "Is there no privacy here?"

"No," Vanessa said sadly. "For some reason, the people who built this place left out stalls in the showers."

"This is stupid," said Rachel. "I'm not showering naked with a bunch of other people."

"Sorry, but you're going to have to."

"Can you stand guard outside? Make sure Maddie and Hattie don't come in?"

Vanessa let out an uneasy laugh. "I don't think I could stop them," she said, "But sure, I'll keep an eye out."

Once Vanessa had stepped out of view, Rachel gingerly started taking off her clothes. She put them down on the bench and started showering at one of the nozzles. After ten minutes of soaping down, she shut off the water and dried herself off. Then she put on a new set of clean clothes.

"You all done?" Vanessa asked.

"Yes."

"Good."

***

While Maddie and Hattie continued watching their TV show, Rachel lay down on her bed. She couldn't believe what she'd gotten herself into. She'd been turned into a girl and put into a dorm room with the two meanest girls she'd ever met. Worse yet, Pretty And Pink apparently had no respect for privacy. How could Rachel ever survive something like this?

Rachel missed her family deeply. She wished she could see her parents, and Freddie, and Hailey, again. Were they watching down on her from Heaven? Randy had never been overly religious, but he did believe in there being life after death. If there really was a Heaven, then surely the rest of the Millers had gone there when they died. Rachel wondered what they'd think of their son and brother turning into a girl. Sadly, she'd never find out what they thought, because they were dead. It was gone. It was all over. Rachel's old life was over. There was nobody she could go to.

Except...maybe...

Rachel thought of her best friend Jesse Pindle. Randy had met Jesse back in Third Grade, and they'd grown closer and closer as the years went by. Randy had thought about going to his house after his family died, but that hadn't been an option, as Jesse and his family were out of town. But he'd be back soon, and he'd surely hear about the Miller family. And if Hattie and Maddie were at Pretty And Pink, then could that mean Rachel would be able to go back to her old middle school? If that was the case, could she reconnect with her old friend? Could she reestablish a connection from her old life? It all seemed too much to hope for.

And yet, after everything that had happened, an old friend felt like the one thing Rachel needed.

To be continued...