Girlwood by Claire Dean Page B

think that everything would be all right. Then she rounded a turn and met a traffic jam of construction equipment, men with chain saws, and downed trees. A man in the cab of one of the bulldozers gestured for her to go back, but when she just stood there he shrugged and lowered his blade. Polly watched, horrified, as he tore a lush thicket of serviceberries from the ground. She could have picked the dark purple berries and dried them for Bree to eat all winter. She could have simmered the inner bark to make a salve for sore eyes.
    Her own eyes burned at her helplessness, and then, suddenly, the men stopped their engines. She couldn't understand
what was happening until she realized she was soaked. The light mist had turned to a steady downpour and the men headed for shelter in the trailer.
    Alone, Polly laid her head on a fallen white pine. It still had a dim green energy around it, but as she stood there, the color faded away. The few tears she shed got her nowhere. Hands in fists, she ignored the rain, along with the laughter of the men in the trailer, and walked out of the woods. The construction workers just wanted a paycheck. What she wanted was someone to blame.
    ***
    In the rain, the squat gray office building looked even uglier than usual. Polly grabbed a rock from the stark landscaping bed of stunted pines and prickly junipers, and aimed for her mother's office on the second floor. She smiled grimly when she hit the metal trim with a satisfying
thwack,
and her mom's pale face appeared in the window. The enemy was in sight.
    Her mom came out the door a moment later, pulling on her jacket. "What are you doing? Did something happen? Is it Bree?"
    Polly didn't hesitate. "How could you give them the permits?" she shouted. "How could you let them build up there?"
    Her mom had grabbed her wrist, but now she let go. "Is
that what this is about? You left school to talk about some little development?"
    "It's not little!" Polly was screaming so loudly, two men on the second floor looked out. "Did you know they're tearing down the trees right now?"
    Her mom narrowed her eyes. "Did you go up there? To the woods?"
    "Yes. After I saw the equipment go by."
    "I can't believe this," her mom said. "You just walked out of school and thought you'd go for a little hike? Do you realize you'll get a truancy?"
    "You should have told me they were going to start building!" Polly said.
    "I should have done no such thing," her mom countered. "This is my job, Polly. I surveyed the soil and plants and wrote up my usual report. They have every right to build up there. There's nothing special about that land."
    Polly felt like she'd been hit. As if another tree had come down, this time in her own yard. "Except that Bree's there," she said.
    Her mother looked almost in pain. "Oh, Polly."
    Polly widened her stance. "You must think she's there. You've been leaving things for her."
    Her mother's eyes looked wild for a moment before she turned away. "I'd do anything if I thought there was a chance
she'd ... She's not taking them, Polly. The boots, the food. They're right where I left them."
    Polly shook her head. Maybe Baba was bringing Bree food or, even better, Bree was learning to fend for herself. "She'll take them when she needs them," she said, "but not if you let them tear down the woods around her."
    "I'm not letting anyone do anything. My office is in charge of the environmental impact study. That's all. I'm not going to have this conversation. You have to go back to school."
    Polly didn't budge. She'd make her mother drive her back and shove her into class. Even Bree would be impressed with her lack of surrender.
    "Don't take that tone with me," her mom said, even though Polly hadn't spoken a word. She almost looked behind her to see if Bree was there. She hadn't heard her mother sound so furious and fed up since before her sister disappeared.
    "And don't ever throw a rock at my window again," her mom went on. "I was done with that the day I