After a while, she regained her composure and quickly grabbed the phone, reassembled it, and turned it back on. Amanda's heart pounded as she struggled to dial her mother's number again. Panic and fear overwhelmed her, making it hard to breathe.

The phone started ringing again, and it felt like the longest wait of her life. "Today is such a terrible day," she told herself as she waited for her mother to answer. After what seemed like an eternity, her mother finally picked up.

"Mother, please te