Mr. Ballin

And so now that Jerry had dropped her car off, she could drive up there right after class.

And so, you know, Barbara just kind of nodded at Jerry and whatever he was saying, and then she took the keys, jumped in her car, and she was off.

Over an hour later, Barbara was sitting in her social work class, waiting for the teacher to dismiss them.

And as she was sitting there, she began to hear some students whispering behind her.

And as they did, even though she couldn't quite hear what they were saying, she began to feel her face get red.

Because even though she didn't know if they were talking about her, if they were, it certainly would not be the first time.

People talked about her a lot.

So Barbara just did her best to try to ignore them.

And then as soon as the teacher said they could go, she jumped up and shoved her books into her bag.

And then she hurried out of the building to where her car was parked.

She got in and pulled out of the lot.

And as she made her way down the street, she actually felt a wave of excitement.

She couldn't wait to sell this necklace and finally get out of this place.

About three hours later, Barbara's best friend Jerry walked up the sidewalk to Barbara's house.

He thought they had plans to meet up that afternoon, but Barbara never showed.

And Barbara did not usually just blow off plans without calling, so now he was actually at her house just to make sure she was okay.

And now Jerry noticed that her car was not in her driveway.

So he just stood there for a minute, wondering if maybe he should go in and ask her roommates where she was.

but he ultimately decided against it and just instead headed back to his place.

But after beginning the walk back to his place, he passed by an apartment complex down the street from Barbara's place and he stopped because he could clearly see Barbara's car parked in the lot, which was definitely out of the ordinary because Jerry was sure she did not know anybody who lived there.