She said that she and her mom were going to work things out, and she would stay there. They're going to find her a school to go to, because for some reason they don't want her to (or she can't) go back to the school she went to when she lived there before. Her mom told me that when they had the talk and she was told of her options - go to the new group home or stay there (and they would not be her doormats as in the past) - she ran outside, refusing both. She came back a few minutes later saying that she would try, and would rather stay there.

There were a few awkward silences. During one, she said, "Uh, I'm kind of quiet." I said, "Yeah, I'm not used to talking on the phone much. I do most of my communicating via email." Am I that much of a hermit? She said maybe we could hang out sometime, and I said, "if it's allowed." She said, "Allowed?" I asked if they had her on a "short leash", and related how it was with my Dad during the six months between having a miscarriage and turning 17. I told her I knew how it felt to feel like I was grown, but to not be able to be on my own legally (which is why I waited until I turned 17, since marriage wasn't in the original plan).