“So then she slams her fist into his nose. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am!” Simon’s telling the rest of the group about my so-called fight with Max from this morning. We’re at lunch, and thankfully, the rest of the morning has passed uneventfully. Word of my fight spread quickly, though, and I’ve spent most of my time this morning either ignoring remarks from Max’s friends or fending off congratulatory applause from others. It’s a strange feeling being called a whore in one breath and a rockstar in another.
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“Atta girl,” Cyrus says. “I always knew you had it in you, kid.” He smiles and winks at me while taking a sip of his soda.
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“Do not condone her behavior, Cyrus. She could have gotten expelled!” Romina’s eyes are wide and bright. “Ellie, what on Earth were you thinking?”
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“I was thinking that his stupid face needed a makeover.” I grimace, remembering how angry Max made me. I scan the cafeteria, searching for a sign of Max and the Bitch Trifecta through the throngs of noisy students. Luckily, they aren’t in any of my other morning classes, and it would be just my luck to have them pop up in what’s supposed to be the best time of the day, lunch. While half of the school is here right now, munching on lukewarm spaghetti or hamburgers resembling hockey pucks, Max and the Bitch Trifecta are anywhere to be seen. I breathe a sigh of relief and focus back on my friends.
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“Your mom is going to flip.” Lindsey shakes her head and twirls her pasta onto her fork. “You better not miss my party this weekend.” Every year, Lindsey throws a back-to-school bash over Labor Day weekend. It’s usually just the five of us, plus our families and a few other friends from school. It’s a big deal, though, and if I miss it, Lindsey might never forgive me.
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“I won’t miss it, Linds.” I draw a cross over my heart. “Lamontagne said I’m not suspended, anyway. It’s likely my mom won’t even find out.” I take a bite of my turkey sandwich and lick the little glob of mayo that spurts out, smacking my lips in the process. Delicious.
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Romina frowns at me and leans in. “You do realize that your mom has to sign off on the counseling sessions, though, right? You’re not 18 until next week. You have to have a parent sign off if you’re under 18.” She pushes her glasses further up on her nose. Romina’s always been the mother of the group, so expecting her to be chill about my fight is a long shot.
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I shrug and the air deflates from my lungs. “Maybe I can wait until next week to start? Or I can tell her it’s something I’m choosing to do. You know, heal myself and forgive Max. She’ll eat that shit up.”
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“Or, you can always punch your mom. That right hook of yours could be quite persuasive.” Simon laughs and pokes my cheek.
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I swat him away and toss a potato chip at him. He blows me a kiss just as Marcus walks by. Simon stiffens and blushes, redness creeping up from his neck to his earlobes. Marcus raises his hand briefly in a wave before leaving the cafeteria. Groaning, Simon puts his head on the table, pounding it against the laminated wood.
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“Ah, trouble in paradise?” Lindsey asks, wiping her hands on her napkin and throwing it on her tray.
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Simon groans again. “I wish he’d come out to his folks already. It would make my life so much easier.”
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Lindsey nods. “I’ll invite him this weekend. Let’s make the magic happen.” She smiles, and it sends shivers down my spine. I’ve seen this smile before, and judging by Lindsey’s ability to make things happen, Marcus and Simon will leave the party as a couple.
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Simon nods as the bell rings overhead. “Abracadabra.”
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---
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The rest of the day goes by without incident, and I soon find myself standing in my driveway, staring at my mother’s SUV. Fear trickles down my spine. Its shiny black exterior gleams in the sun, recently washed and waxed. My mom usually works long shifts at the hospital on Mondays.
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Maybe she just took half a day.
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Or maybe she heard about the fight and came home to end my social life as I know it.
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My stepfather’s car is thankfully not in the driveway, meaning he hasn’t made it home from his law office. If both of my parents were home, it would certainly spell trouble for me.
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Pushing down a wave of nausea, I climb the stone steps on the porch and tentatively walk through the front door. “Mom?”
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I find her sitting in the living room on one of the couches, flipping through a magazine. She’s turning the pages quickly, merely scanning what’s on each page instead of reading. Her lips are turned down into a frown, and her foot is shaking rapidly.
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Yep, she’s definitely pissed.
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“Hey, Ma.” I drop my bag at the doorway of the living room and plop into the soft brown recliner.
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“Hello, Eleanor. How was school?” She turns a page, nearly ripping it from her magazine.
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“It was...good. Same old first day stuff.”
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She nods. “Anything interesting happen?” Flip.
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I gulp. “Not that I can think of.”
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She nods again. “I had an interesting phone call from your school today..” Her lips purse.
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My palms begin to sweat. Oh shit.
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“Oh?” My voice comes out squeaky.
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“You’ve been recommended to attend therapy sessions?” She looks up at me, her hazel eyes, the same ones I inherited, burrowing into my soul. “Ellie, is everything okay?”
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I let out a sigh of relief. They didn’t mention the fight. Bless them. “Oh. That. It’s not a big deal, really. See, Max and I broke up, and I thought maybe it might be good for me to talk to someone. The school has a fantastic counselor-”
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I’m interrupted by a chirpy ringing. My mother moves to grab her phone off the coffee table. I glance at it quickly, my heart dropping when I recognize Ellen’s name flash across the screen.
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Oh, dear sweet Jesus. Please let this be a book club call.
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“Ellen! Hello! I was just getting ready to call you about this week’s book club-” My mother gets caught off by a loud shriek from Max’s mother. She winces and pulls the phone from her ear.
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Nope, not about the book club.
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“Ellen, honey, calm down and tell me exactly what’s going on. What happened with Max? Ellie was just telling me how the two of them broke up. So unfortunate.”
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My heart jumps into my throat and I start to get up from the recliner. My mother locks eyes with me and frowns. She holds up a finger on her hand, signaling me to stay put. I sink back down, my lunch threatening to make a comeback.
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“I see. Well, thank you for letting me know.” My mother’s glare burns my skin, and I’d like nothing more than the floor to open up and swallow me whole.
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My mom’s voice gets louder. “Now, Ellen, let’s think rationally about this. I don’t think we need to get the cops involved.”
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Shit. Fuck. Damn it all to Hell.
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“You’re absolutely right, Ellen. Yes, paying for the procedure sounds fair. Eleanor is probably just going through a rough time. Yes, I will take care of it. Goodbye.” My mother puts her phone down and looks at me. If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under by now.
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“Eleanor Rose Whittier, care to explain to me what happened today?” Her voice is calm, still. She only ever uses my middle name when I’m in serious trouble.
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God, if you’re out there, take me now.
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“Oh, you know, we got our schedules and went over what the year is going to look like. Nothing major.” I bite my lip.
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“Eleanor, you know what I’m talking about.”
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“Max was being an ass...jerk so I handled it.” Mom flinches at my near swear and sighs. She’s religious, and any swear, or almost-swear, causes her to have a class-3 meltdown.
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“Eleanor Rose, you know better than to fight. What came over you? Is it drugs? Maybe you should come to the prayer group with me from now on. Expel some of those demons.”
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“Nothing’s going on, Mom. I’m not on drugs, and you can call off the exorcism. Max wanted to run his mouth, so I simply shut it for him.”
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“With your fist?” My mom’s voice remains calm, almost as if she’s talking about her favorite Hallmark movie. “You decided to handle the situation with violence? You should have called me. We could have prayed about it.”
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Spare me, please. My mom may be religious, but I’m certainly not.
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“It all happened so fast, Mom. One minute I was talking to Simon and the next Max was bleeding. It’s not like I set out intending to punch him.”
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“Nevertheless, you can’t go around punching people who upset you. Ellen wanted to press charges. Max’s nose will need resetting! You broke his nose, Eleanor!”
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“Serves him right,” I mumble. “That asshole-”
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“Eleanor Rose, do not swear in this house!” Mom’s voice has gone from calm to shrill, a skill she’s mastered over several years of dealing with three children. I jump and sit up straighter in the chair.
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“I just don’t get it, Eleanor. What has gotten into you? Are Frank and I not paying you enough attention?”
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Inwardly, I roll my eyes. Frank, my stepfather, is ten times the man my biological father is.
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“No Mom, you guys are fine. I just got angry, that’s all.”
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“Anger cannot be solved by violence.” She leans forward to the coffee table and digs out her Bible.
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“I know that, Mom. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight.” Please, please don’t start quoting scriptures to me.
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“That much is clear. Luckily, Ellen seems to think- and I agree with her- that you’re going through something terrible and that some outside help would be more beneficial than dealing with the police.”
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Oh, thank God.
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I nod. “I see. Well, that’s actually the reason I’m going to start therapy at school. Mr. Lamontagne waived the normal suspension if I agreed to do it.”
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At the word suspension, my mother’s head snapped up from her Bible.
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“I cannot believe you almost got suspended, Eleanor. It should go without saying that you are grounded.”
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My heart falls. “Grounded?”
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“Grounded. You are to come straight home from school every day. I will leave a list of chores for you to complete, and you can forget going to Lindsey’s party this weekend.”
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“Mom, please. I have to go.”
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She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Ellie. You should have thought about that before you got into a fight.”
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“Come on, Mom! I did it in self-defense. He was calling me names and being homophobic towards Simon. I tried asking him to stop, but he just wouldn’t listen. I had to do something.” I hold my hands together. “Please, Mom. I swear, I will do anything you want, just let me go.”
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My mother shakes her head again. “No, Ellie. This is serious. Ellen wants us to pay for Max’s medical bills, now!”
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I groan. “So I’ll get a job to pay for them. I’ll do extra chores. I’ll clean both bathrooms and the kitchen!”
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“No. You’re grounded. You’re also going to have to apologize to Max.” She stands and wipes her hands on her scrubs.
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That might actually be worse than being grounded. “Mom. Come on. I want to stop talking to Max, not continue.”
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“And go with me to church every Wednesday and Thursday to help out with childcare for small groups.”
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She’s going to trust me around small children? “Mom, this is insane.”
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She turns on her heel and heads out of the living room. “End of discussion, Eleanor.”
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Shit.
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---
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Come on, Ellie. You can do this. Just message him, say you’re sorry, and block him. Easy, breezy.
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I stare at Max’s screen name. I told my mom I’d apologize tonight, and I am currently trying to psych myself up to do it.
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Hey, dirtwad. I’m sorry I broke your nose. Maybe next time don’t talk trash about me and my peeps.
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No way, I’m not sending that.
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Dearest Maxwell, please accept my solemn apologies for cracking your snout. Next time, I will try to aim lower on your body.
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Nope, that won’t work either. Although, aiming lower would have been funnier.
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Sorry for punching you.
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I guess that’s as good as it is going to get. I press send and wait for Max’s reply. My fingers tap against my desk, and my heart rate, which surely must be sick of racing all the time these days, increases.
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Maxamillion6969: Oh, look, if it isn’t She Ra. Come to do more damage?
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Ellesbelles432: Nope, just apologizing.
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Maxamillion6969: Why’d you do it, Ellie?
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Is he serious? Delusional?
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Ellesbelles432: Why do you think?
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Maxamillion6969: I get it. Getting over me will be tough. Doesn’t mean you have to knock me out.
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I roll my eyes and groan.
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Ellesbelles432: Whatever you say, dude.
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Maximillian6969: I feel like things ended on a bad note for us.
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You don’t say.
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Ellesbelles432: What gives you that impression?
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Maximilian6969: I meant what I said, Ellie. I didn’t want to hurt you.
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Oh please.
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Ellesbelles432: Sure.
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Maximilian6969: Tiffani’s just...she gets me.
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Ellesbelles432: Gotcha.
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Maximillian6969: I realized way too late we could never be.
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Ellesbelles432: Right Max. I get it.
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Maximillian6969: And really, you should be thanking me. I definitely helped your social standing, by letting you punch me. If we weren’t in school, I totally would have kicked your ass.
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I let out a chuckle.
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Ellesbelles432: Big bad Max for sure would have whollaped me. Whew, I’m glad I know that now. I’ll keep that in mind for when you spew hatred.
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Maximilian6969: Why do you have to be such a bitch?
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I suck in a breath before responding.
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Ellesbelles432: If standing up for my friends makes me a bitch, then fine, I’m a bitch.
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Maximillion6969: You could have much better friends than that guy.
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Ellesbelles432: What, like Tiffani?
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Maximillion6969: What’s your issue with her, anyway? She’s always tried to be nice to you.
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Yep, he’s definitely delusional.
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Ellesbelles432: I’m not getting into it with you, Max. I just wanted to apologize.
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Maximillion6969: Like everything else you do, you’re doing a shit job. Don’t come near us again, Ellie, or I’ll get my mom to press charges against you. I told her you were so heartbroken at our breakup that you lost your mind, but I can always say you’re harassing me.
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Cool, I see blackmail is in style now.
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Ellesbelles432: Got it, Max.
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Maximillion6969: I mean it, bitch. Keep your filthy paws off us.
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Maximillion6969 has signed off.
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I laugh, closing my laptop and shutting off my desk lamp. The room is illuminated in darkness, aside from the moon shining through the window. I crawl into bed, thinking about how Max was never great at insults, as seen by his consistent use of calling me a bitch and if he wanted to blackmail me, then so be it.
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I pull my turquoise quilt up to my chin and close my eyes, replaying the day in my mind. Max is the least of my worries, and I’ll be damned if he is going to ruin my senior year. Now, how do I get myself ungrounded?
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