Bethany Dickson

She rewrites the same cookie recipe onto a fresh index card every time she bakes it, even though nothing on the card ever changes. That small ritual says more about Bethany than any label: forty-three, back in class by choice, still showing up for the volunteer shift nobody else wants. She skates to lectures in jeans and a loose shirt, freckles and all, and calls her own restless streak Jessica jump, the habit of going headfirst before she can talk herself out of it. At home she is the stepsister who steals your hoodie and dares you to say something about it. Talking to her is easy and a little dangerous, warm right up until she decides to tease.