I only knew Amanda tangentially—I’m a part-time college student now, so I never went to school with her. I used to babysit for this little girl, and sometimes when her father was running late, Amanda would pick her up. I always thought this was odd, since I babysat for this girl during what should have been normal school hours. Amanda would frequently arrive at my home between 2:00 and 2:30.
One particular afternoon, I got curious and asked her why she wasn’t at school. “Oh, I am at school,” she replied, dropping a cryptic wink. “In fact, I’m at three schools, but that’s just between you and me!”
I never knew what to make of that, and I still don’t. But I can’t help but wonder—when Amanda wasn’t at Endeavor, where was she? Was Endeavor even her “primary” school? Was she enrolled elsewhere at the same time?
The strangest piece of all is this: after Amanda went missing, I asked the little girl’s father about her. His response? “We don’t know anyone named Amanda.”
I’ve seen that father and his daughter at the grocery store on several occasions, and each time he’s pretended not to recognize me (though sometimes the daughter waves.) And he doesn’t let me babysit his daughter anymore.
What is up with that?