Jo was 10 when her dad was killed on May 16th, 1995. She turned 10 in April, so that means she was almost finished with 4th grade.

I imagine Ellen would've had her take absences for like 2-4 weeks. But when she got back to school, everything was different. All of the sudden, everyone in her grade knew she existed, and they'd offer condolences (as best as 10 year olds can) and classmates who never gave her the time of day before were suddenly being super nice to her. She didn't fit in before, but now she stuck out like a sore thumb. And what's worse, everyone pitied her. Gawking at her in the halls, the cafeteria, and the playground, as though she was a 3 legged puppy in an animal shelter ad.

Her grades took a nosedive. After all, she'd been behind from the time she missed and she couldn't bring herself to care about making any of it up. Ellen received calls from the school about her behavior more and more. Things like not completing her homework, refusing to participate in certain activities, "disturbing imagery" (as her teacher put it) in her work, even picking fights with other students on occasion.

It wasn't any easier at home. Apathy seeped into every facet of her life. Things she used to enjoy didn't interest her anymore, and they only reminded her of her dad. Ellen was there for her as much as she could be while still running the Roadhouse, since they couldn't afford to take time off. She had been angry since the day she told Jo he'd died- though, Jo was used to her mother being angry while her dad was hunting, so for her to be angry after he died while hunting made sense. She had no reason to even consider she was really mad at John. But she didn't understand why her mother would get upset if she mentioned him or asked if he would be stopping by sometime.

Ellen and Jo had always butted heads, but it only got worse with Bill's absence. Bill served as the mediator between them, so without him, there was no one to translate the other's perspective. Jo started shutting her mother out and isolating.

One day while Ellen was busy working downstairs, Jo went through her father's things and found his journal. She hid it in her room and read it whenever she got time alone.

Over the years, whenever she missed him, she'd reread his journal. Eventually she had it memorized, but it still brought her comfort to see his handwriting, to hear his voice in it. She felt as though she was back in his arms, sitting on his lap as he told her the epic adventure of his latest hunt across the country. It was the only thing that made her feel close to him again.