Chapter 2 - Six Minutes After Six
For a moment all I could hear was Maisie's spoon hitting the floor.
"There's a mistake," I told Ms. Ward. "I accepted in April. You sent me the housing forms."
"I have copies," Ms. Calder said quickly. "Zarya finished everything ahead of the deadline."
My mother stepped in front of the laptop. "She changes her mind constantly. Maybe she clicked something without reading it."
"At 6:08 this morning?" Ms. Ward asked. "The withdrawal included an electronic confirmation using her account credentials. The award is marked inactive. I came because your interview was already scheduled and I wanted to check with you before we offered the spot to someone on the waitlist."
At 6:08 I had been asleep on the foldout couch. I'd stayed up past two editing the graduation speech I was supposed to deliver next week. Mom had been awake early; I knew because she had packed the girls' lunches before I entered the kitchen.
"Can you undo it?" I asked.
"There's an identity-dispute process. I can open a case today. But I can't promise reinstatement until enrollment and the scholarship committee review it."
The answer landed harder than a simple no. It meant a stranger could take what I'd spent years earning, and I might still have to convince people I deserved it back.
I stepped toward the computer. Mom shut the lid.
"That machine belongs to this family."
"Did you use my account?"
"Watch your tone."
"Please answer the question."
Cleo rose from her chair. "Mom, can we just go to school?"
"Take your sister outside," Mom said. I wished she hadn't, but I let them go. They didn't need to stand in the middle of our fight.
Ms. Calder laid her phone on the counter. "Zarya, we'll request the access records and preserve the confirmation. For now, change your password from a device only you control."
Simone held the screen door open for me. "Come use my computer. And bring the folder."
Mom laughed without humor. "You're really walking out over this?"
"No," I said. "I'm walking out because you keep deciding my life belongs to everybody except me."
In the driveway I caught sight of the kitchen window. Mom was still beside the laptop, staring down at it. Her phone was in her hand.
May you like
A message reached mine seconds later.
IF YOU TELL THAT SCHOOL I DID SOMETHING WRONG, THINK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO CLEO AND MAISIE.
