Chapter 7 - Do Not Contact Me
"I would never write that," I said.
Leah asked me to read the message aloud so we could document my exact objection.
My throat locked halfway through.
Someone had taken the words I used to protect my sisters and used them to keep strangers from protecting me.
"The system should have flagged that request," Ms. Patel said.
Leah nodded.
"It will be part of the review. Zarya, I'm sorry nobody contacted you before the award status changed."
I asked if a university could really take back a full ride based on a message in an online account.
"A student can decline an award electronically," Leah replied.
"But an unauthorized action is different. That's what we have to establish."
She gave me a secure form and a number for the student security office.
At lunch, my phone lit up with a call from Mom.
I let it ring.
Then a text appeared: Your sisters are asking why you don't love them enough to stay.
I turned my phone facedown.
Ms. Patel waited until I looked up.
"You can love your family without letting them make your decisions."
"What if they lose the house because I leave?"
"Then adults need to solve an adult problem."
At home, Renee helped me write the statement.
I described the time, the recovery number, the copied phrasing, and the documents withheld from me.
I kept the loan application separate because it had its own investigation.
When I reached the signature line, I hesitated.
"What if they call her?" I asked.
"They may," Renee said.
"Truth isn't supposed to feel safe when somebody's built a life around you being quiet."
I signed.
That evening, Leah called again.
"We preserved the portal activity logs," she said.
"There was a password reset less than six minutes before the scholarship was declined."
"From where?"
"We can't identify a person from a connection alone."
May you like
She paused.
"But it came from the internet connection registered to your mother's catering office."
