Chapter 5 - Graduation
I almost skipped graduation.
I had no dress.
My face was swollen from crying.
My house felt like a crime scene made of family photographs.
Mrs. Alvarez refused to let me stay home.
She arrived forty minutes before we had to leave carrying a garment bag.
"My daughter wore this two years ago," she said. "You can say no."
Inside was a simple navy dress.
Not my dream dress.
Better, somehow.
Because nobody had taken anything from me to buy it.
Dad waited outside my room while I changed.
When I opened the door, his eyes filled.
"You look like your mom."
I almost lost it.
Lauren and Mia were gone by then. Dad had booked them a hotel for two nights while he talked to an attorney about the house and finances.
Mia texted me once.
Hope you enjoy stealing Dad from me.
I deleted it.
At the ceremony, I walked across the stage with three thousand people clapping.
Dad stood so quickly his chair tipped backward.
I laughed.
Then the principal stopped me before I left the stage.
"Claire, one moment."
The audience quieted.
She announced I had been selected as one of five finalists for the Harper Foundation scholarship and that, due to "an administrative misunderstanding," my interview had been rescheduled.
The applause hit me like a wave.
Dad covered his face with both hands.
Afterward, Mrs. Alvarez hugged me.
"Your interview is Monday."
I nodded.
Then she lowered her voice.
"There's something else."
Of course there was.
She had reviewed my records after the fake email.
Two recommendation requests had been canceled from my account earlier that spring.
One was for Harper.
The other was for a local scholarship worth $25,000.
I had never even known I had been nominated.
Mrs. Alvarez said, "The committee tried calling your house twice. Someone told them you were no longer interested."
Dad was standing beside me.
His face changed.
"Who answered?"
May you like
Mrs. Alvarez looked uncomfortable.
"A woman who identified herself as Claire's mother.
