Chapter 2
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Vanessa laughed once, sharp and disbelieving.
“You’re throwing us out over a dress?”
Dad picked up my ruined dress and laid it carefully across the bed. “You defended what she did.”
“She’s seventeen,” Vanessa said. “She made a mistake.”
“I’m eighteen,” I whispered. “She knew exactly what she was doing.”
Mia wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “He destroyed my bag. Why are you acting like I’m the only one who did something wrong?”
Dad looked at her. “You came into Aaliyah’s room with scissors.”
“You can’t prove that.”
“You just told us why you did it.”
Mia glanced at Vanessa. For the first time that morning, she looked uncertain.
Vanessa recovered quickly. She moved closer to Dad and lowered her voice.
“Let’s talk after the ceremony. Aaliyah needs to leave soon.”
“No,” Dad said. “You’ll pack now.”
Vanessa’s expression hardened. “This is my home too.”
“Then we’ll deal with the legal details later. Today, you and Mia are staying somewhere else.”
I hated that a small part of me felt relieved. I hated even more that I was afraid the feeling wouldn’t last.
Dad turned to me. “Get your shoes. We’re going to find a dress.”
“There isn’t time.”
“We’ll try.”
I looked at the clock. I still needed to be at school early to line up. The nearest shopping center was twenty minutes away.
“I can wear my black one,” I said.
It was an old dress I used for school concerts. Its hem was loose, and I had never felt comfortable in it.
Dad saw my face. “We can do better than that.”
From the hallway, Vanessa said, “Now you’re going to buy her something just to make me look bad?”
Dad didn’t answer. He picked up my cap and flowers.
Downstairs, I heard drawers opening and slamming.
As we drove, I kept seeing Mia’s smile when I entered my room. I wondered how long she had waited outside my door to watch me discover what she’d done.
Dad gripped the steering wheel.
“She’s been cruel to you before,” he said.
I watched the houses pass. “I told you.”
“I know.”
“You said she needed time to adjust.”
“I was wrong.”
I wanted to tell him how many times I had swallowed my anger because he seemed happy with Vanessa. Instead, I said, “I don’t want you to miss my graduation because of them.”
“I won’t.”
He pulled into a small dress shop near the school. The sign said it opened at ten. It was nine thirty.
A woman inside was arranging a window display. Dad knocked gently on the glass.
She came to the door, puzzled. When he explained, her face changed.
“I’ve got a few things in the back,” she said. “Come in.”
Her name was Mrs. Ellis. She led me past rows of dresses and brought out three in my size.
The first was too long. The second scratched my skin. The third was soft blue with short sleeves and a plain waist.
It wasn’t the dress I had saved for.
When I looked in the mirror, my eyes filled anyway.
Mrs. Ellis crouched beside the hem. “I can shorten this while your dad gets you to school.”
“I can come back?” I asked.
“I’ll bring it to the school myself.”
Dad reached for his wallet. She waved him off.
“You can pay when I finish,” she said.
I had never met her before. I wanted to hug her.
At school, my best friend Tessa found me sitting in the hallway outside the auditorium, still wearing jeans.
“You look like you’re about to be sick.”
“Mia cut up my dress.”
Tessa stared. “What?”
I told her. I told her what Dad had done to the bag and what he’d said to Vanessa.
She sat beside me. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.”
That was the truth. I was angry about the dress. I was scared about my home. And somewhere underneath both feelings, I was ashamed that I still cared whether Mia hated me.
An hour later, Mrs. Ellis arrived with my new dress on a hanger. She had pressed it, shortened it, and stitched a small blue ribbon inside the lining.
“For luck,” she said.
I changed in the restroom while Tessa stood guard at the door.
The dress fit.
When I came out, Dad was waiting at the end of the hall. He smiled, but his eyes were red.
“You look beautiful.”
“You don’t have to say it because you bought it.”
“I know,” he said. “That’s why I mean it.”
He took a picture of me and Tessa together. Then an announcement called us to line up.
I reached the auditorium doors before I remembered Mia and Vanessa might be in the audience. My stomach tightened.
Dad noticed. “I asked them to stay away today.”
“Did they agree?”
“They’re gone. I checked before I came in.”
I wanted to believe the day could still be mine.
The ceremony began. I walked across the stage when they called my name and heard Dad cheering louder than anyone.
For a few seconds, I forgot the torn dress.
Then the principal handed me my diploma and leaned close.
“Aaliyah, please see me after the ceremony. It’s about your scholarship.”
I nearly stopped walking.
The scholarship was the reason I could afford college. My acceptance letter had been pinned above my desk since April.
When I returned to my seat, I searched the audience for Dad. He stood and waved, unaware that my hands had begun to shake.
After the final applause, I found him near the exit.
Before I could explain, my phone buzzed.
It was an email from the university.
The subject line read: URGENT: Enrollment Declination Received.
May you like
I opened it.
According to the message, I had withdrawn my place two days earlier.
