Chapter 3
Mom took the letter and glanced at it, her expression darkening.
"What is the point of educating a girl? It just puts ideas in your head. In the end, you are just going to get married anyway," she said.
A cold dread washed through me. I stared at her in disbelief.
She lit a cigarette and took a long drag.
"I am here to sell the old trailer. Liam needs us to live in a better school district, and we need money for the down payment on a house. Times are hard. It's time you did your part," she said.
"Get your things. You're coming with me. I've spoken to my boss. He's got a spot saved for you at the plant."
So that was it. She had not come here for me at all.
She had come to sell the trailer for Liam and to drag me to the plant.
"No," I screamed, the word tearing from my throat. "I want to go to school!"
Her face twisted, and she slammed her hand on the table. "Go to school? Where do you think we would get the money for your fancy ideas?"
I stood frozen, utterly lost.
Just then, the gate creaked open.
Margaret stormed in and got right in my mother's face. "Marian, have you no shame?" she snapped.
"This child grew up like a stray in this town, and you never lifted a finger. Now that you think she can earn money, you suddenly remember you have a daughter?"
Mom snorted coldly and flicked ash from her cigarette.
"That's how it is for girls around here, isn't it?" she retorted.
Margaret let out a mocking laugh. "Those other girls didn't eat at my table. I don't care about them. I care about Lily."
She continued, "When other parents go off to work, they send money back. You? The moment her grandmother died, you disappeared. You just waited for Lily to grow up to be your cash cow?"
Margaret stepped in front of me, shielding me.
"If you want to take her, fine. First, pay for the food she has eaten these past two years. I am not asking for much, just one thousand dollars," she said.
Mom stubbed out her cigarette, her brow furrowed.
I don't have that kind of money," she muttered.
Margaret pointed toward the door. "If you don't have the money, then get lost," she snapped.
The neighbors gathered around, talking and whispering among themselves.
Mom's face turned a deep red.
She shot me a venomous look, grabbed her bags, and slunk away.
Watching her walk away, I began to cry again.
Margaret crouched down and patted my back.
"Lily, do not blame me for making your mom leave," she said.
I shook my head and wiped my tears away.
"I don't. She made her choice long before today," I said.
In that moment, the truth settled deep within me: I was a child nobody wanted.
Margaret sighed, her face troubled as she looked at the letter in my hand.
"But Lily, I can't help with the tuition either," she said.
"We live off what the land provides, barely earn two thousand dollars a year. And Thomas has a soft heart. Most of it goes to people worse off than us."
The tears stopped, leaving behind a hollow numbness.
The question remained: how could I possibly come up with a sum like that?
One thousand dollars was a burden for anyone. For me, a thirteen-year-old girl, it was an abyss.
Just then, Fiona stepped forward.
She leaned in the doorway, her voice low. "I have an idea. It depends on whether you are willing."
All eyes turned toward her.
She spoke calmly, "You pose as older, work at the plant for a couple of months. Emily will cover for you and get your pay to you."
For the first time, the idea of the plant didn't fill me with dread.
I looked at her and gave a determined nod. "Okay," I said.
I spent two and a half grueling months on the assembly line.
My hands grew calloused, and my back ached from being hunched over all day.
When I finally received the money, my hands shook.
Over a thousand dollars.
With that money, I walked into the high school.
For the next three years, I drove myself like a machine.
I was never without a book in my hand, except when I slept.
The high school not only gave me the maximum financial aid, but my name was always at the top of the scholarship list each semester.
The day my college acceptance letter came, the air cracked and popped with fireworks in celebration, the noise carrying through town all morning.
Thomas said it was a significant event for the whole town.
I was the first to make it out, the town's success story.
He threw a huge feast in the town square.
The whole town turned out.
The men grew red-faced from drink; the women gathered around me, asking questions.
When the celebration ended, people pressed money into my hands—small bills mostly, softened from use, but here and there a carefully saved larger note.
My hands and pockets were soon stuffed.
Heat rushed to my face as I tried to give it back. "I can't accept this. This is too much. You've given me enough already."
Without them, I would have starved that winter.
Margaret took my hand, her eyes glistening.
"Take it," she said, firmly closing my fingers around the money. "This is from all of us, for your journey, for school. Out there, everything has a price. Don't let them look down on you."
I looked at their kind, weathered faces, and tears fell onto the backs of my hands.
I accepted the money, making a silent promise that once I made something of myself, I would return and repay every kindness.
The night before I left for college, Emily slipped back.
In the dark, she pushed a heavy suitcase toward me.