Chapter 10
That night, she slept in her own room.
Her study schedule was still taped to the wall.
There was a thin layer of dust on her desk.
She carefully wiped it off with a wet wipe.
I stood in the doorway, watching her.
She didn't ask for my help.
Just before eleven, James sent a message.
James texted: [I'll be there at 10 a.m. tomorrow.]
James texted: [Anna is coming back with me.]
I replied: [You can come and talk.]
He replied: [There's nothing to talk about.]
James texted: [She's a Thompson.]
Seeing those words, I felt a chill run through me.
Ten minutes later, Ms. Parker sent me a screenshot.
It was from the class parents' group chat. Grace had posted something using James's account.
Grace wrote: [Some mothers will go so far as to teach their kids to lie, just to control them, even making up stories about grandma being abusive.]
Grace wrote: [The kid was just helping out with some chores, and now she's blowing it way out of proportion.]
Grace wrote: [That's the worst kind of parenting.]
People started dropping question marks in the group chat.
Someone asked: [Is this about Anna's family?]
I stared at the screen.
Anna poked her head out of her room.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Anna asked.
I set my phone face down on the table.
"It's nothing," I said.
She stood in the doorway, fingers gripping the doorframe.
"Did Dad say something again?" Anna asked.
I walked over and gently guided her back into her room.
"Go to bed," I said.
"Tomorrow, there's only one thing you need to do," I said.
Anna asked, "What is it?"
I said, "Tomorrow, just tell the truth, say exactly what's on your mind, no holding back."
The next morning, Anna got up right at 6:30.
As soon as the alarm sounded, she walked out of her room.
Her hair was all over the place, and her eyes were still puffy.
She stood in the hallway, looking like she was worried I might back out.
"Mom, I'm up," she said.
I set the milk on the table.
"Go wash up," I told her.
She nodded.
I could hear the water running in the bathroom.
I checked my phone, and the parents' group chat was blowing up.
Under Grace's message, some people were trying to keep the peace.
Others said that once kids got older, you couldn't keep them on such a tight leash.
A few even DM'd me, wondering if something had happened at home.
Ms. Parker hadn't said anything in the group chat.
She messaged me privately.
Ms. Parker wrote: [Ms. Veyra, I'll handle the group chat.]
Ms. Parker wrote: [But if it's affecting the kids, maybe you should let everyone know what's going on today.]
I replied: [Thanks, Ms. Parker.]
I replied: [I'll get the records ready.]
When Anna came out, her hair was neatly combed.
She stopped in her tracks when she saw me printing something.
"Mom, what's that?" she asked.
"Your tardy records from the past few weeks, homework feedback, chat logs, and the time you called your dad last night," I said.
Her face went pale.
"Are you going to show this to someone else?" she asked.
I looked up at her.
I said, "Only to the ones who should see it.
"I'm not doing this to embarrass you.
"It's so the adults can't just say whatever they want and turn things upside down."
She lowered her head.
"I'm scared," Anna whispered.
I said, "It's okay to be scared. You can still tell the truth."
She sat down at the table, clutching her glass of milk.
"What if Dad yells at me?" Anna asked softly.
"He will," I replied.
"What about Grandma?" Anna asked.
"She will, too," I replied.
"What if I can't say it?" Anna asked.
I looked at her.
I said, "You can take a break.
"You can cry.
"But you can't say something happened when it didn't.
"And you can't just swallow the truth and pretend nothing happened."
Anna nodded.