Chapter 3

I still remember when Grandma was gravely ill, how I sent a text to my parents' number, full of hope.

No reply ever came.

Right then, someone knocked on the bathroom door.

"Gail, are you almost done? Maxine's parents said they want to take us all out to dinner."

It snapped me out of my thoughts, and I refused, flustered.

"No thanks, you guys go. I'm not feeling well."

The roommate sounded a little disappointed.

"Alright, but you're really missing out. Maxine's parents said they're taking us for a seafood dinner."

And with that, I heard the door close outside.

I came out of the bathroom, and once I saw the dorm was empty, I took out my phone and called Grandma.

When she picked up, her gentle voice came through the line.

"Gail, honey, how are you doing? Are you getting along with your roommates?"

I made small talk for a minute, then asked the thing sitting on my heart.

"Grandma, back then, did Mom and Dad really go missing?"

"Is there still no word from them, even now?"

My question left her quiet for a moment.

Ever since high school, I'd barely mentioned my parents at all.

It was a while before she spoke.

"Your mom and dad said they were going off to find work, and they never came back. Maybe something happened to them."

"You're grown now. I suppose you can handle the truth."

So Grandma didn't know either, that my parents had abandoned us.

I didn't tell her I'd run into them. I planned to wait until they came back from dinner and get the truth out of them.

Whether it was abandonment or some other reason, my parents owed me an explanation.

That wait stretched on for hours.

I dozed off without even realizing it.

Until a scream jolted me awake.

"Ah!"

I rubbed my eyes and took in the scene in front of me.

It was Maxine who'd screamed.

She was frantic, searching for something.

"Mom, my necklace is gone! That was your gift for my eighteenth birthday!"

My parents heard her and looked just as panicked.

"Gone? Wasn't it right here on the bed when we left? How could it be missing?"

Maxine's eyes were red with panic.

"Right, I remember putting it right here too. But I've turned the whole bed over and it's just not here."

Seeing how upset she was, I got up and asked.

"Do you want me to help you look?"

Maxine's head snapped toward me.

"You were the only one in the dorm just now. Did you steal my necklace?"

The moment she said it, my parents and the roommate all turned to look at me.

I denied it on instinct.

"It wasn't me. After you left, I stayed on my own bed the whole time and slept."

"Who else could it be but you?"

Maxine's eyes were full of suspicion.

"Don't tell me the necklace grew wings and flew off."

"And I noticed it the first time I saw you. Your family clearly doesn't have money, the shoes you're wearing are knockoffs."

"So it's very likely you're the one who stole my necklace!"

The roommate spoke up for me.

"We've all just met today. I don't think Gail is the kind of person who'd steal. There has to be a misunderstanding here."

Maxine shot her a look.

"What makes you so sure about her? Are the two of you in on this together?"

That one line shut down whatever the roommate had wanted to say for me.

Then my mother spoke up too.

"Young lady, whether you stole the necklace or not, we'll find out once we call the police. If you took it, hand it over now."

"Otherwise, once the officers get here, you'll end up with a record."

Before I could get a word out, Maxine turned down the idea of calling the police.

"Mom, there's no need to take it that far. Let's just search her and her bed right now."

"If she really stole it, we tell the school and have her expelled. That's all it takes."