Chapter 3

On the last day of registration, I left home before dawn.

By the time I reached the township central elementary school, more than a dozen people were already lined up at the entrance.

Carol Fox was there too.

When she saw me, she clearly froze for a moment, a flicker of surprise crossing her eyes.

"Carla?"

"Didn't Seth come back to take you into the city?"

"I'm not going."

She pressed her lips together, her expression complicated.

When it was my turn, the teacher finished going through my materials and frowned slightly.

"You're missing three photos."

"And the graduation certificate is incomplete. Where's the last page?"

My heart sank.

The clock on the wall already read past eleven.

"The deadline is five in the afternoon?"

"That's right."

I hurried home with the materials in my arms, my steps quick.

The photos I could retake in town.

But the graduation certificate had to be found first.

When I got home, I went through all the old boxes.

Nothing.

In the end, all I could do was dig through the old cabinet where Seth kept his documents.

The bottom drawer was so old it had jammed shut.

I yanked at it hard a few times.

The drawer suddenly came loose and slammed down onto the top of my foot.

The pain made me drop into a crouch on the spot, sucking in a sharp breath.

The top of my foot swelled up fast.

I sat there for a few dozen seconds, then gritted my teeth, got up, and kept searching.

Finally, in the old leather case under Seth's bed, my hand found a folder.

Just as I pulled it out, a hand suddenly reached over from behind me.

Seth grabbed the folder, his face dark.

"Who said you could go through my things?"

"My certificate is in there."

"Let go."

He gave a hard yank back.

My right hand smashed against the metal edge of the broken cabinet beside me.

My palm split open in a gash.

Blood ran down my wrist.

I flinched my hand back in pain, my fingertips tingling.

The folder dropped to the floor.

Several sheets of paper scattered out.

The one at the very bottom was the graduation certificate I was missing.

Seth glanced down at my bleeding hand, a mocking twist to the corner of his mouth.

"Putting yourself through all this for some worthless exam. Is it worth it?"

He bent down and picked up the graduation certificate.

I stared at him, cold and bitter inside.

"Didn't you say you'd never seen it?"

Seth folded the certificate and shoved it straight into his breast pocket, his manner hard.

"The train leaves at seven tomorrow morning."

"Come with me today and buy the tickets over again, and I'll give this paper back to you."

"Otherwise, you figure it out on your own."

Leah stood in the doorway backing him up, her tone coaxing.

"Seth is only doing this for your own good."

"Carol's been teaching for six years. What do you have to compete with her?"

I found a piece of cloth and bound it tight around my palm; the blood soaked through the fabric.

"You keep the certificate."

Seth let out a sneer, his eyes full of indifference.

"Without it, let's see how you register."

I limped out the door, pushing my bicycle.

The rear tire felt a little soft.

I was in a hurry, so I just figured it was an old bike slowly leaking air, pumped it up a few times at a neighbor's house, and set off.

First I went to my old high school to get the certificate reissued.

Mr. James heard me out and immediately went to check the graduation records, his face anxious.

"Your file is still here."

"Don't worry."

Past two o'clock, the certificate was reissued and the principal stamped it.

Then I went to the photo studio to pick up the photos.

When I came out, it had started to drizzle.

The dirt road out to the township got slipperier and slipperier.

On the next long slope, the rear wheel suddenly kicked out to the side.

I went down into the ditch, bike and all.

My knee slammed hard against a rock.

My pants tore on the spot, and a big patch of skin scraped off my knee and shin.

When I got up, blood had already run down my leg and into my shoe, and my whole body throbbed with pain.

The cloth on my right palm was soaked through with blood again.

I stood holding onto the bicycle for a moment, a stubborn will pushing at my chest.

It was past four.

I gritted my teeth and got back on.

At four forty, I finally made it to the registration office.

The teacher looked at me, covered in mud and blood, her face shocked.

"Did you fall?"

"Register me first."

She took the materials right away.

The red stamp came down with a snap.

"You're registered."

"The exam is at eight the morning after tomorrow."

I clutched the receipt in my hand, my knuckles pressing hard, and my chest eased just a little.

By the time I got home, it was already dark.

Leah saw me limping in through the door.

First she twisted her mouth, her tone full of annoyance.

"So you really did ride it back."

I stopped.

"What do you mean?"

She glanced at my leg and spoke without a trace of guilt.

"I just let a little air out of the rear tire, thinking you'd stay put at home for a day."

"Who knew you'd act like your life meant nothing, riding on a half-flat tire?"

I stared at her, a chill spreading through my chest.

Leah, instead, raised her voice, righteous.

"What are you looking at?"

"You fell because you had to go make trouble for yourself!"

Seth came out of the room, still holding my graduation certificate in his hand.

Seeing the blood on my leg, he gave a mocking tug at the corner of his mouth.

"Put yourself through all that, and did you even get registered?"

I took the registration receipt out of my cloth bag.

The red stamp facing up.

"I'm registered."

Seth's face fell at once, his eyes full of shock.

I walked past him.

"The exam is the day after tomorrow."