Chapter 3

That night was the first time I cried since coming home.

In the dark, I buried myself under the blanket and thought about calling my adoptive mother, but I didn't want her to worry.

So I lay there alone, clutching a blanket wet with tears, eyes open until morning.

At least now, no one would ever complain again that my dumplings smelled bad.

I sent a drooling emoji.

The damp weight in my chest eased, like the sky clearing after rain.

By the time I got home, night had already fallen.

My adoptive mother hugged me, happy, and said, "You're finally back."

On the stove, plump white dumplings tumbled in the boiling water.

I scooped some out and couldn't wait to take a bite.

I gave her a thumbs-up, grinning. "Mom, these dumplings smell amazing."

She smiled, but her eyes had gone red.

She lowered her head and rubbed them. "Something flew into my eye."

"If you like them, eat plenty."

I hummed in answer and pretended not to see the tears fall.

Late that night, I got a message from Percival: "Did you get there okay? Are you settling in fine out in the countryside?"

I didn't reply. I tossed the phone onto the nightstand.

The screen lit up and went dark, again and again, until at last it gave up for good.

The next day, I went to check in at my new school.

My grades looked ordinary, so no one paid any attention to the transfer student.

I was put in one of the regular classes.

When the others heard I'd come from D.C., they were curious.

But they had manners, and never pried.

Then the rumors started. People said I was spoiled and vicious, two-faced and cruel, that I'd hurt my adopted sister for the fun of it.

And that was why my birth parents had thrown me away.

Groups of them started coming by just to see what this cruel girl looked like.

Once they saw me, some fell quiet. "How can someone this pretty be so rotten?"

Someone threw a wad of paper at me. When I ignored it, they went red with anger. "Who do you think you are, playing the little rich princess? Still think you're some city girl?"

Someone else gloated. "The princess from D.C. probably never had to study much, huh? Think you can keep up out here with us?"

"Careful you don't fail out of even community college. Then all you'll have left is marrying someone off!"

"Hey, princess, you gonna marry a city boy, or one of us?"

There was always that chattering laughter beside my desk.

The mean-spirited kind, the kind that never minds making things worse for a bit of fun.

It weighed on my homeroom teacher.

The other students looked uncomfortable too.

A few days later, I got a text: "Sis, I heard you're getting shut out down in the countryside?"

"Guess people you can't stand are hated everywhere they go."

She sent a few more pictures.

They were all group shots from a trip.

Frances wrote: "Mom and Dad took me on a road trip to celebrate you leaving."

"Even my brother set his important work aside just to cheer me up."

"Oh, right, I'm going to study abroad. Mom and Dad donated a hundred million to the school abroad to polish my résumé."

"After all, I'm their little princess. I don't need to suffer through the SATs at all."

I looked at the family beaming in the photos, and felt absolutely nothing.

Only in that moment did I realize I hadn't thought about the Swansons in a long time.

I saved a screenshot of the photos, then went to find my homeroom teacher to ask if I could study from home.

Ms. Lane frowned. "Why?"

I said, "I don't want to affect the other students."

Frances wouldn't let me be. Even with only a month left, she wouldn't let me have any peace.

I didn't want to drag innocent people into it.

But Ms. Lane shook her head. "What are you thinking? It isn't your fault. Why would you go home?"