Chapter 3
The program coordinator called Dad the next morning.
I sat beside him at the kitchen table while he put the call on speaker. His coffee had gone cold.
“My name is Dr. Ellis,” the woman said. “Ms. Harris explained what happened.”
Dad told her I was there.
“Nia, congratulations on being selected,” Dr. Ellis said. “I read your project about the water in your neighborhood creek. I was impressed by the questions you asked.”
My face grew warm. “Thank you.”
“I wish I had better news. We offered your place to the first student on the waiting list yesterday evening. Their family accepted.”
I gripped the edge of the chair.
Dad asked, “Is there any chance another place could open?”
“There is a waiting list,” she said. “I can put Nia at the top because her response never reached her. I can’t promise an opening.”
I made myself ask the question that mattered most.
“When will we know?”
“Families have two weeks to complete their paperwork. If someone withdraws, I’ll contact you immediately.”
After the call, Dad stayed at the table with me.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“You didn’t do it.”
“I still wish I’d known sooner.”
I folded the corner of a napkin until it tore.
“I don’t want you to call and beg them.”
“I won’t.”
“I want to go because they chose me.”
He nodded. “They did choose you, Nia. That part hasn’t changed.”
At school, Ms. Harris asked whether I wanted to tell my friends about the scholarship. I told her I hadn’t decided. By lunch, someone had heard about it anyway. Two classmates congratulated me and asked when I was leaving.
“I don’t know yet,” I said.
One of them asked why.
I didn’t want to explain Vanessa in the cafeteria. I said the place wasn’t confirmed and changed the subject.
When I got home, Ava was sitting on the porch steps. She made room for me.
“Mom said you might go away all summer,” she said.
“I might. I don’t know.”
“She said Dad would send me away too if I got an offer like that.”
I set my schoolbag down. “Did that scare you?”
“A little.”
I thought about the six weeks. I had thought about missing Ava, Caleb, Dad, and even the small things at home. I had wanted to hear what they thought. Vanessa had made the choice before I could.
“Dad would talk to you,” I told Ava. “He’d listen if you didn’t want to go.”
She considered that. “Would you want me to visit?”
“If they allowed visitors, yes.”
Her smile came back. “I’d bring snacks.”
Inside, Vanessa was on the phone with her sister, Aunt Denise. She lowered her voice when I entered, then ended the call.
“Ava’s been upset,” she said.
“She asked if Dad would send her away.”
“I’m trying to help the children understand what this would mean.”
“I told her Dad would listen to her.”
Vanessa gave me a long look. “You’ve always been good at getting him to listen to you.”
I didn’t know what to say. She walked out of the kitchen before I could answer.
That evening, Caleb knocked on my door. He held his old camera.
“I got a picture of you onstage,” he said. “It’s kind of blurry.”
I looked at the small image. Dad was visible at the bottom, clapping.
“I love it.”
Caleb sat at the end of my bed. “I heard Mom say she’d be happy if the place was gone.”
I looked up.
“It was last week. She was talking to Aunt Denise.”
“Why didn’t you tell Dad?”
“Mom said I’d misunderstood. She was angry when she saw me listening.”
He turned the camera over in his hands.
“I kept thinking if I told somebody, they’d start fighting. They did anyway.”
I sat beside him. “I was scared to say anything last night too.”
“I’m supposed to be your big brother.”
“You are.”
He handed me the camera. “Can you keep the picture?”
“Only if you make a copy for yourself.”
We were still talking when Dad called us downstairs.
Vanessa sat on one end of the sofa. Dad stood near the fireplace. Ava came in behind us.
“I spoke with Vanessa,” he said. “We need to tell all three of you what’s happening.”
Vanessa stared at her hands.
“Vanessa and I are going to spend some time apart,” Dad said. “She’ll stay with Aunt Denise for a while. You children will stay here with me.”
Ava reached for Caleb’s hand. He took it.
I wanted to know whether Vanessa was leaving because of me. Dad seemed to read the question on my face.
“This is an adult decision,” he said. “I should have paid closer attention to what was happening at home. None of you caused it.”
Vanessa stood. She looked at Ava and Caleb first.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Then she looked at me. “I hope you get the program.”
I could not tell whether she meant it. I said, “Thank you.”
May you like
She went upstairs to pack a bag.
Later, Ava came into my room carrying her blanket. I moved over so she could sit beside me. We listened to Vanessa’s car leave, then to Dad walking through the house checking the doors.
