“Because I was the only one who got in.”
My voice was flat, tired. “When the
acceptance came, everything changed.”
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“They started making snide remarks. Getting
into Harvard was like a sin.”
“Mrs. Davies talked to me. Said I was the
youngest. How would it look if I got in, and
the older kids didn’t?”
“She said if I got in early, I’d ace the SATS
too. She told me to give up the spot.”
Harding took a long drag.
“But you didn’t get into Harvard. You got into
a teaching college. So, you got mad and killed
them?”
I chuckled. “No way.”
“My failure has nothing to do with them. I
wouldn’t blame them.”
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“After you gave up the spot, were they nice to
you?”
I shook my head. “It all changed.”
“The quarterback, who brought me breakfast
every morning, gave me the cold shoulder.”
“The kids who helped me study made snide
remarks.”
I remembered their voices, mimicking them.
“‘Don’t help Ashley. She acts so innocent, but
she secretly got into Harvard.”
“You got into Harvard, what are you doing
asking us questions? We can’t teach you
anything.“”
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“And that’s why you killed them?”
I shook my head. “Of course not. The SATs
were two months away. I could handle it.”
“But they stopped letting me study. They
ripped up my books, burned my backpack,
spilled paint on my tests.”
“Studying was like a crime. They were ready
to punish me for it.”
“So, I studied by the school pond after dark.”
“Every night at midnight, the lights went out.
I’d sneak back to the dorm.”
“The door was locked. I slept in the hall, night
after night.”
L
Dr. Evans frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me?
Or the school? They would have helped.”
I laughed softly. “They were my saviors. They
paid for my tuition, my books. Without them, I
wouldn’t even be in school.”
“Mrs. Davies said I couldn’t be ungrateful. No
matter what they did, I had to repay them.”
“Reporting them would be stabbing them in
the back.”
“I was living in hell. My saviors turned into
demons.”
Harding asked, “So that’s why you killed
them?”
“You had a bright future. Why throw it all
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away? Why not just work hard to get away
from them?”
“Get away?”
I smiled, tears in my eyes.
“How?”
“I had nowhere else to go. My parents didn’t
want me in school. If I went home, they’d lock
me up and force me to marry.”
“I had to stick it out, wait for my chance.”
Harding stared at me. “Something happened.
You wouldn’t kill without a reason.”
I nodded. “Something did happen.”
“What?”
I smiled. “One day, the whole class was
suddenly nice to me. Like they used to be.”
“I thought they forgave me. It was the
happiest day of my life, really.”
“But that afternoon, Mrs. Davies called me to
her office.”
“She said something I’ll never forget.”
“What?”
Harding leaned forward.
I walked into the office smiling.
Happy that the class didn’t hate me anymore.
IVII
She gave me a kind smile.
“Ashley, come on in.”
I nodded. “What’s up, Mrs. Davies?”
ていて
う
“Nothing big. The class is stressed out about
the SATS.”
I nodded. That’s why they were mean, I didn’t
mind.
“Your tuition, everything, comes from the
class.”
I nodded. “What do you need, Mrs. Davies? I’ll
help if I can.”
“Want me to help study?”
L
