Chapter 3

3

"What are you wearing to the school festival tomorrow, Nadia?" Macy asked me on the way home.

I gave her a weary smile. "Just my tracksuit. It's the only thing I have."

"What? A tracksuit? That's so boring!" She pulled me toward a shop window and pointed at a soft blue dress.

"Look! You would look amazing in that."

"I've never worn a dress," I admitted. "My mom says students should look disciplined. She picks all my clothes."

"Students should be confident and full of life, not just disciplined," Macy countered.

"If everyone looks the same, we're just robots. Besides, a pretty dress makes you feel good. Maybe your grades will even go up!"

"Just trust me on this. Wear it to the festival, and everyone will see the real you."

I felt a spark of hope. For eighteen years, my life had been a series of commands.

From how much water I drank to which schools I attended, it was all her.

So, I secretly bought my very first dress.

The day of the festival arrived, and for the first time, I felt alive. I felt like a real person.

But in the middle of the party, my mother appeared in the classroom. I froze, my heart dropping to my stomach.

"What is this? What on earth are you doing?" she screamed.

"What is that outfit? And what is that disgusting stuff on your lips?"

"Mom, it's the festival. I just wanted to―"

Before I could finish, her hand made contact with my face. The slap echoed through the quiet room.

"You've grown a spine, haven't you? I spent everything I had to make you perfect, and this is how you repay me?"

"Shopping with these losers? Wearing this trashy dress? You're a disgrace!"

She began clawing at the fabric of my dress, trying to rip it off me as if it were something filthy.

The burning sting on my cheek spread all the way to my heart.

"Mom, please. They're my friends. Stop it," I pleaded.

"Friends? These bottom-feeders? You used to be so obedient, but they've turned you into a liar!"

I closed my eyes, my breathing becoming shallow and ragged. I felt like I was suffocating.

Just as I prepared to scream back, my body went stiff.

My negative emotions had peaked, triggering the chip. The sadness and rage were vacuumed away, leaving a giant void.

I don't even remember how I got home.

After the festival came the end of the term, and Ms. Quinn called a parent-teacher meeting.

Caleb and Macy pulled me aside mysteriously.

"Nadia, come here. We have a gift for you. You've been so down lately."

Caleb pulled out a small, elegant hair clip. "Let me put it in for you."

Suddenly, my mother rushed out from the shadows and shoved Caleb.

"What do you think you're doing? You're the one corrupting her, aren't you? Stay away from my daughter!"

She began hitting Caleb frantically. Ms. Quinn rushed over to restrain her.

"Mrs. Sterling, stop! This is a school. Think of Nadia's reputation!"

"Reputation? She's having a secret affair! Can't you see?"

My mother waved the hair clip in the air, then pulled my diary out of her bag, reading it aloud to the entire class.

"Look here! 'He helped me out today.' And here! 'He talked to me today.' Disgusting!"

I felt like the ground should swallow me whole. "Mom, that's my diary. That's my privacy!"

She glared at me with pure venom. "I'm your mother. I gave you life. You don't have privacy from me!"

"Mrs. Sterling, children need boundaries," Ms. Quinn said firmly.

"Boundaries? My daughter is failing and having flings under your watch! Is this your idea of education?"

My mother began dragging Ms. Quinn toward the hallway.

"You aren't fit to be a teacher. I'm taking this to the principal. I want you fired!"

In the chaos, I saw the Dean approaching. My mother grabbed my arm and yanked me forward.

"Nadia, tell the Dean! Tell him she lets you sneak around with boys and ignores your failing grades!"

I opened my mouth to defend Ms. Quinn, but I saw my mother tap her phone screen.

A sharp, white-hot pain exploded in my head.

I stared blankly at the people around me, confused.

Suddenly, false memories began to flood my brain―Ms. Quinn mocking me for my grades, her whispering cruel things about my friends.

I looked at the Dean and the words spilled out mechanically.

"Yes, Mom. It's true."

"See? This woman needs to be fired today!" my mother screamed triumphantly.