The other students treated me like a weirdo,
avoiding me.
I was okay with it.
It was better than camp.
One day after school, I was hurrying home
when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
I turned around.
It was the boy I’d had lunch with.
He looked happy.
“Long time no see.”
“I heard you were sick. Are you better now?”
く
I stared at him, fear in my eyes, backing
away.
He looked startled and grabbed my arm.
“Are you okay?”
Just then, Mom walked by, carrying groceries.
She saw him touch me.
“What are you doing?”
She screamed.
She ran over and pulled us apart.
She threw her groceries at me.
Г
Eggs broke, dripping down my clothes.
I felt numb.
A crowd gathered.
They tried to calm Mom down.
“Even if something happened, go home and
talk about it. Don’t embarrass your daughter
like that!”
Mom just got angrier.
“She’s a tramp! No shame at all!”
Mom’s yelling was nothing compared to the
camp’s punishments.
く
I thought I wouldn’t care.
But hearing those words from her made my
body shake.
A sharp pain stabbed my chest.
I forced the words out.
“Mom, there’s nothing between us…”
“Don’t lie to me!”
P
Mom laughed.
She grabbed me and twisted my face towards
the crowd.
“Everyone, look at what I got. This is what I
get for being a mom! You’re just a problem!”
Chapter Two
People were whispering.
My ears were ringing, I couldn’t make out
what they were saying.
But the way they were looking at me…
Scornful, disgusted, like I was a bug.
I felt so small.
What had I done wrong?
Was it wrong to eat lunch with a guy?
Did everyone hate me?
Street:
She yanked at my jacket too hard.
She stopped dead.
The crowd went silent, too.
They could see the scars on my arms: cuts,
needle marks, burns.
“What happened to you?” Mem whispered,
like she was punched in the gut.
And in that moment. I felt a sick kind of
satisfaction.
I started laughing, but the laugh turned into
tears.
14
<
“I tried to tell you,” I said, “but you didn’t
believe me.”
- 9.
Mom rushed me to the hospital.
They poked and prodded me like I was a doll.
Hours later, the doctor shook his head.
“How did a young girl like you end up like
this?”
Mom grabbed the test results.
Her hands were shaking so hard she dropped
them.
く
“Baby, I’m so sorry…”
I watched, cold and detached.
The damage was done.
Regret was useless.
Before we left, I asked the doctor, “I can’t
sleep. Can you give me something?”
He gave me a knowing look, then turned to
Mom.
“You should take her to see a therapist.”
Mom, crying again, took me to a shrink.
After the evaluation, the therapist said to
Mom, “Your daughter is severely depressed.
She’s at risk. You need to watch her closely.”
Back home, Mom broke down, hugging me
and sobbing.
Dad rushed in from his study.
“What’s wrong?”
Mom couldn’t speak, just handed him the test
results.
Dad read them.
Even he started to tear up.
“Honey, we’re so sorry. We saw the ads,
thought that camp was a good thing. We
didn’t know…”
