Chapter 121

Kamari's Point of View

I was right. My mother had written the speech for me. Planned it out to the very last drop.

"Now, before you tell them how you are going to change the pack for the better, take a moment to pause. Smile. You need to seem appealing to them. As if you are some model on the runway. They need to want to be you. Have your life."

She was droning on and on. Nothing stopped her, not even my protestations.

By the time we get to the school, my mind was going to be numb. Blank.

My elation earlier seemed far away now. A distant memory now replaced by my mother's voice banging into my ears. The high-pitched squeal that she thought she covered so perfectly. her sharp intake of breath when she needed a moment to compose herself.

"Don't you trust me enough to let me handle this myself?" I asked, interrupting her in the middle of her sentence.

For a moment, all my mother could do was blink. Her hands were still clutched at the edges of her paper. Still held them close. But