When a Mother Loves Her Reputation More
When she reached the steps, she turned back around and said, "Oh, by the way, come back inside on your own when you're done memorizing everything.
"Don't make me tell Ms. Campbell that you chose to stay out here on the field, trying to cause a scene. You know she hates it when people say her daughter is a drama queen."
Left alone on the field, I crumpled to the ground. After baking under the midday sun, the rubber track almost seemed to have melted. The moment the bare skin of my arm pressed against it, I felt a searing pain.
I forced myself back onto my feet, but all the strength seemed to have been sapped out of me. My fingers twitched, and the vocabulary list slipped through them.