Emily avoided my gaze.
After he departed, I questioned her about the deposit.
“My savings.”
“Your college savings?”
She nodded. She’d spent nearly all her living-expense savings on the deposit and financed the remainder.
The total approached $24,000.
“So you blew your college savings, and want me to foot the bill for the rest?”
She nodded again.
I’d spent years helping Emily afford college, and now she’d endangered her education to alter her appearance.
“Why didn’t you ask me first?”
“Because you would’ve said no.”
“I would’ve asked why.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“No, Emily. It isn’t.”
She faced the wall.
Eventually, I asked, “Something happened at school, right?”
Her shoulders trembled.
Months earlier, someone had photographed her laughing at a gathering. The image spread among students, who mocked her nose and chin.
Someone altered the photograph to exaggerate her features. Others laughed as she walked past or mimicked her smile.
Emily withdrew from gatherings and avoided cameras.
