Knock. Knock. “Diana?”

“Come in, Susan.”

She entered, smiling at me. I was curled up on my bed, reading one of the books she’d given me.

“I meant to talk to you,” she said. “Um- do you mind helping me with the laundry? I don’t mean to interrupt…”

“Of course not. I’ll help,” I obliged. I put my book down and got off my bed. I followed her into Kyle and Jack’s room, a laundry basket on Kyle’s bed.

Susan handed half the pile to me and we started folding. “So… the school year’s starting in a couple weeks,” she started. “From what I saw, you’ve been sort of… in and out of school?”

I glanced up at her. “Yeah, sort of,” I said. “Sometimes I’d be in a homeschool program, or online. I’ve been online lately, especially after the pandemic.”

“When was the last time you went to school? Face-to-face?”

“When I was 11. I was with the Thomas’s. They made me go to this ‘special’ private school. They were nice to me, it’s just that they wanted me to have friends and stuff. But then I got into a fight, they expelled me, and the rich fat cats running the school got me moved into a group home.”

Susan gazed at me as she folded a shirt. “I… I’m sorry that happened to you.”

I shook my head. “It was a long time ago.”

She remained silent for a few moments. “Well… I wanted to ask you if… you would be okay with attending high school. Since you finished 9th Grade online, you could just enroll and go the first day.”

At first, I couldn’t answer. My mind short-circuited as my stomach churned at the thought.

“But if you’re not comfortable, it’s alright. They offer a virtual program,” she reassured me.

Going to school? All my life, I’d hated school. Every time I went, I was always tortured by everyone else. “Um… would I go with your sons?”

She hesitated. “Kyle and Jack are in college. Tommy’s a senior in high school and Harry’s a junior. They go to R. T. Summit High. Although, considering the tension between you and them, I don’t know if you’d like to go with them. You could go to a different school, if you want. Lawson High is in our district.”

If Tommy and Harry went there, they’d for sure make my life even more miserable. There was no way I’d go through that. Even if I went to a different school, it seemed way too… scary.

“Um… I think I’d rather go online,” I said.

“You do?”

“Yeah, I… school and I don’t really get along.” I piled up all the clothes I folded. Susan stared in surprise, probably wondering how I finished so many so quickly.

“I see…” she trailed off, her shoulders seeming to relax. “I understand, Diana. All you have to do is enroll. I’ll lend you Davis’s laptop later on, and you can take a look at the curriculum.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” I said. “Thank you, Susan. I appreciate it.”

~~~

I sat in the dining room with Davis’s laptop, browsing R.T. Summit High’s website. They had some pretty interesting electives. A shame the Cooking elective wasn’t offered online; that sounded awesome.

I was going to enroll in a virtual high school, but I was curious about the boys’ school. It seemed to have more, but most of the things I wanted were face-to-face.

The boys laughed as they came from the backyard, teasing Tommy about something. Kyle twirled his football in his hands and playfully bounced it off Tommy’s head. He tried to punch him in response.

“What’s up, Diana?” Jack asked me.

I didn’t look at them. “Nothing.” They came over to me, Kyle holding the football against the dining table surface. They all wore identical smirks as they gazed at me with ridicule.

Harry scrunched his eyebrows with curiosity. “What’s that?” He leaned over and read the contents of the computer screen. “Our school website?”

I sighed. “Yeah, what’s it to you?”

They glanced at each other. I looked at them. Tommy paled while Harry covered his face.

“Wait- no! You’re not… no way!” Tommy shook his head.

“What?” I stared at them.

His hands flew to his forehead, the color draining from his face. “No. No way. No way. No. No.”

Harry wiped his hand down his face. “When did you- how…”

“What is it?” I demanded.

“Mom didn’t say anything about this,” said Jack.

“She never says anything! Bro, no…” Tommy paced. “They can’t do this. They’re crazy.”

What were they freaking out about? Me going to school with them? I wasn’t, but… why were they getting so crazy?

“Guys-”

“We’re done. We’re done. Our parents are officially crazy,” said Harry.

“Guys-”

Tommy glared at me. “You can’t go to school with us.”

“Would you listen?!” I snapped. “I’m going online. I was just looking at the curriculum.” I shook my head. “Sheesh…”

They stopped, obviously embarrassed, and relaxed. Kyle and Jack were less tense, but still upset. What did they care? They were in college.

“Y’all need to chill. What was the big deal?” I asked.

They shifted. “Nothing,” Harry muttered.

“Well, if you’re embarrassed about having a foster kid in your house, relax. I’m staying here, so you don’t have to worry about ruining… whatever ‘reputation’ you have.” Sarcasm was heavy in my voice.

Susan soon came into the dining room. “Diana, is there-” She stopped short, seeing their agitated faces. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Tommy said. “We were just… asking Diana about school, that’s all.”

“Oh.” She walked in. “They’re not bugging you, are they, Diana?” she asked.

“No, they’re fine.”

“So… you’re going online? Not… hybrid, or anything?” Tommy approached me as he spoke.

I huffed, peeved. “No, I’m not. It’s all online.” I returned to the laptop, reviewing the electives. I bit my lip as I clicked on the ‘Cooking’ tab and read the description.

“Did you want any help? Any questions about… anything?” Susan asked me.

“No, I’m good. Thanks, Susan.”

She smiled, gave the boys a warning glare, then left. After a few moments, I looked at them with question. “Do you need anything?”

They seemed to snap out of a daze. “Nothing. Let’s go, guys.” Kyle led them out of the room.

I wasn’t going to get used to their weirdness. They couldn’t be that embarrassed about having a foster sibling. They were hiding a lot from me. Normally I wouldn’t be digging around for secrets, but it really felt like it had to do with me. But what kind of secrets would they have related to me?

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Dismissing my thoughts, I opened another tab and searched, ‘Virtual public high schools Idaho’. There really wasn’t anything else I could do.

Jewel Prep Online School… Kooskia Virtual Academy… Medley Online High School…

“Diana! Get us some Cheez-O’s and Oni-O’s!” Kyle suddenly called from the den.

For some reason, irritation rose within me. “Get it yourself, I’m busy!”

“We’re busy, too!”

“Just pause the game!”

“Just get it!”

I ignored them and continued browsing. I returned to the boys’ school page. There was an advanced Literature class? That sounded cool. Was that offered online?

Tommy and Harry came into the dining room. “Diana.”

“What?”

“The snacks?”

“Get them. Kitchen’s right there.” I pointed.

They glared at me. “You always get us stuff,” Harry said.

“I’m busy, so get your own snacks.”

There was a long pause before they finally left to the kitchen. I sighed, relieved. Finally.

I did what they said before. I tried to give them a chance. I didn’t want any bad blood or tension around the house. But I was somehow reaching my limit.

After all I suffered, this was what pushed me to the edge? I didn’t understand myself.

The boys came out of the kitchen with their snacks. But instead of heading back to the den, Harry came up to me…

… and poured sticky orange soda over my head.

I simply sat back, waiting for the sweet, cold liquid to stream down my hair and soak into my clothes. The trail stretched all the way down to my lap and stained my jeans. Harry crushed the can— or tried to, at least— and put it down.

I chuckled, slamming my hands on the table and standing up. Harry smirked, looking down at me from his towering height. Tommy stood behind him with a bowl of chips and soda cans in his arms, also smiling.

They didn’t want me at their school, huh?

Don’t do it. Don’t you dare, my conscience whispered. This isn’t worth it. It’s a petty prank. Just brush it off. Don’t you-

I inhaled to speak, pausing for just a moment. “I think I’m gonna go to school with you guys.”

And… you just screwed your life up again.

Both their smiles vanished. “What?” they said.

“Yeah. Maybe it won’t be that bad. I mean, it gets pretty boring just sitting around here, you know? Plus, you guys are gonna keep treating me like dirt whether or not I go to school, so what’s the difference?”

I walked around them, soda dripping from my hair. “Why shouldn’t I go? I can take all the classes I want.” I gasped dramatically. “I can take Cooking class now! I love cooking! I was so sad just now, thinking I wouldn’t be able to take it because I would be in a virtual school. But now I have the opportunity!”

I turned around to smile at them. They stared at me with pure horror, faces as pale as ghosts. The bowl of chips slipped out of Tommy’s elbow and spilled onto the floor.

“I have you to thank,” I said sweetly. “You’ve illuminated me! I shouldn’t miss out on a chance to have a… somewhat normal life, especially when I only have six months here! Who knows when I’ll have another chance at a real education?”

“N-no, no, no. No.” Tommy held up a finger. “Just stick with the virtual program, okay?” He chuckled nervously. “High school… it’s boring, It’s-”

“Maybe to you, but to me…” I took a deep breath through the nose. “It’ll be a whole other world to explore.”

“W-well… go to a different school! They have the same-”

“Now, why would I do that? I don’t want to start off not knowing anyone. You’ll keep me company!” I smiled sweetly at them. “Thank you so much for finalizing my decision.” I twirled my sticky hair around my finger. “I’ll just, uh…”

I took one of the cans away from Tommy and opened it, letting it hiss. I sniffed it a bit, nodding approvingly, and took a sip. He only stared at me, seemingly paralyzed.

With a smile, I threw the rest of the soda into Tommy’s face.

“Hey-” Harry approached me. I turned the can on him, wetting his shirt.

I dropped the can with a clatter and crushed it under my foot. “You, uh… have something on your face.” I pointed at them. “Too bad it’s not egg.” I giggled as I left them frozen in place. “Make sure to clean that up before your parents see it.”

I would regret this decision. But despite the stupidity of my petty revenge…

That… felt… good.

~~~

Susan

“But who told them? How… I don’t understand.”

“She said she saw you at the café that day.”

“And she just told everyone? She didn’t call me or ask me what was happening, she just… told everyone!”

“I’m sorry, Susan. You know how it is here, people say things…”

Davis came into the room. Noticing my demeanor, he looked at me questioningly. I waved him off before he could speak. “Well, tell her to mind her own business. Or- no, scratch that. I’ll tell her myself.”

“Okay. Susan, don’t let this stop you from coming. We miss you. And the boys’ music, it always brought such a spirit to the service.”

“We’ll think about it. Bye.” I hung up. I didn’t mean to be rude, but I was too upset to even think about going back to church now.

“What happened?” Davis asked me.

“Jeanine saw us at the café when we met Diana,” I said.

“Oh.” He scratched his head. “What did she say?”

“I was talking to Kelsey. Jeanine told everybody! The whole church! She said all these ridiculous things- she didn’t even ask me what was happening! Everyone knows now!”

“Well, what did she say?” Davis repeated.

“That we’re replacing our daughter, using Diana to relieve our grief, like she’s some kind of Barbie! All these disgusting things!” I sat on the bed. “This is why I never liked her. She just sees something and starts judging everyone and telling everyone…”

Davis sat next to me. “Well…”

“Well, what?”

“She’s kind of right, Susan.” He shrugged guiltily.

“How is she right? Diana… her appearance is a fluke. We were going to help a foster child. That was it.”

“But it hasn’t been long, my love.”

I stayed silent. In part, he was right… I saw Diana and I wanted her to be with us. Who could blame me, though? I was looking at my baby’s face. I could see her…

But that wasn’t the only reason. I wanted to help other children out there. Diana has a pretty disturbing past. I would love to help… relieve some of it, at least.

Either way, Jeanine started a rumor. Again. She hadn’t even apologized. Just last year, she thought Amy had turned to drugs.

Yeah, sure. She turned to drugs. Chemo drugs.

“She’s wrong, Davis. She doesn’t know this family, she doesn’t know what we’re feeling. She didn’t have any right to go around telling everyone!” I stood, pacing quickly. “The way she made it sound made us look like psychos! And they want us to go back?! Oh, no. I’m not going to face everyone after what she told them.”

“Susan, please, calm down-”

“Stop telling me to calm down, because I’m not calming down. My God, how dare she! If she lost her baby, how would she feel?”

“Honey, you’re shaking! Please, take a deep breath.”

Someone knocked at the door. I quickly composed myself and tried to breathe normally, lacing my trembling hands behind me. “Who is it?”

“It’s Diana.”

“Come in, sweetheart.”

She opened the door. Just seeing her brought me back to when our lives were normal. When my baby girl would come bouncing on her feet, asking me for permission to watch TV, or use the computer, or just to complain about her brothers annoying her.

It’s not her. It’s another girl with her own family. This is Diana.

“I needed to ask you about school…” Diana started.

“Oh, sure, honey. You have any questions?”

“I was…” She cleared her throat. “I think I want to go to school face-to-face. At Summit High.”

My stomach dropped to my feet. I tried to mask it with a smile. “What?”

“I gave it some thought, and… there’s a lot of classes that I want to take, but they’re not available online. So… I really want to go to school now. Maybe it’ll be different. Last time, it was just elementary school, so… it might be a better experience.”

I glanced at Davis for help. His mouth flapped, but no sound came out. Why did I even expect help from him? Turning to Diana, I tried to act as normal as possible. “Um… are you sure, sweetheart? I mean… the boys have been pretty rude to you. I’m trying to talk to them. I don’t want you to force yourself to spend time with them.”

“It’s fine. They’re in different grades.”

“Y-yeah, but…”

“Maybe you could try out a different school?” Davis suggested.

“Yeah. We thought you could go to Lawson High. That way you and the boys can spend some time apart. They get pretty mischievous around their friends, and we wouldn’t be there to stop them. We can only punish them after the fact.”

Diana’s eyes suddenly filled with tears and she grew anxious. “B-but… I don’t know anyone at Lawson.”

“You would only know them at this school, anyway,” said Davis. “Don’t cry, Diana-”

“No, I can’t- I can’t go to school alone! Please, I want to go with the boys, I need the support, I can’t be alone! Please? I promise everything will be okay, and we’ll get along, I just need someone I know close to me because then I’m too scared and I’m gonna screw up and they’ll suspend me-”

I didn’t know what to do. From her file, I figured she’d hate going to school. I was sure she’d stay online. Where did this come from?

“Okay, okay, it’s okay!” I put my hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down. Tears covered her cheeks. “It’s alright. Um… we’ll talk to Tommy and Harry, okay? We’ll make sure they’re not rude to you at school. Okay? But… if you change your mind, let us know. Lawson’s a good school, too.”

“Diana, really, you’re not going to see much of Tommy and Harry,” said Davis. “If you go to Lawson, there’s not much of a difference.”

“Yeah, but…” She sniffled. “At least I know there’s a familiar face nearby, you know?”

“Are you sure? Virtual school has a lot,” I said. “That way you don’t have to wake up so early, or-”

Diana stepped back, gazing at us with hurt in her eyes. She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “I get it. You… you don’t want me to embarrass your sons at school, do you?”

I glanced at Davis again. This was not going well. “No, that’s not it-”

“It’s just like them. They freaked out because they didn’t want me with them. But I get it. You’re embarrassed. Like the other families. It’s okay, I’m used to it.”

Oh, God… What could I say? The girl just wanted a normal life. I couldn’t deny her the right to go to the school she wanted. I didn’t know what changed her mind after she was so adamant about staying home.

“If you want to go with them… then you can go with them, Diana,” Davis said slowly. “We just want you to be happy, and we know you and our sons don’t get along well. That’s all.”

“We’ll get along. I know we will.”

I looked at my husband. We didn’t really have much of a choice. “Okay, we’ll just… talk to them.”

Her face instantly brightened up. I felt a stab in my heart from her familiar smile. My beautiful princess… she lit up the room with that smile. The house was so much darker after…

“Thank you! Thank you, Davis. And Susan. I’m so excited to make new friends… and take Cooking class! I can’t wait!” She squealed, bouncing on her feet, and ran to her room. “I’m going to see what I can wear!”

For moments, we just stood there, contemplating the situation.

“This just got a whole lot worse,” Davis finally broke the silence.