“The National Scholarship! Only five spots in the entire school, and I got first place!”
I thrust my phone toward her, my face glowing with pride. “Look, it’s written clearly on the transcript!”
She stared at the screen for three seconds.
Then—slap! A sharp sting burned across my cheek.
“Who told you to apply for that?”
I covered my face, stunned.
“You winning a scholarship ruins everything! How am I supposed to tell your Uncle David we’re too poor to survive? Do you know you just destroyed my entire plan for the next six months of sympathy money?”
Her finger jabbed at my nose, her eyes full of fury and blame.
“I… I thought you’d be happy for me…”
“Happy? How could I be happy?” She snatched up her phone, pulling up a chat log. “Look at this! Just yesterday I told your uncle you didn’t even have enough for living expenses. He was going to send two thousand this month. Now you show up with an $8,000 scholarship?”
My heart sank, piece by piece.
My honor meant less than her lies.
“Mom, I worked hard for this…”
“Worked hard?” she sneered. “You worked hard in the wrong direction! You should be working on looking more miserable, not more successful!”
“Listen to me, Emily. A mother always has her child’s best interests at heart. Remember, no one in this world loves you more than your mom. You must obey me.”
“Don’t sacrifice the big picture for something small.”
The next morning, she dragged me to campus.
Inside Professor Anderson’s office, her tears came on cue.
“Professor, I’m Emily’s mother,” she choked out, her voice trembling. “I came today to apologize for my daughter’s behavior.”
Professor Anderson looked puzzled. “What behavior?”
“She applied for a scholarship out of vanity, with no thought for our family’s situation,” Laura sobbed, dabbing at her eyes. “Yes, we really are struggling, but she shouldn’t have resorted to plagiarism.”
I froze, staring at her in shock.
Professor Anderson shook his head. “That’s impossible. She couldn’t have plagiarized…”
“Professor, Emily has always been vain, always wanting to be better than everyone else. But I believe honesty is far more important.”
Professor Anderson looked at me, then back at her, his expression complicated.
“So what are you saying?”
“I’d like us to switch her application to financial aid instead. We really do need help, but not through dishonest means.”
My fists clenched tightly under the desk.