"Oh no, honey. You can't start missin' days at a new school right off on account of me. If you stay home, I'll just be so upset, I'll get sicker and sicker."

"But, Momma..."

"Now, Dawn honey, I don't want you worrying and denying yourself things on account of me. Your daddy got you and Jimmy into a fancy school where you're going to get advantages we never expected either of you would have. You just can't go on like you had to in the other places," she insisted

"But, Momma..."

Suddenly she squeezed my hand so tight the bones in my fingers seemed to rub against each other. "You belong in this school, Dawm. You deserve this chance. You should mix with the rich and the blue-blooded. There ain't one girl or boy at that school better than you, you hear?"

"But Momma, the girls at this schoolwear clothes I'll never even get to try on, and they talk about places I'll never go. I'll never fit in."

"You deserve the same things, Dawn. Never forget it." With that, her iron grip tightened even more, making me cry out a little, and she let my hand go.

"All right, Momma. I promise..."