“Great. Now my child is a drunk and a forger. You know, if you’re immature enough to be doing this sort of stuff, maybe you aren’t ready.”

“To be fair,” I say, “there’d be plenty of opportunities to get drunk at house parties at public school. It’s junior year. Don’t you remember your junior year?”

“You’re underage. Seventeen is not old enough to be drinking, and—don’t give me that look.”

“I’m not giving you a look.”

“Danni, tell me you never went to a house party before boarding school.”

I hesitate. “I never went to a house party before boarding school,” I say in a robotic voice.

Mom looks scandalized. “Danni.”

I hold my hands up in surrender. “I’m a product of childhood trauma, Mom, it’s not even my fault! I got bullied my whole childhood, now I do whatever my classmates want me to do. I was corrupted in Boulder. The girls here corrupted me. I’ll be corrupted wherever I go. It’s better if we accept it.”

“I’ll homeschool you.”

“You’d probably corrupt me, too, Mom,” I say regretfully. “You do smoke.”

“Well, I need to, with a daughter like you.” She gives me a grudging smile.

Despite everything, it’s good to see her again. It makes me feel less alone. Even if there’s nothing she can do.

The door to the headmaster’s office finally opens, and he invites us in. Maybe he was just leaving us out here to torture me. One final “screw you” on the way out.

Mom and I sit side by side as he launches into a rehearsed-sounding spiel. It’s pretty similar to the one he gave me yesterday, actually. I broke the rules, nothing he can do, his hands are tied, he really is sorry.

The thing is, I kind of believe him. There’s something about the way he says it that comes across as sincere. And that gives me hope that my plan has a shot in hell at working.

“Now. Before I invite your input, Mrs. Baker,” the headmaster says, “Is there anything you have to say for yourself, Danni?”

I nod. Okay. It’s going to be fine. I’ve got this. I turn on my laptop, and bring up the two documents I prepared last night. I stayed up until stupid o’clock working with Leonora on two different versions of her profile on me.