Melinda Lorenzo - Bad Reputation

My face heated up.

“Thank you, Amber ,” I said stiffly.

She handed it over with an equally stiff smile. I shoved the whole thing into my backpack with a beet-red face, and sighed thankfully as a group of customers approached my table.

* * *

Although working alongside Amber and Joey was uncomfortable, it had a surprising benefit. She’d invited plenty of her friends down to support her sister’s cause, and they were all buying. Every one of them was happy to take my business card and flyer, and most said their parents would be dying to try someone new. I didn’t even care that they all assumed I was piggybacking on Amber’s fundraising efforts.

But I was still relieved when one o’clock rolled around and the market was packing in for the day. Being nice to the privileged was wearing on me. And so were Joey’s teasing jibes and intense stares.

“How’d you do, Chipper? ” he asked as I shoved my materials back into my bag.

“Not that it’s your business, but really well, actually. If even half of these people hire me, I’ll make a huge dent in what I need to finish my project.”

Joey frowned. It was the first time I’d seen him look anything but overly pleased all day.

“What?” I said.

He shook his head. “Nothing. That’s good news. You want to come with us for a late lunch?”

“Even if that idea appealed to me, I can’t,” I told him. “I have work.”

“You work?” Amber’s voice was not quite horrified, but close.

“I have to pay for school somehow,” I replied.

“Didn’t you get some big scholarship, though?” Amber asked.

“No,” I snapped.

At my tone, both Joey and Amber balked.

Amber was right about the scholarship, but the reason I’d chosen not to accept it was far too personal to share. After everything that happened, the bottom line was that the college with the “big” scholarship was just too close to home, too close to accusing eyes and resentful memories. And that was just somewhere that I couldn’t stand to be. So I’d taken a smaller, less comprehensive scholarship at Trans U, and even though it meant I had to work to earn a living, I never regretted it.

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