The Daughter They Abandoned Is The Doctor They Can’t Reach Chapter 10
The day after the welcome assembly, I went to the scholarship office.
A staff member handed me a dark blue folder. Stamped beneath the gold university crest was my name, along with formal confirmation that my merit scholarship was now officially in effect.
There was also an invitation to the awards ceremony, scheduled for two weeks later.
Each recipient could invite two guests.
Back in my dorm room, I sent the first digital invitation to Ms. Alvarez.
*Thank you for showing me where the rules could help me, and for believing I could make it this far.*
A few minutes later, she wrote back.
*It would be an honor, Nora. I’ll be there.*
The second invitation went to my manager at the community bookstore in Pittsburgh. He’d given me my first job and had rearranged my schedule over and over so I could make it to tests and interviews.
That night, he called me directly.
“I’ve already booked the ticket,” he said with a laugh. “Proud of you, kid.”
After I hung up, I stared at the two confirmation emails for a long time.
The people who had truly helped me had never once demanded that I sacrifice myself in return.
When I left the dorm, I ran into Eli outside the library. He spotted the certificate in my hand at once and let out a low whistle.
“You better dress sharp for the ceremony. We’re the stars of the show.”
“You make sure you’re not late first.”
“Impossible. Barbecue place after?”
“Deal.”
We split off at the crosswalk. I carried the certificate across campus and looked back once at the academic building behind me.
No one here asked me to step aside.
No one gave my place to someone else because I was supposedly mature enough to handle it.
Every bit of recognition I’d earned had my name on it, clear and complete.
Those three months had been the first full stretch of time in my life that belonged entirely to me.