The Fat Girl Her Family Ignored Finally Stopped Waiting Chapter 05
Mom stood there stunned for a long moment before she found her voice.
“Who did you say? Lily? Not Tyler? Not Maddie?”
The doorway went quiet for a few seconds.
The reporter glanced down at her interview sheet, then looked up to double-check the house number.
“We’re here for Lily Whitaker. She’s this year’s high school valedictorian, a perfect SAT scorer, and she just won the National Science Competition. We’re putting together a feature on our area’s top graduating seniors.”
Mom’s face went rigid.
Dad ushered the reporter and cameraman into the living room and asked if they’d like coffee or water. Once they were seated, he leaned in with a smile.
“There must be some kind of mix-up here. Lily’s grades have always been pretty middle-of-the-road. How would she be valedictorian?”
He said it, then glanced over at Tyler.
“Now, if you’d come to interview my son Tyler, that I’d understand. He’s the starting quarterback at school. He just—”
The reporter cut him off.
She pulled out her phone, brought up a photo, and held it out to them.
“This is Lily on the podium at the National Science Competition.”
Mom and Dad exchanged a look and took the phone.
One glance, and they both froze.
The girl in the photo was, unmistakably, Lily.
She was up on the podium, a certificate in her hand, flanked by judges and the other winning students.
Mom stared at the picture a long time before she said, quietly, “I think she did mention it once — something about a competition…”
Dad frowned. “But she never said it was anything like this.”
After that, they didn’t have anything to say.
The reporters glanced at each other.
The smile on the lead reporter’s face had faded considerably.
“So — is Lily home right now?”
Dad shot up from his chair, the smile stiff on his face.
“She’s out today. How about my daughter Maddie? She could chat with you. She’s a really talented dancer — she just got into a summer program in New York.”
Mom jumped in right after. “Yes, or Tyler. He and Lily are close. He could tell you all about her.”
Mom and Dad exchanged a look. Clearly, they weren’t about to let a moment of airtime slip past them.
The reporter didn’t answer. She slid the phone back into her bag, and the cameraman picked up his equipment.
The whole crew stood, ready to leave.
Mom panicked and followed them to the door.
“Wait — you came to interview Lily, right? We’re her parents. Surely we can say a few words?”
Dad chimed in. “She’s our daughter. If you’re interviewing her, you’ll want to interview the family.”
The lead reporter paused at the threshold.
She turned and looked at them.
“I’ve been doing graduating-senior features for ten years. This is the first time I’ve ever met parents who couldn’t tell me what awards their child had won, what her scores were, or what college she was headed to.”
She paused, then added, “You have a daughter most families would be proud of. And your first reaction just now was to ask if we had the wrong house.”
Mom opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
The smile slid off Dad’s face.
The reporter turned, went down the front steps, and the door clicked shut behind her in the living room.
It was a long time before Mom and Dad came back to themselves.
Mom looked at Dad, her voice thin.
“Lily won the National Science Competition?”
Dad looked back at her, his expression dark.
“And she’s this year’s valedictorian?”