Nia’s voice came from inside.
“It’s me.”
Silence.
Then the lock clicked.
Darren entered.
Nia sat on the bed.
Her eyes were swollen.
The packet lay beside her.
Darren picked it up.
Read the front.
His face transformed.
“State finalist?”
Nia nodded.
“Why didn't anybody call me?”
She looked toward the doorway.
Rochelle stood there.
Darren opened the packet.
His eyebrows rose.
“Four hundred eighty-seven applicants.”
“Dr. Carter said I had the highest engineering score.”
Darren looked up.
“What?”
For the first time that day, Nia got the reaction she had imagined.
Real surprise.
Real pride.
He grinned.
“Nia.”
She tried not to cry.
“That’s incredible.”
Rochelle said:
“Don't make too much of the preliminary ranking.”
Darren turned.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because pressure isn’t good.”
“Nobody said pressure.”
Nia looked down.
Darren sat beside her.
“What did you build?”
She showed him.
For ten minutes, Nia explained the sensor system.
She had used cheap acoustic sensors to detect changes in pipe vibration.
The prototype could identify a leak before visible water appeared.
Darren asked questions.
Not pretend questions.
Real ones.
“How much does one sensor cost?”
“About eleven dollars.”
“Commercial systems?”
“Hundreds.”
“How many would a school need?”
“Depends.”
Rochelle remained at the doorway.
Nia glanced at her twice.
Her mother never asked anything.
Eventually Darren said:
“What’s next Saturday?”
Nia stopped.
Rochelle answered:
“Kayla’s regional showcase.”
Darren stared.
Then back at Nia.
“And this?”
“Same night.”
“Okay.”
He thought.
“I’ll go with Nia.”
Nia’s face fell slightly.
He saw.
Rochelle saw too.
Darren corrected:
“No.”
He looked at his wife.
“You go with Nia.”
Rochelle stared.
“What?”
“I’ll take Kayla.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because cheer regionals are important.”
“So is this.”
“I didn't say it wasn't.”
“Then why am I automatically taking Nia?”
Rochelle’s voice sharpened.
“Because you volunteered.”
Darren stared.
Nia wished she could disappear.
Kayla appeared in the hallway behind Rochelle.
“I want Dad to come to mine.”
Everyone turned.
Kayla continued:
“Mom can go with Nia.”
Rochelle looked at her.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
Kayla shrugged.
“Dad has never seen this routine.”
Darren smiled.
“There.”
Problem solved.
Except Rochelle did not look relieved.
She looked trapped.
Nia saw it.
That was when she understood.
The scheduling conflict was not the real reason.
Her mother had never intended to sign.
The next morning, Dr. Carter’s office contained more people than Rochelle expected.
Dr. Carter sat behind her desk.
Beside her was Bellmont’s chief financial officer, Mr. Lewis.
Across from them sat a woman Nia recognized but had not seen in almost two years.
Aunt Camille.
Her father’s younger sister.