attracting tons of attention from all the girls.
And then there was me.
I dug out this old graphic tee with Hello Kitty
on it from middle school.
Orientation counselors looked at me and
asked, “Aww, is your little sister here with you
for college visits? What grade is she in?”
I beamed a naive smile, “I’m 18.”
My mom cringed.
Josh just said, “You’re such a dweeb.”
The college counselor’s eyes went wide.
“You’re that old? You must be starting
college yourself.”
“That’s right, I’m here to register.” I said it
loud enough for everyone to hear.
く
They all looked at each other, clearly thinking
I was this super–resilient kid who had pulled
themselves up by their bootstraps.
But then, I yelled loud enough for everyone in
the quad to hear, “MOMMM, did you bring
mine and Josh’s photo IDs? I need them to fill
out some forms.”
My mom turned around with a forced smile.
Josh muttered from between clenched teeth,
“You are so freaking embarrassing.”
I quickly shook my head and covered my face,
looking totally freaked out.
“Don’t hit me, Josh. And don’t be mad, mom,
I won’t say anything else.”
The crowd went silent.
- 8.
“That’s way too messed up, they’re showing
some serious favoritism.”
“They’re dressed like they’re going to a red
<
carpet, and that poor girl is dressed like she’s
homeless. I bet that’s her stepmom.”
“That’s just morally wrong. I bet they’ve
abused that girl.”
The girls who had just been fawning over
Josh now looked at him and my mom with
utter disgust.
My mom, desperate to salvage her reputation,
just glared at me.
Then, she addressed the crowd. “My daughter
likes to dress like this. She’s just so well-
behaved. And we’ve never hit her!”
She reached out to try to pull me away.
But in the blink of an eye, I had already
skipped over to a group of college girls with
cute outfits.
I stared at their sundresses.
“Wow, your dresses are so pretty. They must
be so expensive?”
One of the girls said, “Not really, this was
<
like, 20 bucks, do you want the link? I can
send it to you.
I waved my hands in fake shock. “No way!
That’s so expensive! I can barely afford
anything over 5 dollars….”
Everyone around us stopped to stare.
Students and parents had been bored and
restless in the heat, but now, thanks to my
they were all suddenly very
performance
interested.
Except, of course, for my mom and brother. “Five dollars? What is that? A dishrag?”
“And she’s supposed to be the girl’s mother,
what a monster.”
“They look so normal, but they’re actually
super nasty.”
That day, my mom drove off in a fury, without
even grabbing a bite to eat.
Josh, as he was making up his bed, said to
his new roommate, “That weirdo with Hello
<
Kitty on was not my sister!”
What? Just to save face, you don’t even know
me now?
Unacceptable.
That evening, I knocked on his dorm room
door.
“Hi, is my brother Josh in here? I’m all out of
money and was hoping I could get some
water to tide me over.”
