by Melissa
Part 9. A setback
and a punishment
My heart plummeted
as the receptionist's words washed over me. The glimmer of hope I had clung to,
the possibility that Maria's intervention could give me back my true identity,
seemed to vanish in an instant. "You didn't send the letter?" I gasped
in surprise.
The receptionist,
her gaze now avoiding mine, nodded slowly. "No," she admitted.
"I... I read it first, out of curiosity. And after what I read, I couldn't
bring myself to send it."
"You read my letter?" I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper.
She nodded, her
gaze unwavering. "I did. And frankly, Miss Jones," she continued, her
voice laced with disappointment, "it painted a far from flattering picture
of your actions towards Maria. Allowing her to be falsely accused of theft and
then, but only after needing her help, offering her money as a kind of
consolation... it doesn't speak well of your character."
Shame burned
through me, hotter than all the stoves I'd been forced to clean since my
arrival at Elmwood Academy. The receptionist's words mirrored the
self-recriminations that had haunted me since realizing the gravity of my
mistake. "I know," I whispered, my voice choked with emotion. "I
was scared and selfish. And until now, I didn't understand the true cost of my
silence."
"Maybe you just deserve what's happening to you," she continued, her voice devoid of malice but laced with a firm conviction. "Perhaps this experience is a harsh lesson, one you sorely needed."
