The aftermath of the auditorium hearing unfolded with the agonizing slowness of a collapsing building. By Wednesday morning, news of the school board’s emergency closed-door meeting had leaked to every corner of Oakridge High. My father had taken an indefinite administrative leave of absence, leaving Vice Principal Gable to run the school in a haze of nervous sweating and timid announcements.
For the first time in three years, I walked into school without a chaperone monitoring my every step. Yet, true freedom proved far more complicated than simply shedding my father's shadow.
When I sat down at my desk in AP European History, Sarah and Chloe didn't look at me. They pulled their chairs three inches further away, whispering behind manicured hands. To my old friends, I wasn't just a girl
