Lily’s first day at Maplewood Academy began with the sort of bright and golden morning that gave the impression that everything had been buffed to perfection.
I had ironed Lily’s school uniform twice already – a pinafore dress in dark blue over a white shirt. It was decorated with a miniature crest embroidered onto the breast pocket which I found very ridiculous. Her shoes were cleaned using toothpaste since I forgot to get some polish. I took over forty-five minutes to make her two braids and Lily promptly pulled out one strand once we stepped out of the house.
“I look weird,” Lily muttered, looking disapprovingly at herself in the mirror of the car door.
“You look beautiful,” I replied truthfully. She looked like a little girl who belonged in a school like this.
Maplewood drop-off li
