I stared at her. “What do you mean?”
She said, “I sold my Legos.”
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Our downstairs neighbor, Mrs. Tanya, sometimes kept an eye on Mia after school until I got home. Apparently Mia had told her everything. Mrs. Tanya’s grandson collected Legos, and he bought the whole bin for $112.
That made more sense, but I was still reeling.
I said, “You sold all of them?”
Mia nodded and handed me a receipt from the optical shop near the bus stop.
I looked at it, confused. “Baby, these are frames and store credit.”
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She nodded again, like Yes, obviously.
“The lenses weren’t broken,” she said. “Only the frame. The lady at the shop said Chloe’s family had bought glasses there before, so they had her information. She said she couldn’t do it without an adult there, but she let me pay for the new frame and put money on Chloe’s account. Then Chloe’s mom came later and picked them up.”
Her face softened like I was the one being slow.
That made more sense, but I was still reeling.
“You did all that by yourself?”
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“Mrs. Tanya walked with me.”
I put one hand on my forehead.
Then I crouched in front of her. “Why would you sell your favorite thing?”
Her face softened like I was the one being slow.
I thought that was the end of it.
“Because Chloe was crying in the bathroom, Mom.”
I had no answer for that.
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Then she said, “She has the new frames now. She can see, and nobody gets to laugh at the tape anymore.”
I pulled her into a hug so fast she squeaked.
I thought that was the end of it.
It was not.
My blood went cold.
The next morning, I dropped Mia off at school and went straight to my first job.
About forty minutes later, my phone rang.
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It was her teacher, Ms. Kelly, and her voice sounded tight.
She said, “Can you come to the school right now?”
I was already reaching for my keys. “What happened?”
“Chloe’s parents are here. They are very upset. They said you and Mia are going to answer for what happened.”
Mia was standing near the principal’s desk with her head down.
My blood went cold.
“What does that mean?”
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“I think there has been a misunderstanding. Please just come.”
I drove there with both hands locked on the wheel.
By the time I got to the office, my heart was pounding hard enough to make me sick.
When I stepped inside, I stopped cold.
Chloe’s mother had tears on her face.
Mia was standing near the principal’s desk with her head down.
Chloe was crying in a chair.
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Ms. Kelly looked pale.
Chloe’s mother had tears on her face.
And Chloe’s father was staring at Mia with such a hard expression that every protective instinct in my body lit up.
I crossed the room and put myself between him and my daughter.
Chloe’s mother covered her mouth and started crying harder.
“What is going on?” I said.
Mia grabbed my hand. “Mom.”
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I squeezed back. “I’m here.”
