They Sacrificed Me to Avoid Favoritism novel · Chapter 5 of 24
Chapter 5: The Open Line
On Friday morning Noemi and I sat on the floor of the empty school library with my phone between us.
The call had been connected for four minutes.
Lindsey had texted from the front steps: I'll go in and leave it on in my pocket. If I hang up, come get me.
Through the phone we heard her shoes on the hall floor, a door opening, and my father's voice.
"Lindsey. Come in. Close that behind you, would you?"
"Good morning, Mr. Salcedo."
"You're pale. Did you eat?"
"I had toast."
"Good. Sit, sit."
A chair creaked. My father's chair, the leather one with the squeaky arm.
I had sat in it a hundred times as a little girl, spinning, until he said it was bad for his back.
Noemi pressed her ear against the phone speaker and held her breath.
"I wanted to thank you again for Saturday," my father said. "What you did on the lawn, offering your seat, was exactly the kind of student this school needs."
"Thank you."
"And I wanted to talk to you about your Founders Scholarship."
There was a small pause.
"Is there a problem with it?" Lindsey said.
"Not at all. It's fully funded through your senior year and your college tuition afterward. I'd like to put that in writing this morning, with a seal. It's the highest award we can give."
I looked at Noemi.
"He's paying her," Noemi whispered.
"Shh."
"Why now?" Lindsey said.
"Because I want you secure." My father's voice was gentle. "The next few weeks will be difficult for the school. People will ask you what you saw on Saturday. Reporters, parents. Some of them may push."
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