Chapter 1

On my first day of college, the moment I stepped into the dorm room, one of my roommates said something to me in the local dialect.

I didn't catch it, and asked without thinking, "Sorry, what did you say?"

The three of them exchanged a smile.

"Told you she's an out-of-towner. It's right there in the file. Riverton."

"A hick from some third-rate city gets to share a room with us? What rotten luck."

"Isn't that what makes it fun, though? She can't understand a word. We insult her and tell her it's a compliment, and she'll thank us for it."

They burst out laughing. "We'll have our own little monkey show from now on."

I didn't say anything. I just bent down and quietly started unpacking.

It's true I'm not from here.

But my mother is from Bayport.

The Bayport dialect? I could speak it by the time I was two.

...

Luna Finch, one of the roommates, still wasn't sure, so she kept probing in the dialect.

"So where are you from?"

Thinking back on what they'd just said, I dropped any idea of explaining.

Why ruin their fun?

I pretended I hadn't understood and looked at her, all confusion.

Luna switched to standard English. "You're not from Bayport?"

I nodded. "I'm from Riverton."

Georgette Whitney lifted her chin at Luna and slipped back into the dialect.

"What did I tell you? And you didn't believe me."

"I smelled the dirt on her the second she walked in."

Maxine Dickerson gave a smug little smile.

"They say out-of-towners hear us talk like it's a foreign language. Perfect chance to test it."

She walked over and tugged at my clothes.

"Look at what she's wearing. Doesn't she look like a fat old sow wrapped up in a bedsheet?"

They all burst out laughing.

I lifted my head and looked at them.

"What are you all laughing about?"

"We're saying you're pretty, and you've got great taste."

I smiled too, eyes curving.

"Thanks. If you like it, I'll send you the link."

They laughed even louder.

"Don't hicks own a mirror? Where does all that confidence come from?"

Luna's eyes glinted. "Confidence is good. In a little while, we'll give her a real big chance to embarrass herself."

The others started talking it up loudly among themselves.

I acted like I was busy unpacking, and committed every word to memory.

At the freshman ceremony that afternoon, the president was going to hand out awards to ten outstanding students in person.

Georgette kept me tied up in chatter down in the audience so I couldn't listen to anything else.

Until the list of outstanding students had all been announced from the stage.

Students in the crowd started rising and heading up.

Luna and Maxine spun around and yanked at me, thrilled.

"What are you still doing here? Get up on stage, quick!"

I looked at them, baffled.

"Go up for what?"

"To get your award! They just called your name!"

"Hurry up and get up there, or the president will be angry. Look, all nine of them have gone up. You're the only one left."

I looked toward the stage. Nine people stood in a neat row.

A student council rep stood off to the side, holding a stack of certificates.

The president was waiting too, with no sign of starting the presentation.

I laughed to myself and stood up, walking toward the stage.

They'd set the whole thing up for me. It would be a shame to disappoint them.

Luna and the others smiled, pleased with themselves.

"One of the students is disabled and has to walk on crutches. The president's waiting for him."

"Just thinking about what's coming, I can't stop laughing."

They whispered something to the others, and everyone nearby got excited.

The moment I stepped onto the stage, the student on crutches was helped up too.

The president looked at the eleven people standing there and froze.

"Did you all come up because you heard your own names called?"

Everyone nodded.

Puzzled, the president picked up the list of outstanding students and read it out, one name at a time.

Each person whose name was called stepped forward.

Only I was left, standing alone at the back.

Luna and the others covered their mouths, shaking with the effort of holding in their laughter.

The crowd below was stunned.

"What's going on? There's no award for her. What's she doing up there? She can't seriously think she can stand there and mooch an award, can she?"

"She's dressed fancier than everyone else. Probably wanted to show off, snap some selfies, pretend she won something."

"So embarrassing. Threw away her dignity for a little vanity."

I stood where I was and said nothing.

The senior from the student council reached out, motioning for me to leave the stage.

I looked at her, confused.

"Why would I leave? I'm here to get my award."