Hanna looked back at the teacher in shock. “Wait, what?”
“You look surprised,” Mrs. Jones said, laughing. “But really, he’s been doing well, especially in math. In fact, he’s more advanced than the rest of the class, and I was hoping we’d have your permission to have him spend part of the lesson in the computer lab, doing more advanced coursework as part of the school’s STEM program. I think it’d be a great opportunity.”
Something deep inside her suddenly released, and Hanna exhaled slowly, resisting the urge to hug Mrs. Jones right there. “Really?” was all she could muster up.
“Really!” Mrs. Jones said, her smile bright. “Why don’t you come in after school on Monday and we can talk more about it?”
“That sounds great.” A feeling of pride rushed over her. Any doubts she had about her decision to put her kids in the fancy new school faded away. It was worth every penny and moment of stress. Her eyes began to burn with tears that she tried to hold back. She hoped Mrs. Jones couldn’t tell.
After checking in at the table, Hanna held her shoulders back and made her way into the dimly lit ballroom. A five-piece band was playing “Brown Eyed Girl,” and a group of parents were already out on the dance floor, bopping up and down to the live music.
Her heart fluttered for a moment hearing the song. It was the same one she and Tom had danced to for their first dance at their wedding.
Where was he?
She checked her phone and then looked around the room. Each table was covered in a gold shimmery cloth, sparkling place settings for ten, and a tall floral centerpiece. A man in a tux offered her a flute of champagne, and she gulped it down quickly when he walked away.
The room seemed to dance around her while she stood still—everyone was mingling with each other, yet she was totally alone. No one was making eye contact with her, and no one was inviting her to join them in conversation. Even though she seemed invisible, she couldn’t help but feel self-conscious about how she looked. Was her stance awkward? What was she supposed to do with her hands? She held her empty glass, hoping she appeared cool and casual, even though she felt anything but.
As she watched the people around her laugh and chat, she thought back to when she decided to join the school. They had only won the lotto three months ago, but so much had already changed. Some of it was exactly what she pictured. A part of her envisioned functions just like this. But in her mind, she was right there with all the other moms, sharing funny stories about the kids, making boozy brunch plans, and posing together for selfies. They had accepted her. She was one of them. But now, she just felt like an outsider who was trespassing on their property.
A different tuxedo-clad waiter came by and handed her another flute of champagne.
Why was she trying so hard to fit in with these people? If they didn’t want to be her friend, then so be it. The only thing she wanted was for Drake and Lucy to get a good education and be happy. It seemed like that was happening. So screw these stuffy people, she thought as she placed her empty glass on a nearby cocktail table. A feeling of freedom swept over her as Hanna finally realized she didn’t care about any of this. She just wanted what was best for her kids.
When the song was over, the band members put their instruments down, and Genevieve walked onstage to announce that dinner was about to be served. Apparently, she was also the MC for the night. “Find your tables, people!” she said to the crowd. She was wearing a silver sequined halter-neck gown, and looked somewhat like a disco queen with her long slick-straight brown hair reaching down to the small of her back. It was amazing how much longer it was when it wasn’t curled. She was so pretty, it was almost intimidating.
Hanna sat down at her assigned table. Taffy and Maya were also there with their respective husbands, who seemed quiet and bored until they started talking about football.
Where the hell is Tom?
He’d fit right in with these guys talking about sports, she thought. It was already an hour after he first texted her. Surely he’d get here soon. At four hundred dollars a plate, it’d be a damn shame if he missed dinner.
But as each course came and went, her hope of him showing up dwindled. It wasn’t like he had missed much, though. The salad was dry, the chicken was rubbery, and the cheesecake was almost flavorless. This was the most expensive meal of her life, yet somehow it was also the most unappetizing.
The servers came around and topped off everyone’s wineglasses. “Oh, I know what this means,” Taffy announced to the table. “Auction time!” She then narrowed her eyes. “If any of you bitches outbid me for the vacation house rental, you’re dead.” The table erupted in laughter. Hanna let out a polite giggle, although she felt it was a credible threat.
Genevieve began talking into the microphone. “Thank you all so much for coming out tonight to support Evangeline Oaks Academy. All the money raised in tonight’s auction will go directly to the school, so get those paddles up high in the air!”
All of the parents sitting around her grasped tightly onto their numbers. Hanna put hers in her lap, not really sure what to do. She had never actually been part of an auction before. She felt nervous and surprisingly shy.
“Okay, so the first item up for bid is a five-course dinner for two at the fabulous Crane restaurant. Free-flowing champagne and wine pairings throughout. Let’s start it off at two hundred dollars.”
Hmmm. That could be a fun date night with Tom, she thought. But she waited to see what people would do.
“Five hundred!” a lady with a deep twang called out from the back.
“Eight hundred!” a man with a goatee said in the front.
It soon turned into a bidding war between the two, and it felt so aggressive that Hanna didn’t even have the guts to raise her paddle.
The aggression only intensified as the items got bigger and more expensive. There was a dinner cruise that went for two thousand dollars, Garth Brooks concert and meet-and-greet tickets for twenty-five hundred, and a signed Blue Dog print from artist George Rodrigue for four thousand. Hanna didn’t have the nerve to raise her paddle for any of those, and especially not when the week-long stay at the Smiths’ vacation house came up—Taffy grabbed it for five thousand—apparently a steal, considering it was a five-bedroom luxury mansion with a prime spot on Miami Beach.
“Okay, we have one more item for the evening,” Genevieve announced. “This one is extra special, and one hundred percent of the money will go toward new computers for the school’s new STEM lab,” she said giddily.
Hanna’s ear perked up. She thought back to her conversation with Mrs. Jones earlier that night. Drake would be spending a lot of time in the STEM lab, and he’d certainly benefit from the new computers. She could practically see him building apps that would change the world.
Genevieve held out her hands like she was bracing the audience for something big. “Stephen Monroe, an Evangeline Oaks Academy alum, has donated a day at NASA for one lucky student.”
The crowd collectively yelled, “Ooooh…”
“Your child will get a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility, including Mission Control, where Stephen works!”
Hanna wiggled in her chair at the idea of being able to give that experience to Drake. He was fascinated with space and had checked out every library book on the subject through the years. His ceiling was lit with glow-in-the-dark stars, and his bedspread was covered with all the planets. She could already see him geeking out over the tour. Maybe it would inspire him to become an engineer or even an astronaut.