Chapter 7 - The Blue Ledger
Lily denied it for almost ten seconds.
Then she looked at her mother and stopped trying.
They were sitting in Carla’s kitchen around a chipped wooden table. Emma had put the phone in the middle.
“What is the blue ledger?”
Lily’s hands twisted together.
“I found it in Ms. Grant’s office.”
Carla closed her eyes. “Lily.”
“I wasn’t stealing.”
“You were in her office?”
“The door was open.”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“Let her talk,” Emma said.
Lily took a breath.
Two months earlier, she had stayed late after rehearsal. She heard Vivian and Margaret Grant arguing in the office.
Vivian said, “You promised me Brooke keeps the solo.”
Margaret said, “Only if the scoring stays internal.”
Then came another sentence.
“The scholarship board can’t see the original evaluations.”
Lily had waited until they left.
On Margaret’s desk was a blue ledger with student names, payments, competition scores, and notes.
Some entries had stars beside them.
Some had dollar amounts.
Lily had taken pictures.
Emma leaned forward. “You still have them?”
Lily’s face fell. “Not on my phone.”
“Deleted?”
“Yes.”
“Backed up anywhere?”
Lily looked at Carla.
Carla stared back.
Then Lily said, “My school drive.”
Emma almost smiled.
They logged in from Carla’s laptop.
The folder was called SCIENCE PROJECT.
Inside were twenty-three photographs.
Emma opened the first.
The ledger was worse than she expected.
Next to several students were notes like DONOR FAMILY, PRIORITY PLACEMENT, KEEP FEATURED, WAIVE FEES.
Next to Lily Carter:
STRONGER THAN B.S. - DO NOT ADVANCE UNTIL AFTER SPRING SHOWCASE.
B.S.
Brooke Sanders.
Carla covered her mouth.
“They held her back on purpose.”
Another page showed scholarship evaluation numbers.
Lily’s original score: 94.
Revised score: 81.
Brooke’s original score: 78.
Revised score: 95.
Emma felt sick.
“This is fraud.”
Carla whispered, “This could cost Lily the conservatory.”
The laptop chimed.
A new email arrived in Lily’s school account.
NO SUBJECT.
Just one line:
YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE COPIED THAT.
May you like
Then the screen went black.
Every file in the folder disappeared.
