Madison was wrong.

The summer before Beth entered Laurel Prep, she was having fun at the art camp, going into the mountains for watercolor classes and crafting classes. Ever since the incident of Madison tearing up Beth's drawings happened, Madison started taking more of a neutral stance towards Beth's artistic aspirations, at least from the surface. She never spoke about the incident again or prevented Beth from doing artwork in her free time. When Beth expressed her interest in going to an art camp, Madison said nothing, only asking her to be safe during her time at the camp.

Beth found a new sense of independence and community in the art camp. The whole group would exchange sketchbooks together, talk about the new TV shows, and during excursions. Coming back home from camp, Beth was floating on happiness. Yet as soon as she entered her house, her mood went downhills. No hugs and greetings were coming from Luke and Madison. The two of them sat by the kitchen table, heads buried in their newspapers. There was not a sound in the room. Madison looked up and swiped her nose. Preston's son Gunner died in an accident. She sighed. We met him before he went into the city for college. Such a bright young man. Preston must have been so heartbroken, losing a son in a strange land. Beth twitched her lips, trying to strike a word about her summer camp. Beth, your mom and I are discussing some important matters. Upon seeing Beth standing by herself, Luke waved at her, signaling her to leave the kitchen. It's pretty late today. You should go to bed now.

Back in her bedroom, Beth was not feeling sleepy at all. She went to her desk and laid all the photos from the summer camp on the table. The memories she had with camp friends were still playing in her head, and so was her parent's silent attitude toward her. Luke and Madison's voices were alternating non-stop from the first floor. Beth sank into her chair and scrolled on her phone, watching musical clips in their new outfits. She didn't follow her parent's rapid conversation. It was probably about the usual stuff again — politics, work gossip, taxes, and mortgage. Half an hour passed before Luke and Madison's voices grew harsher; it was as if they were ready to start a shouting match. Beth couldn't take it anymore. She stood up, slapped her phone on her bed, and reached for her headphones, almost flipping the headphone containers on her desk over.

She was about to put on her headphones when she heard her dad make a confession.

'I lost my job last week.'

'Why does it have to happen now? How do you think we are going to afford the tuition at Laurel Prep?'

'I don't know. Can she apply for a scholarship?'

'Don't think about that option. Scholarships are only awarded to the best students. Beth barely scraped in to get into that school.'

'What shall we do? I am going to look for a new job, but I don't know if I can find one soon.'

'I will work longer hours at my job then. If that doesn't work, we will have to take out loans. God. Why does Beth have to be so stubborn, and apply to an expensive school like Laurel Prep!'

Beth stayed behind the door and listened. Madison cared about her daughter finding herself in a great high school. She would never admit that in public, though. Beth couldn't understand why her mother's personality was like this. She wanted to say 'thank you' to her mother, tell her mother why her aspirations were important, and that she will do well. But she couldn't walk down the stairs to say those words that she had already in mind. After all, would her parents ignore her again? Would they even open up to her about the family situation?

"Ah, Beth, here you are!" Julianna waved toward Beth across the lobby. The sandals made clicking sounds on the marble as she stumbled toward the slippery marble floor. Simone was right following her.

"We thought that you were going to come back soon, yet you didn't show up. That's why we went looking for you." Simone spoke. "Let's go home together. Didn't Nora and Owen say something about treating us to dinner?"

Beth didn't look back and say anything. Simone figured that it was atypical for a girl usually so passionate, like her.

"Is there anything wrong?"

Dead silence from Beth again.

"It's fine that something happened to you that you don't want to share. We won't judge you." Simone continued. "Everyone has sad times."

"Simmy...are you sure that you will not judge me?" Beth whimpered.

"Uh-umm."

"My mom does not believe in my ability to handle my own life here at Laurel, despite everything that I had done so far. Honestly, I am not smart and capable like you guys. I just want my parents to see that I have tried, and I am thriving with my own effort."

"Why? What did she say to you?" Julianna quickly inquired.

"I got an invitation from Bianca to her dinner party to meet college-level artists. Mom called it "pointless" and said I spend my time on activities that have nothing helpful with getting into college. Why would this opportunity be pointless?"

"Actually, I think your mom is right," Julianna commented. "It's just a dinner that does not do anything substantial to you. You may not mingle well with people there. You may even not like it there. Doing some course reviews and catching up on homework would be a better use of that time...those things are equally important if you want to go to Lisette."

"Jules." Simone gave Julianna a sharp frown. "Stop talking. Beth doesn't want to hear what you said."

"I know, but telling her white lies and doing nothing to her long-term. I was the one who helped her with her academics, and guess what, she had been behind! There are other better things that she can do to get in touch with people that inspire her!"

Once again, Beth was not saying anything.

"Is that so? How many times do you think she can bump into someone that she admires?" Simone began questioning Julianna. "We people don't live on hard truth. Can you stop being harsh on Beth after she had already been scolded by her mom?"

"I understand what you are saying, but it's not being harsh! I'm just telling Beth that there are better ways of doing things."

"Understand me?!" Simone suddenly burst into an angry outbreak at Julianna in the presence of a sad Beth. "Do you even bother hanging out with me, or even Beth, that much? All you did every day was work, work, and work! Over this semester, I had mainly seen you with either your cold face or your emotional outbursts. You are weird, and you don't bring any positive emotional value to me!"

"Are you saying that I am weird for you? That's pathetic." Julianna scorned Simone. "Think about what you did to me before you call me names. Did you care about maintaining a relationship with me in the first place? Have you even made an effort to learn about what I'm interested in? I posted articles on our group chat; you certainly didn't read them."

'That's because you never wanted to start a conversation with me at all!"

"See? That's where the problem comes out." Julianna shrugged. "Neither of us wants to talk to each other. Honestly, I never liked you, Simone. All of our interactions happened because Beth wanted you as her friend. I don't have a lot of free time, but I never said no when Beth wants to prioritize hanging out with you. Well, look at you. You hang out with Paige and Jade when they were clearly not good to you. Now, you blame yourself for not giving them enough credit. Do you think that I might not be fed up with all your idiosyncrasies? What made you cling on to those unhealthy friendships?"

"That's because, unlike you, I care too much about people!" Tears began to smear in front of Simone's eyes. "Someone who went to the same middle school as you in the grade warned me to hang around you. She said you were a creepy misfit. Believe it or not, I thought what she called you was simply not true. I wanted you to feel beloved! I care about Beth too. You say that she likes me. No. You are the one that she actually looks up to. You want to be a research scientist, right? Look at you, all smart and capable. What am I, just some manic pixie dream girl who got to Laurel Prep because she sings and dances? I can never have what you have!"

Beth was dumbfounded by what Simone said. She knew that Julianna hate people talking about her past experiences with classmates.

"Guys...please stop shouting at each other." Beth tried to squeeze in a comment, yet her voice submerged in the loud noise of Simone and Julianna. "I might still go to the dinner party. It's going to be fine."

"I will go with you, Bee." Simone gave Julianna cold shoulders and walked straight toward Beth. Beth, however, reached out for Julianna, who was standing aside, stunned.

"Are you okay, Jules? Simmy is an emotional person. She doesn't mean to hurt you."

"I am okay with whatever she says. Actually, let's leave here. I don't see the point in arguing anymore."

"Guys, what about we talk things out during dinner today? Is that okay? Let's just not fight like this anymore. Simmy, what do you think?

Yet as soon as Beth wanted to expect a response from Simone, she saw Simone walking towards the exit of the museum by herself, only leaving the two girls one last message.

"If you guys have been closer all along, you can eat dinner without me. I am going home now."