Chapter 2 - The Golden Podium
The auditorium was a sea of murmuring voices and flashing cameras. Backstage, I stood in the wings, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. Through the heavy velvet curtains, I could see the VIP section right in the front row.
There they were. My father, Richard, was puffing his chest out, shaking hands with a prominent corporate judge, completely oblivious to the man’s polite disinterest. Beside him, my stepmother was adjusting her designer silk scarf, while Chloe held her phone high on a selfie stick, pouting her lips for her livestream. She was wearing the silver VIP lanyard like a trophy.
"They have no idea, do they?"
I jumped. Professor Aris, my mentor in corporate litigation, had stepped up beside me. She offered a sly, knowing smile.
"No," I whispered. "They think I'm sitting in the overflow seating near the exits."
"Well," Aris chuckled, adjusting her own robes. "I suggest you project your voice. The acoustics from the stage are phenomenal."
The grand organ struck the opening chords of Pomp and Circumstance. The crowd rose to their feet. I took my place in line, directly behind the Chancellor. When we marched onto the stage, the applause was deafening. I took my seat in the high-backed leather chair reserved for the Valedictorian, dead center of the stage.
It took a moment for the crowd to settle. It took another moment for my father's eyes to scan the stage.
I watched the exact second the realization hit him.
Richard was in the middle of pointing out the Dean to my stepmother when his finger froze in mid-air. His eyes locked onto mine. His jaw went slack, practically unhinging. My stepmother followed his gaze, and her smug, aristocratic sneer dissolved into an expression of sheer horror.
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Chloe, busy reading her livechat, didn't notice until my stepmother violently elbowed her. Chloe’s phone slipped, nearly clattering to the floor as she stared up at the stage, her mouth an 'O' of utter disbelief.
I didn't look away. I didn't flinch. I sat tall, my gold cords catching the stage lights, and offered them a single, chillingly polite smile.
