my new dorm room with a final

d is for you. We' ll deposit ten thousand dollars into it on the first of every month for your living e

excitement and gratitude. This was it.

e, unassuming eyes. She helped me make my bed and organize my closet, and her

ed something powerful for my design classes. After a morning of research, I went out and bought

walked in. She stopped in the doorway,

voice flat. "That must

I admitted, smiling. "But it'

rossed her arms, and a strange,

she said, her tone sharp and judgmental. "He doesn'

y took me by surpri

so hard," I said, trying to keep my voice even. "

kids have no idea what real work is. You ju

ft from my parents who had worked their whole lives to pro

cold. "It' s my parents' gift to me, and it' s my financial responsibil

t that was almost shocking in its intensity. Then, without another wor

ake it off, focusing on setting up my new computer. But I co

let and my heart stopped. The secondary debit card my parents had given me, the one linked to a savings account for

ng. A cold dread seeped into my stomach. I had used it only once, at an ATM

with an alert from my bank: Unusual withdrawa

certainty, who had taken it. The quiet,

ssion or explanation. This wasn' t a misunderstanding, it was a crime.

ank and had the card

led the cam

rly. They listened, then went to find Sarah in the library. They brought her back to the

dcuffs. The idyllic college life I had imagined shattered into a million pieces. The be