The Homecoming Gala is black-tie. I'm in black too, but not the right kind.
I button the catering uniform in the staff bathroom. It's polyester. Stiff collar. Name tag pinned crooked because the safety pin is bent. I fix it in the mirror. My hair is pulled back tight. No jewelry. No makeup that shows.
I look like exactly what I am.
The ballroom is on the third floor of the alumni center. I take the service elevator. It smells like cleaning solution and old carpet. When the doors open, I step into a different world.
Crystal chandeliers. White tablecloths that reach the floor. Centerpieces taller than my head. The guests are already seated. Gowns in jewel tones. Tuxedos that fit like they were made for the person wearing them. Probably were.
I recognize half the room from campus. Student government. Greek life presidents. Legacy families whose names are on buildings.
Eiden sits at the head table. Center position. He's in a tuxedo that makes him look like he was born for this. Cadence is beside him. Her dress is midnight blue. Her hair is perfect. She laughs at something he says and touches his arm.
I look away.
The catering manager assigns me to desserts. I carry trays of petit fours and chocolate-covered strawberries. I refill champagne flutes. I smile when spoken to and disappear when I'm not.
No one looks at me. Not really. I'm part of the décor.
At eight-thirty, the manager waves me over. "Main cake goes to the head table," she says. "Three tiers. Don't drop it."
I nod.
The cake is beautiful. White fondant. Gold leaf details. It weighs more than I expected. I lift it carefully and start across the ballroom floor.
The room is loud now. Dinner is over. People are standing, talking, moving between tables. I weave through the crowd. Keep my eyes on the path ahead.
The head table is twenty feet away. Fifteen. Ten.
I see Cadence watching me. She's still seated. Her face is calm. Almost bored.
Then she moves.
It's so small I almost miss it. Just a shift of her leg. Her heel extends into the aisle. Right where my next step will land.
I don't have time to stop.
My foot catches. The cake lurches forward. I try to pull it back but the weight is already committed. The tiers separate. Frosting and fondant and three pounds of sponge cake launch across the table.
Directly into Eiden.
The room goes silent.
Eiden stands. Slowly. Frosting slides down his tuxedo jacket. There's a piece of gold leaf stuck to his bow tie. His face is white. Then red.
Cadence gasps. Her hand flies to her mouth. "Oh my God," she breathes. "Marley, what did you do?"
I'm still holding the empty cake stand. My hands are shaking now. I set it down on the nearest table.
"I'm sorry," I say. My voice sounds far away. "I tripped—"
"You tripped." Eiden's voice cuts through the room. He's not yelling. That would be easier. He's using his student government voice. The one that carries. "You tripped. At a formal event. Carrying a cake. In front of three hundred people."
I open my mouth. Nothing comes out.
He steps closer. Frosting drips onto the floor. "Do you have any idea what this looks like? Do you understand what you've just done?"
"It was an accident," I say.
"An accident." He laughs. It's not a kind sound. "You're a charity case, Marley. You always have been. And you don't belong here."
The words land like a slap.
Someone's phone is up. Filming. Then another. The light from the screens makes everything feel staged.
Eiden turns to the room. To the guests. To the donors in their gowns and their tuxedos.
"I apologize," he says. His voice is steady now. Presidential. "This is unacceptable. It won't happen again."
Then he looks at me.
"Apologize," he says.
I stare at him.
"Now, Marley."
I turn to the room. Three hundred faces. Some curious. Some disgusted. Some already bored and reaching for their drinks.
I open my mouth.
"I'm sorry," I say.
My voice doesn't shake. That surprises me.
"Louder," Eiden says.
"I'm sorry," I repeat. Louder this time. Clear.
Cadence dabs at her eyes with a napkin. She's not crying. But she looks like she might. Like she's the one who's been hurt.
Eiden wipes frosting off his sleeve. "Go to the kitchen," he says. "You're on dishes for the rest of the night."
I don't argue. I don't beg.
I turn and walk.
The kitchen is through the service door at the back of the ballroom. I push through and let it swing shut behind me. The noise of the gala cuts off. It's just me and the industrial sinks and the stack of dirty plates taller than my waist.
I roll up my sleeves. Turn on the hot water. Start scrubbing.
My hands move automatically. Plate. Rinse. Rack. Plate. Rinse. Rack.
I don't cry. I don't break.
I just scrub until my fingers prune and the water runs cold.
And somewhere deep inside, in a place I didn't know I had, something stops bending.
It goes very still.
Very straight.
Very, very sharp.
