Nia looked down at her feet.
The opening along her left sole had widened enough that she could see a thin line of gray sock beneath it. Every step rubbed against her heel, leaving the skin sore by the end of the school day. Two classmates had already noticed the condition of her sneakers, and one had asked whether her family was having money problems.
She hadn't known how to answer.
Her father owned a successful engineering consulting business. They lived in a beautiful house in a quiet Atlanta suburb, with a three-car garage, landscaped gardens, and a kitchen large enough to hold the entire family around its island. Vanessa drove a luxury SUV and purchased new clothes whenever she decided the children needed to look presentable.
Yet Nia had spent six weeks asking for a replacement pair of shoes that cost seventy-nine dollars.
Vanessa began unloading more purchases. New jeans for Caleb, two dresses for Ava, matching jackets, athletic socks, and several brightly colored school accessories covered the counter. Nia watched the pile grow while her single white sneaker box remained beside the return bin.
Caleb shifted his weight.
He was a small, thoughtful boy with closely cropped hair and dark brown eyes that often noticed more than adults realized. He looked at the new shoes beside his mother, then at Nia's worn sneakers. His expression tightened, but he said nothing.
Ava stood beside him wearing a purple dress beneath a light-green jacket, her hair divided into neat braids decorated with tiny clips. She held a paper shopping bag against her chest, glancing nervously toward Vanessa. She had seen this happen before, but something about Nia's silence made her more uncomfortable than usual.
The cashier scanned another item.
Vanessa tapped her payment card against the terminal.
"Your father's card is for my children," she murmured without turning toward Nia. "You should be grateful I even brought you."
Nia felt her throat tighten.
She wanted to say that Marcus was her father too. She wanted to remind Vanessa that he'd promised to take all three children shopping before the new school year. But she'd learned that contradicting her stepmother usually led to something worse later, when there were no cashiers or customers around to witness the argument.
So she said nothing.
Then she heard a familiar voice behind her.
"Why doesn't Nia have anything?"
Nia turned.