The Truth According to Ember

by Danica Nava

She took us to the library on the weekends and told me I was smart. No one had ever said that before.

I should have shut up. A smart me would have looked down and not said anything, but I was not smart. I was a smart-ass, and there was a difference.

I wanted my fifty-three dollars back, and I wanted a boss who didn’t look at me like he promised death in my near future.

Gary terrified me. Maybe I just wasn’t cut out for this kind of environment. I mean, I have dealt with abusive jerks at work, but this guy could really keep me from having a career altogether. I was a fighter, but this seemed like an arena I was outmatched and underprepared for.