The three-day school trip to Lake Briar was supposed to change that.
Mallory had been talking about it for weeks.
“Three whole days without algebra,” she joked while packing her bag. “I might finally remember what happiness feels like.”
I laughed and passed her the sweatshirt she had left behind on the couch.
“Just text me once in a while so I know you’re alive.”
She stared at me for a moment.
Something unusual crossed her face, but it vanished before I could figure out what it meant.
“I will, Mom.”
The first day unfolded exactly the way I expected.
Mallory sent pictures of herself jumping from a dock, sitting with her classmates as they grilled burgers, and holding a burned marshmallow above the campfire.
She was smiling in every photo.
For the first time in months, I felt like I was seeing my daughter again.
I texted, “Looks like someone forgot she was miserable.”
