On Monday at 6:00 PM, Kendall Pryce sat three rows behind me with her phone up.
The Northlake auditorium smelled like dry-erase markers and wet boots.
About sixty of us had been admitted to the nursing program.
All sixty had come to hear how not to lose our seats.
I'd paid my deposit in August.
$500 — Seat Deposit — Nonrefundable
I'd paid it from tips, in twenties.
The admissions officer clicked to a slide that said BACKGROUND CHECK.
"Everything clears by Friday, November 20, at 5 PM."
"No exceptions."
Behind me, Kendall's voice came up sweet.
"Hi, you guys, we're at nursing school."
"Guess who's here."
Heads turned.
Then phones turned.
I kept my eyes on the slide.
My used anatomy textbook sat on my knees, the $38 sticker still on the spine.
A girl in the next seat leaned away from me.
"That's the ring girl," somebody whispered.
Kendall stood up in her row.
"Quick question for the nurses of tomorrow."
"Would you want her in your mom's hospital room?"
Nobody answered.
Kendall didn't need them to.
"She can't keep her hands out of a safe."
"Picture her with a morphine drip."
A few people laughed, then looked at their laps.
Somebody's lanyard clicked against a seat back.
Kendall dropped her voice for the stream.
"Honestly, I'm okay."
"My fiancé's family has been so supportive."
I raised my hand.
The admissions officer saw it and wished she hadn't.
"What if someone's accused, but not charged?"
"Accused is your business."
"Pending felony, the check fails."
"The deposit doesn't come back."
Sixty people heard her say it to me.
Kendall heard it too.
She smiled into her screen like she'd ordered it.
A chair scraped in the back row.
Theo was standing.
I hadn't seen him come in.
He wore the charcoal coat, unbuttoned, and he didn't raise his voice.
"She clocked out at 11:04."
"I've watched the hallway at 1:49."
Kendall swung the phone onto him.
"Oh my God, it's the gym guy."
"Who are you, her sugar daddy?"
"Room 2201."
He sat back down.
Kendall laughed and started reading her chat aloud, the way she always does.
"Who's the hot guy," she read.
"Okay, ladies, calm down."
"Wait, 1:49, question mark, question mark."
She stopped reading.
Her thumb kept scrolling.
The girl next to me was watching the stream on her own phone.
She said it before she could stop herself.
"Who is Room 2201?"
Half the room had the same question.
Kendall slid her phone into her bag.
She didn't end the stream.
She just stopped looking at it.
Afterward, I went up to the admissions desk.
The officer was packing her laptop.
"I heard you," she said.
"I'm sorry about your situation."
"Put it in writing."
"Excuse me?"
"Friday, five."
"What clears and what doesn't."
"I want it in writing."
She looked at me for a long second.
Then she opened the laptop again and typed.
My phone buzzed before she'd finished zipping the bag.
Your background check will clear if no criminal charge is pending as of Friday, November 20, 5:00 PM.
If a charge is pending, the application closes and the deposit is forfeited.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," she said.
She tapped the second line with one fingernail.
"Friday comes fast."
The parking lot was half ice.
Theo was leaning on a gray sedan two rows from the bus shelter.
"How did you know I'd be here?"
"You told the detective."
"So did Kendall."
"Kendall heard it too."
"I noticed."
"You didn't have to stand up in there."
"I wanted to."
"Now you're in her video."
"Let her film."
Mom texted me a photo of her knitting needles.
how did it go
I typed one word, then deleted it.
At 8:12 PM, my phone rang.
It was the detective.
I put him on speaker, because my hands were shaking and I didn't want to drop it.
"Ms. Kowalski."
"I'm calling as a courtesy."
"The case has been referred to the State's Attorney."
"What does that mean?"
"It means it's with the State's Attorney."
"It means it's not mine anymore."
He hung up.
I stood there with the phone in my glove.
Theo was quiet.
"You've got the hallway," I said.
"You've got Doug's attention."
"What else have you got?"
"I checked in on the eighth."
"That's not an answer."
"I know."
"As Theo Marsh?"
"As Theo Marsh."
The 53 bus came around the corner, lit up like a fish tank.
He didn't offer me the car.
He was learning.
I kept my eyes on his face, the way I'd watch a guest who says the room is fine.
"Who are you, Theo?"