Susan Sterling had been picking at her food, finding no flavor in it. With the college acceptance banquet turning out this way, she felt no sense of accomplishment and couldn't bring herself to be happy at all.
When she saw Simone Holt suddenly get up from her meal, purposefully take a microphone, and walk to the center of the room, Susan Sterling froze. "Simone, what are you doing?"
Simone Holt glanced at Susan Sterling but didn't answer. Instead, she brought the microphone to her lips, took a deep breath, and began to speak. "Today is my college acceptance banquet, and first of all, I want to thank everyone for coming. Regardless of your reasons for being here, and whether or not you genuinely wanted to come, I thank you."
