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Show So nobody's perfect! she mouthed at her mirror image. "Next," came the counselor-type voice and it was Dyna's turn. "Hi!" Dyna began with a big smile, but the lady was too busy to be friendly. "I need to pay my fees." The counselor drew back and stared at her. "Where have you been?" "What do you mean? I just got here." "I mean," she said with precision, "this should have been done a long time ago. We closed registration the 19th of August." Dyna shrugged. "Well, I just got--" What was the word7 "--sent here," she finished lamely. "They worked out a schedule for me with the lady who'll be my counselor here. You want to see it?" She opened her tote bag, but the person had already turned her back. "Name?" she asked over her shoulder. "Suggs. Dyna Suggs." The woman returned to the counter with a LATE file, extracted a card, initialed something. "Thirty-seven dollars if you want a yearbook." Dyna sucked in her breath. "Do you want a yearbook or not?" Of course she wanted a yearbook! She was supposed to graduate this year, wasn't she? "How much is it without?" Dyna asked, gripping the edge of the counter. "Twenty-seven." Dyna laid her crumpled twenty dollar bill on the counter. "I don't have that much." "I'm sorry, my dear. I'm not authorized to provide you with a registration card until your fees are paid." The woman smiled for the first time. How could she smile now? Dyna felt the hot flush in her cheeks. "What am I supposed to do?" "Try going on to class if you have a schedule, I guess. But you'll have to explain to each teacher why you're not properly registered and they may end up sending you back to the office. If I were you, I'd use the students' courtesy phone across the hall there. Couldn't your mother bring the money to school for you?" |