Georgia finally explained the arrangement. Her father had asked her to attend prom with me, but she was supposed to reveal the truth before we entered the building. Sheldon believed I deserved an opportunity to become more than a warehouse employee. He wanted to see whether I could handle an unexpected situation without feeling intimidated. Georgia hated the idea. She said her father treated everyone as though they were constantly taking an examination, including her. I felt anger rising, not because Sheldon had noticed my work, but because he had turned my life into an experiment. I told her I hadn’t come to audition for anything. She nodded and said that was exactly why she wanted me to know the truth.

For a moment, I considered driving her home. The dance suddenly seemed unimportant compared with the strange arrangement behind it. But Georgia looked toward the gym doors, where her classmates were laughing and taking photographs. She still wanted to go inside, she explained, but not for her father. She wanted to enjoy prom for herself. I understood that feeling. Sometimes you follow through on something because you promised yourself you would, even when someone else makes it complicated. I opened her door and offered my arm. “Then let’s go have a normal prom. No tests. No games.” She finally smiled. Together, we walked inside as music shook the gym walls and colored lights swept across the floor.