Hot Docs On Call: New York City Nights. Tina Beckett

       CHAPTER ONE

       Twelve years earlier

      THERÉSIA CAMARA SAT cross-legged on her bedroom floor surrounded by clothes. Someone else’s clothes. Two huge garbage bags full, to be exact. She glanced down at the brand-new sundress she’d worked ten hours to buy and felt sick. What had seemed like an extravagant purchase two days ago—one that had made her feel grown-up and independent—looked cheap when compared with the designer labels on what she’d just been given.

      And how could she not wear them? Worse, how could she not be utterly grateful that her best friend had thought of her when sorting through her closet? There were more clothes in those two sacks than she’d ever owned.

      What it made her feel, though, was poor.

      She swallowed. It was okay. She’d make good use of them, including the plum-colored prom dress tucked inside a boutique garment bag that now hung on the back of her closet door. No one would remember that Abby had worn it last year, right?

      Tessa’s parents—who’d worked hard ever since moving from Brazil to the United States—were just getting their painting and remodeling business off the ground. In fact, they’d recently secured a huge contract with a Manhattan firm, redoing a group of office buildings, a project that would keep them busy for the next few years, if the owner was happy with the first batch. But there were materials and supplies to buy in preparation for the work. They certainly didn’t have the money to buy her a fancy party dress she would wear only once. Or clothes in preparation for her senior year in high school, which started in two short weeks.

      She straightened her back and picked up a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans that were almost new. Luckily she and her friend were the same size. This was a godsend really, and she would see it for what it was. It would take a load off her parents—which was also the reason she’d sought a job stocking the shelves at a local supermarket to help ease their burden. There would be enough expenses as it was, with graduation and applying for scholarships for college. And then medical school. She crossed her fingers and kissed them in the hope that this particular dream came true.

      And someday… She brought the jeans to her chest and squeezed them tight, her heart filling with hope. Someday she would be the one helping others. She was going to work harder than she ever thought possible to make sure her grades stayed as high as they were now. Then she would see that her parents were taken care of—even if their new contract went bust. It was what they’d done for her by moving to a new country. And she did have everything she needed, even