White Lies | All American

twenty six

It was the day of the SoLA Muse cotillion. Each Baker member set aside their affairs to attend.

Billy and Laura kept their eyes glued to their children joyfully dancing. Haiden recorded the siblings, urging to tease them when she got the chance.

"Whoo!" The crowd cheered
once the music finished.

The dancers separated, going about their own entertainment. Liv sat at the table, catching her breath.

"You did amazing!"
Laura beamed.

Billy grinned, nodding in agreement.

"It was okay. Looked fun, though."

Liv smacked her lips, laughing.

"You're a hater, and I'm hungry."

Haiden followed Liv, fixing a small plate of food then meeting up with Jordan.

He anxiously looked at his phone, scrolling and lightly scoffing. Liv glanced to Haiden, shaking her head.

"Okay, maybe we should stop the creeping. You saw how that worked out for Coop." She warned.

"Yeah, well, it's Matt Springer. God, I'm really starting to hate this guy.. I gotta talk to Dad.."

As Jordan walked off, the host gently tapped the mic, gathering the crowd's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, every year we present an award for our most promising cotillionaire. Not only has this young lady volunteered over 100 hours, she also started a podcast to bring attention to social justice issues, and doing this while attending high school. Olivia Baker, would you come up here, please?"

Liv threw Haiden a panicked look, quickly masking it with a smile as she walked toward the stage.

Haiden made her way through the clapping crowd, joining her family's table.

"It'll be nice to have an award in our house that isn't a football trophy or a sobriety chip.." Liv chuckled.

"When I first joined SoLA Muse, I was lost. I thought it was a club for the women who liked to wear white and do brunch, but my brilliant mother told me to give them a chance. I'm so happy that she did because I soon realized that these were women of substance, women of action. They inspired me and helped me find my purpose, and I couldn't be prouder to be one of them. Luckily, I also like wearing white and doing brunch. Thank you."

Liv let out a relieving sigh, taking in the applause as she exited the stage, joining her family.

"I'm so proud of you. Beautiful, honey." Laura cried, hugging Liv.

"Thanks, Mom."

"So proud."
Billy grinned, kissing her cheek.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Not bad, kid." Jordan smiled, initiating their handshake.

"I'm so proud of you." Haiden said, kissing her other cheek.

Liv grinned, seeing the smile on her sister's face.