A mother who granted her daughter freedom still surveilled her at the dance

Evidence

The evening of homecoming, Lina carefully put on her makeup, slipped on her dress, stepped into her shoes, and climbed into her mother’s car. As they approached the school, Maisa told Lina to wait for her out front at the end of the dance. Lina nodded, kissed her mother, and closed the car door. She high-heeled it into the auditorium, catching up with her friends, and they all admired one another’s dresses and hair and started dancing in a group. Lina felt free and normal, but after about half an hour one of Lina’s friends turned to her. “Isn’t that your mom over there?” she asked. — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 607

Categorization

• SHARE: This moment of comedy-turning-to-surveillance is a memorable scene worth sharing with someone who appreciates character-driven nonfiction.