The shoes she wore were white 
real leather
character shoes
paid for by her daddy 
with money that should have gone toward bills
so she could be a cast member
in the high school musical 
three years ago.

She did not expect
her classmate,
a lead in the musical, 
now a Sigma K home for the weekend, 
to show up to Sunday School that morning
or she wouldn’t have worn them.
But, there she was,
in all her my-daddy-owns-cattle glory.

And, when they were asked
to bow their heads in prayer, 
she watched her
glance down at the white shoes
and up to meet her eyes
with a smirk.

She bowed her head,
squinching hot tears behind her eyelids,
and tucked her feet as far as she could
under the folding chair,
in the act of prayer.