“You’re a sweet, talented, hard-working young woman, Kelia. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you. Don’t let anyone derail it.”
Those were the serious, yet sincere words of Kelia Aden’s mother. She’d first heard them in junior high. It came shortly after she brought home her another straight-A report card and a letter from her guidance counselor saying that she was gifted. More than one teacher had told her that she had a great chance of getting into an Ivy League university if she maintained her current path.
It was a challenge, but Kelia always rose to the occasion. Even as she progressed into high school, getting top grades and high test scores, her mother kept belaboring that fateful message. At first, she thought she was just being an obsessive parent. Then, she suspected there might have been other motivations. That became obvious whenever cousins, aunts, uncles, and family friends saw her.
“Kelia is growing into quite the babe,” they would often say. “Pretty soon, she’ll be beating the boys back with a stick.”