Meanwhile, various peculiar events, and pieces of evidence, keeping popping into Mom's universe, and these things are becoming difficult to explain from that frame of reference. Of course, Rise could enlighten her mother, tell her about a whole other world . But she doesn't. So mom explains that world with interpretations, explanations of things that didn't actually happen. Normally, for most people, while growing up, the situation is reversed.
Parents explain things and create a magical world for the child.
Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, True Love, Sexual Fidelity, etc. But Rise has managed to get control of the universe for her and parents. Of course, her mother could know, really, exactly what's going on, but being steering things by virtue of only recognizing the direction in which things are supposed to go. Rise describes a professor from school. She has taken all his classes.