Chapter 1 Buying a Lottery Ticket

I won the lottery two weeks before the trip. It was the 19th of July and my 18th birthday. I kept quiet about it to see if this family would count me in on their trip during my last stretch of time with them.

They didn't. On the day of my 18th birthday, I made an egg just for myself to celebrate. I'd just peeled it when my mother peeked her head from the kitchen. "Put that down and give it to your sister! She needs her protein before her dance practice!"

I looked at the egg in my hand. It was still steaming hot. "There are more in the pot."

"And they're scalding! You've peeled that one. Just give it to her!" My mother grabbed the egg.

Queenie Wood, my sister, was sitting at the dining table in her pink practice attire. She looked at me and asked, "You don't want it, Nellie?"

I smiled. "Nope."

She smiled as well. "Thank you, Nellie."

My brother, Zachary Wood, came home for lunch. My mother made shrimp, crab, and even sea urchin for him.

I was allergic to seafood. When I was eight, I was carted off to the hospital for eating shrimp. My entire body broke out in rashes and my throat was so swollen that I couldn't breathe.

The doctor said I could never eat any seafood, but my mother kept forgetting about it. If Zachary wanted seafood, then seafood was what she would make.

She placed a plate with some greens in it before me. "You can have this, Nellie. It's good too."

I said nothing and ate my food. Judging by the stiff texture, some of them must've been leftovers. When I swallowed, something scraped against my throat. They'd forgotten it was my birthday.

After dinner, my mother posted a picture on her socials. It was a picture of Zachary holding a peace sign over the seafood and of Queenie smiling with some crab in her mouth, while my father was pouring drinks.

I was sitting in a corner, with nothing but half an arm showing. The caption read, "We're having a family feast. Happy summer holidays!"

Family. I stared at the picture, expanded the photo, and looked for a long while.

Family. I was in there. That cropped arm was mine. That night, I took out the trash and went by the lottery shop.

The shopowner was sticking a poster at the entrance. He noticed me stopping and smiled at me. "Hey, girl. Want to buy some lottery tickets for luck? If you're of age, of course."

I was going to leave, but then I remembered it was my birthday. After what I experienced today, I figured that I did need the luck. So, I smiled. "It's my 18th birthday."

The shopowner took a lollipop from the counter and handed it to me. "Happy birthday!"

I looked at the lollipop, and my eyes stung. His was the only happy birthday I got, and it came from a stranger whose name I didn't even know. I paid 10 bucks for a lottery. The numbers were chosen at random by the machine.