Chapter 1

I was so hungry I started seeing things. I was even seeing double. When I saw the six zeroes on the screen, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

Using the last bit of my strength, I opened my chat with Mom.

"Mom, I've already used up all my coupons for this month. Could you transfer me 50 dollars so I can grab a bite at the school cafeteria?"

Not long after I sent the message, Mom's voice message came in.

"How did you use up all the coupons? Didn't I give you more than 20? Did you use them to buy other things? Or are you trying to scam me out of my money so you can go out with some guy?

"Susan Jaffe, I'm telling you—don't even think about it! If you go fooling around with those guys, I'll break your legs!"

After hearing her voice message, I felt everything go black for a second. Even though I was dizzy with hunger, I still wanted to explain myself.

"Mom, I didn't do any of that. I really don't have any money for food right now. Could you send me 50 dollars?"

"Stop lying. I checked your purchase history. You bought a big box of bread and tortillas at the beginning of the month.

"That should've been enough for the entire month. How did you go through everything so quickly?

"I think I've been giving you too many coupons. Now you think you can take advantage of me. Starting next month, I'm cutting your coupons in half. You'll have to figure out other ways to get food!"

After that, I didn't get any more messages from Mom. When I tried texting her again, I realized she had blocked me.

My vision went black, and I fell off the bed, losing consciousness immediately. When I came to again, I found myself in the school infirmary.

The counselor looked at me, clearly panicked. "Susan, what's going on with you? You tried to lose weight and ended up blacking out. Do you know how dangerous that is?

"The doctor said you're severely malnourished. You need to eat something right now!" the counselor barked at me.

My roommates stood next to me, looking at me apologetically. "We're sorry, Susan. The counselor asked what happened, so we had to tell the truth."

That made sense. My roommates had no idea that Mom hadn't been giving me any allowance.

To keep up appearances, I could only tell them that I was trying to lose weight by buying cheap bread and tortillas in large quantities.

Still, they weren't filling enough and didn't sustain my body's needs. In less than half a month, I had already finished everything.

However, Mom thought I was trying to trick her into giving me more money. How absurd.

"Susan, listen to the counselor. Go eat something."

It wasn't that I didn't want to eat. I just didn't have any money to buy food.

A bitter taste filled my mouth as I forced a small smile. "It's fine. I can get through a few more days. If I eat now, all my efforts will be wasted."

"Susan!" My roommates looked at me helplessly.

The counselor looked at me sternly. "Susan, I'm warning you. If you don't start eating properly and getting enough nutrition, you'll be suspended from school until you're fit to return."

"I…" I opened my mouth to speak, but in the end, I gave in. I had to use another phone to call Mom and ask for money.

"Mom, the counselor said if I don't start eating properly and getting enough nutrition, I'll be suspended from school. Can you please send me 50 dollars?"

Hearing that, my roommates went still. Even the counselor froze in place.

Mom said coldly, "I already gave you the money, didn't I? Susan, you've got a lot of nerve. How dare you use a counselor to trick me…"

"Mom, I didn't." I quickly handed the phone to the counselor.

Realizing the counselor was there too, Mom quickly changed her tune. "Sir, I've never mistreated my daughter.

"I've been giving her 2,000 dollars a month as her allowance. We already agreed on that. Our family's not really well off.

"I didn't expect my daughter to cause so much trouble. She's always been a good liar. I bet she still has some allowance left. Don't let her fool you!"

2,000 dollars?

Hearing that, my mind went blank. "Mom, when did you ever…"

I wanted to explain myself, but Mom had already ended the call.

The counselor looked at me sternly. "Susan, if you still have some allowance left, why did you lie to us? 2,000 dollars is a lot for a college student every month. Go eat something now!"

The counselor's question left me speechless. After all, I couldn't possibly tell him that the 2,000-dollar allowance Mom mentioned was actually just a bunch of coupons.

Even worse, I couldn't use some of them at all.