Chapter 3

On the fifth day of the holidays, I received a data usage warning on my phone. I'd already used 1.8 GB. Any more and I'd be charged extra.

So I asked Luna for the Wi-Fi password.

Without even looking up, she rattled off a string of numbers. It was her birthday.

"We changed it two months ago. Didn't you know?"

I didn't.

Just like I didn't know when the living room had gotten a new couch, when they added a dishwasher to the kitchen, or when my old room got its own bathroom.

After all, whenever anything in this house changed, no one thought to inform a guest.

That afternoon, I went to the supermarket to get my gear ready. I bought jackets, hand warmers, and thick socks. At checkout, I also grabbed a pair of cotton slippers.

I wasn't going to put them in the shoe cabinet. I'd take them straight to my room and placed them beside my suitcase.

When I walked in, Mom spotted the shopping bag and frowned. "Why buy this in the middle of the summer? Got money to burn?"

I put the bag down. "The school project is sending us to Nettle. It's cold there." After a pause, I added, "I probably won't be coming home for a long time."

Mom was folding Luna's clothes. She didn't stop or even look up. "When have you ever come home often? It's good for a man to go out and see the world. Stop thinking about running home all the time."

Luna came out of the kitchen to grab some fruit. She caught the last part and casually added, "Leon, then I won't keep your junk around anymore."

I looked at them and said, "Okay."

That was the last time I'd test them. And still, I got nothing in return.

That night, I packed my bags and unzipped the inner pocket. The envelope where I'd kept 800 dollars was empty.

I'd spent 40 days working ten-hour shifts at a cafe that summer. It was twas supposed to cover my travel expenses and my living costs for the first two months.

I went to Luna's room, holding the envelope.

She was curled up in her chair, scrolling through her phone. She didn't even look up.

I demanded, "Luna, did you take the money I kept in my bag?"

Luna removed one earbud. Her voice was nonchalant as she said, "Oh, yeah, I did. I bought my boyfriend a birthday present. I'll pay you back later."

"I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. I need the money now."

Luna finally turned around, frowning. "Seriously, Leon? I'm going to pay you back."

Mom's footsteps came from behind me. She didn't bother to check what was going on before snapping, "Why are you yelling at Luna? So what if she spends some money on her boyfriend? She has to put in some effort if she wants him to like her. Can't you be a little more generous?"

"It's not a loan. She took it straight out of my bag without asking."

Dad came out of the bedroom too, his expression dark. "What's the big deal? Do you really have to make a scene over this? You're her brother. Can't you just let her have it?"

He pulled out his phone and sent me 300 dollars. "Happy? Now knock it off."

"It's 800 dollars," I said.

Dad paused and looked up at me. "800 dollars? Didn't you tell your mom a few days ago that you were out of money? You had all this money hidden away, yet you still came to us pretending you had none and tried to get more from us."

"That was the money I earned working over—"

"Enough!" Dad slammed his phone down on the table. "You're a grown man hiding money and lying to us. How am I supposed to trust you? And now you want Luna to pay you back? What kind of brother are you? You've spent all these years studying, and you've learned nothing!"

The three of them stood there, looking at me, like I was some unreasonable stranger making a scene.

I turned and walked out of the house, the door closing behind me. It was only then that I realized I'd left my phone inside—and I didn't know the code to the new door lock.

The motion-sensor light in the hallway went out.

I sat down at the corner of the stairs, my back against the cold wall, waiting for someone to come out and look for me.

A few hours passed. I could hear the TV and their laughter. Later, the lights went out, and everything went quiet.

At 1:00 am, I knocked on the door.

Luna opened it, yawning. Her eyes were barely open. "Leon? Why are you standing outside? Couldn't you just key in the code?"

"I don't know it."

She paused. "Oh… Remember it. It's my birthday."

I sank onto the couch. My ankle had gone numb from resting against the cold stair railing for so long.

No one would mention the 500 dollars again.