Mag-log inAfter the SAT, Mom and Dad give Henry Simpson, my brother, a Rolex. I, on the other hand, receive nothing but the missing admission ticket. Dad says, "I found your admission ticket under the couch last night, Gavin. It's too bad you couldn't take the SAT with Henry this year, but don't beat yourself up because of this. You should just treat this admission ticket as a lesson to be more careful when you retake the SAT next year." The admission ticket before me carries a subtle scent, a smell that belongs exclusively to Mom and Dad's closet. Dad continues, "You have nothing to worry about, Gavin. I'll give you a watch too once you retake the SAT next year and get accepted into a good university." I laugh under my breath in disbelief. They are telling me to retake the SAT, not knowing that I have already received guaranteed admission to Crestvale University. I only registered for the SAT this time to accompany Henry and go through the motions so that he wouldn't feel insecure or mess up his test scores. If Mom and Dad are willing to hide my admission ticket for Henry's sake, then I no longer care about the so-called family bond between us.
view moreI recalled the little boy who used to cry quietly under his blanket. I just wanted to hold him and tell him that it was going to be alright and that everything was behind him. I wanted to let him know that he was wonderful, he deserved good things, and he had finally gotten away from all that unhappiness to start living for himself.I became more accustomed to life in Brightvale as time went by; my grades were steadily improving, and my part-time job was going really well. I slowly built up some savings and no longer had to walk on eggshells around anyone.It went on like that until six months later, when I logged into a social media account I hadn't used in a long time and saw a direct message from Henry. I had blocked him everywhere else, so this was the only way he could reach me.Henry sent me a few super long messages. He wrote that after I moved out, Dad fell seriously ill and spent his days dazed, calling out my name while his physical condition got much worse. Mom was re
Dad resorted to ruthless means out of sheer favoritism, while Henry deliberately hid the truth out of jealousy. They played their parts perfectly, turning the whole situation into a total family farce.Mom frowned as she snapped, "That's enough! What's the use of blaming each other?"She then looked at me and tried to play the family card, brushing it off easily. "It's all in the past now, Gavin. Your father was definitely in the wrong, but you didn't actually lose out on anything since you still got into Crestvale University. Why don't we just put this behind us and move on, never bringing this up again?"I almost laughed at how absurd Mom's remarks sounded. I slowly shook my head and said, "I'm not letting this go."I spoke softly, but with absolute certainty. "If I hadn't gotten early admission to Crestvale University, that hidden admission ticket would have made me miss the SAT entirely. You guys would have ruined my future. "Do you really think telling me to move on can eras
I continued asking, "Do you think you would have been happy for me, or would you have found a way to stop me, like when you hid my admission ticket? You did that because you were afraid I would outshine Henry, afraid he couldn't handle it, and afraid he would be unhappy!"Those remarks tore apart the last bit of justification they had.Dad's face instantly turned pale, looking completely panicked. He snapped, "What are you blabbering about? What do you mean by hiding your admission ticket? You clearly lost that ticket yourself, and we were the ones who found it under the couch! How dare you slander us with such accusations!""Dad's right, Gavin!" Henry exclaimed, looking up in disbelief. "You clearly lost the admission ticket yourself! Dad was even kind enough to find it for you, so how can you frame Dad like that?"I looked at the two of them putting on a united front, feeling nothing but disgust. "You think I'm falsely accusing you?"I chuckled softly and held up my open palm, a
Dad snapped at Henry impatiently, "Why are you comparing yourself to Gavin? He never had what it takes to succeed in school, and his grades were always terrible, so we stopped expecting anything from him long ago! You're not like him, Henry! You're our pride! How could your grades drop this much?"Mom chimed in as well. "That's right, Henry! Gavin has never been serious about studying. He spends all day keeping to himself. How could he possibly compare to you? You should stop comparing yourself to him and think about what you did wrong!"I hid in my small bedroom, feeling a sharp pang in my chest. I could barely breathe at that moment. They never knew that the paper they had dismissed had actually earned me 12th place in the entire grade. They never knew how early I woke to study or how late I stayed up doing practice questions. They had no idea that I had sacrificed every form of entertainment to focus on school.I rarely spoke about my efforts, but that didn't mean I wasn't work






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