Chapter 3

I took a cab to the hospital by myself.

The doctor checked my palm. "The cut's pretty deep. You're gonna need stitches."

He looked up over my shoulder. "It's gonna hurt when we stitch it up, and you'll need a tetanus shot after. Is there anyone here with you?"

I forced back the tears burning in my eyes. "No. They're busy."

…

By the time I got home, it was almost 8:00 p.m.

A whole crowd was gathered at the front door—the principal, Mr. Green, my homeroom teacher, Mr. Brown, and a few people holding cameras.

The moment she saw me, Mom hurried over and grabbed my hand. "Where the hell did you run off to? You didn't answer your phone or reply to any messages! Look at you, keeping all these people waiting for you while you were off doing God-knows-what!"

Her fingers closed right over my wound, and I hissed from the pain. Only then did she look down and notice the bandage wrapped around my palm.

Mr. Brown spoke up first. "Valerie, what happened to your hand?"

Before I could answer, Mom threw an arm around my shoulder. "Oh, you know kids. They throw tantrums now and then. Valerie's been quick to sulk since she was a child, but she's actually super sensible."

As her hand landed on my shoulder, I caught a whiff of her familiar perfume.

I used to love that scent. Whenever she held Annie, I would stand off to the side and secretly lean in closer, pretending she'd hugged me, too.

Now, as that same fragrance wafted toward me, it only made me want to back away. I surreptitiously slipped out of her hold.

Mom's smile froze.

Mr. Green cleared his throat and handed me a folder. "Ms. Valerie Moore, we're here today on behalf of the school district to congratulate you. You ranked among the top ten in the entire state, and the Board of Education has decided to award you 100,000 dollars in scholarship money."

Mr. Brown looked at me proudly. "Your score was really high this time. The results had to go through the state review process, so the notice came a bit late."

Mr. Green added with a smile, "We wanted to present the award at school, but the higher-ups said there was no need to make such a big deal out of it. That's why we decided to come over in person instead."

Mom smiled so broadly that the corners of her eyes crinkled. "Valerie's always been such an easy child. We never had to worry about her grades."

Of course they didn't. I even attended my own parent-teacher conferences because my family always went to Annie's together.

Vincent had graduated from Jossvale University, but every time I asked him for help with schoolwork, he would just say, "Don't you have a phone? Can't you just Google the answer yourself?"

With Annie, though, he could patiently break every question down step by step, explaining it to her over and over again.

One day, I finally asked, "Why can't you walk me through it, too?"

His answer came without the slightest hesitation. "Your grades are already good enough. Even if I helped, you'd only improve by a few points. That wouldn't affect anything. But Annie's foundation is weak. If I help her just a little, she can improve a lot."

I foolishly believed that as long as I was good enough, as long as I got into a top university like Vincent, Mom and Dad would finally turn their attention back to me.

But even after I'd ranked in the top ten in the entire state and countless universities in the country extended offers to me, all they said was, "Nice job. Go to whatever university you want. It's up to you."

They couldn't even be bothered to congratulate or praise me.

Meanwhile, Annie barely made the cutoff for a top-tier university, but the whole family spent three whole days researching colleges and majors so she could avoid taking unnecessary detours.

Mr. Brown handed me a bank card. "Keep this card safe. There's 100,000 dollars on it, and that's no small sum. Once you're in college, treat yourself well."

I was about to slip the card into my bag when Mom suddenly reached out and pressed her hand down on mine. "Don't worry. We'll definitely help her plan things out."

After everyone left, Mom pulled me aside. She said, "Give me the card. You're a kid. What do you need that much money for? What if you get scammed? I'll hold onto it for you."

I gripped my bag tighter. "No thanks. I'll keep it myself."

Vincent frowned. "What, you think we're out to steal that little bit of money from you?"

Mom chimed in, sounding completely justified. "You and Annie are both starting college. Do you have any idea how much that's gonna cost? I'm just trying to divide resources where it's needed."

I jabbed a finger in Annie's direction. "So the apartment you bought for her in Harbury is an example of 'dividing resources where they're needed'?"