Replacing Me After My Exam Failure

As I looked at her in silence, my mom, Renee Olsen, stepped forward and seized my arm.

"Your sister is pregnant and wasting away from some mysterious illness," she said. "They say the new director here is the leading expert in the field. Take me to her."

Her eyes carried genuine urgency, and her palm was slick with sweat against my skin.

The touch instantly dragged me back to the night my fever had climbed to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. I had begged her for a simple bowl of oatmeal, only to have her slap my hand away in disgust.

"With grades like yours, you still dare ask me for anything? You'd be better off dead. I can always have another child."

I shook her off with the same cold detachment she had once shown me. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I have no idea what you're talking about. If you need medical care, please register properly and wait for your turn. No cutting in line."

She froze, and her colleagues stared in stunned silence.

Renee had always cared more about her reputation than anything else. After shipping me off to the countryside to fend for myself, she had told everyone I was recovering from a serious illness.

By adopting the impoverished but brilliant student, Cora Woods, she had turned herself into the city's beloved "Teacher Mom".

No one knew the truth: their perfect philanthropist had thrown away her own flesh and blood.

A tiny crack finally appeared in her flawless mask, but she quickly forced it back down.

"I know you're still blaming me for neglecting you. That's why you're acting out and hiding your job from me." Her tone softened into a calculated plea. "But your sister's life is hanging in the balance, Sherry. Direct your anger at me if you must. Cora is innocent."

The other teachers immediately closed in, their voices overlapping in well-meaning scolding.

"Come on, Sherry, this isn't the time for jealousy. Parents and children don't hold grudges."

"Your mother is kind-hearted and generous. Can't you learn from her example?"

The noises annoyed a passing nurse. "What's all the shouting? You're here for a check-up, aren't you? We're about to close. If you're not having any tests done, please leave."

The hallway fell silent.

Renee gritted her teeth and pointed at me. "Of course, we'll do the check-up, but I want her to do it. No one else."

The nurse hesitated, feeling helpless. "Ma'am, you may not know this, but she is..."

Winking at her, I interjected, "It's fine. Go ahead with your tasks. I'll handle this."

Following protocol, I prepped Renee for her injection.

She leaned in, speaking in a voice only I could hear. "How did someone with your pathetic grades even get a job here? I was actually planning to let you come home for New Year's Eve dinner. But if you refuse to help Cora, you're dead to this family. You won't get a single cent from your dad or me."

Her smug expression only struck me as laughable. Ten years apart, she still regarded me as the same helpless child she had cast aside.

I pressed the cotton ball hard against the puncture site, watching her flinch. A cold smile tugged at my lips. "Whatever you say, Mom."

Back in my office, I locked the door and gripped the edge of the desk as my hands began to tremble. Hearing her voice again made me feel weak.

Every exam season in my childhood, she would beat me mercilessly with a ruler, shouting, "Why are you so stupid? Why can't you solve these simple problems? Other teachers' children score full marks! You make it impossible for your dad and me to hold our heads high!"

In pain, I would curl up and cry, "Dad, help me!"

My dad, with a grave expression, would sigh, "Sherry, can't you show a little more spirit? Your mom is depressed because of your poor performance. Do you want to drive her nuts?"

I felt just as tormented. I had dedicated every waking moment to studying, yet the second I opened a book, my mind would drift far away. It was impossible to anchor, no matter how hard I tried.

It wasn't until adulthood that I learned the name of the condition: attention-deficit disorder. A simple hospital visit and the right treatment could have changed everything, but they had never cared enough to find out.

I knew Renee would not let this go easily. Sure enough, the next day, my work phone buzzed to life.

A nurse reported, "Dr. Coffey, I just heard that yesterday's patient is causing a scene in the medical affairs office. She says she wants to file a complaint against you."