The Day Mom Burned My Future

Mom was a notorious madwoman at the card table. Her favorite pastime was going off the rails whenever she got worked up while gambling.During our family dinner, Mom's older sister, Tiffany Walker, praised me for being diligent and well-behaved. She said that I was bound to have a promising future now that I'd gotten into a top-tier university.Mom immediately slammed the table and snapped back, "What are you talking about, Mel? A young man like Frank who'd studied STEM still couldn't get into Horvard University. He's practically a failure!"Top-tier? Please. Nobody's even heard of that university. It's just some no-name dump. He's a useless piece of trash just like his father! I'm not paying a cent for him!"The moment I opened my eyes, I saw Mom pounding on the table with her face flushed.That was when I knew that I'd been reborn.Mom was the only person who'd call a top-tier university a "no-name dump".In my past life, all I'd said was that getting into a top-tier universit

Aunt Tiffany was gravely injured. Not only did she sustain a mild concussion, but the back of her head even needed several stitches.I stayed by her bedside all night in the hospital, never sleeping a wink. Meanwhile, Mom, who was responsible for this, slept soundly at home.She didn't call until Aunt Tiffany woke up. "Oh, Tiff, I'm sorry for last night. I was on my period, so my hormones were running wild. It's my bad. I'll bring a couple of bottles of bourbon over to your place another day as an apology!"Mom spoke of the matter lightly, which made Aunt Tiffany snort.Mom immediately snapped back, "What's that supposed to mean, Tiff? Are you really going to hold it against me when you know I wasn't feeling well? We're sisters. You're being way too petty!"She was always like this.In my past life, when her gambling buddies beat me to death, Mom defended them in front of the police. "We were just trying to teach him a lesson. That brat kept talking back to me. How is that my fau

The next day, Aunt Tiffany insisted on going home with me to grab my ID and my essentials after she was discharged.We were both bracing ourselves for a confrontation, but my parents were not even home.Our neighbor, Ms. Lewis, was surprised to see me coming home. "Your parents got beaten up that badly and you're completely fine?"The old apartment building had terrible soundproofing. Everyone could hear what was going on around the area.I briefly explained what had happened. Her eyes immediately lit up, eager for gossip.Apparently, Mr. Jarrell had shown up at my door last night, asking for the IOUs.Mom was her usual self when she opened the door. Two bottles of bourbon were already set on the table. "Oh, you're here, Mr. Jarrell? The IOUs aren't going anywhere. Let's have a drink first. We can play a few rounds of cards while we talk."She tried to cover her guilt with hospitality and expensive liquor.Mr. Jarrell chuckled. "Alright. Looks like you're still so good at welco

I could clearly hear loud crashing noises from the other end of the line, as if someone was smashing things.I knew Mr. Jarrell wasn't smashing things, but Mom.As he continued, he cursed, "Unbelievable. How did I even get someone like you to help out in the first place?"Mr. Jarrell laughed out in sheer disbelief.It turned out that when Mom was asking him for some thugs, she'd told him she found a solution to get the money back.Curious, Mr. Jarrell asked, "What kind of solution is that? Is it something shady?"Mom broke into a smile. "Not shady at all! It's money from the government. It doesn't get more legit than that!"She then confidently explained her plan.First, she'd bring some thugs over to Aunt Tiffany's house and beat us until we gave in. Then, she'd threaten us. Finally, she'd abduct us to the Department of Education and force us to sign the contract.Mr. Jarrell was rendered silent.He couldn't believe Mom was actually suggesting to threaten and abduct us to th