Semua Bab I'm Done Waiting: Bab 1 - Bab 9

When I came out, dinner was already drawing to a close.Mom placed a glazed barbecue rib on my brother, Mason Young's, plate and, without even looking up, said, "There's no food left. I saved you a piece of cake in the fridge."She said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world, as though it didn't matter whether I ate or not.The class group chat had already gone crazy. It was filled with pictures of feasts and all kinds of nourishing soups.Then I looked at the plates in front of Mason and my sister, Mia Young, then at my parents'.There was nothing in front of me.My chest tightened. I pulled my chair over beside the trash can and asked quietly, "Wasn't there still some pasta left?"Dad put down his cutlery. "That's for Mason. He's got a fitness test coming up, so he needs to eat more."Then he turned to Mason. "Keeping up with your training?""Yeah, pretty much.""Does your ankle still hurt where you injured it last time?""Not really.""I'll take you to

There was another, more important reason. High-achieving students at that university had their tuition and fees waived in full.My school advisor paused before saying, "If there's something you're struggling with, you can tell me.""Okay."An advisor who had no blood relation to me cared about me. He was willing to think about my future, yet the people closest to me only ever told me to wait.Mason trained for three hours, and I stood there for all three. Whenever he took a break, I'd hurry over with a towel or a bottle of water, afraid he'd go home and tell Mom I "wasn't putting in any effort."It had been the same around this time last year, when he took part in a district soccer tournament.Back then...Mom had gone to Grandma's house and told me to take the day off school so I could stay with him.At one point, I took just three seconds to answer a phone call.I made him wait three seconds. That night, Dad's face turned cold as he told me I didn't care enough about Mason.

Sophia stood frozen for a long moment before she finally came back to her senses.She stammered, "W-Who are you looking for? Madison? Not Mason? Or Mia?"The reporters stared at her in confusion.The female reporter at the front paused before answering, "Mrs. Young, we're looking for Madison Young, the top student at Cedar Hill High School. The top scorer in the city!"At that, Liam, who had been in the bedroom watching the stock market, could no longer sit still. He shut down his computer and hurried out to usher everyone into the living room, where he served them drinks one by one.Only then did he sit down and ask cautiously, "Excuse me, but is there some kind of misunderstanding? Madison's grades are terrible. How could he possibly be a top student, let alone the top scorer in the city?"If you're here to interview my eldest son, Mason, I'd believe that. He's a forward on the state soccer team, after all, and he just—"Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance to finish before

On my first day at Southlink University, I found a coffee shop on the street just outside campus that offered room and board in exchange for work.The owner was a local office worker who rarely had time to run the shop. She had been planning to close it down when I happened to come across her."I'll provide your meals and a place to stay, and I'll pay you 2,000 dollars a month. Once school starts, I'll find someone else to take over. All I ask is that you run the shop for me until then. How does that sound?"I never expected to stumble across an opportunity like that.I quickly nodded.With three months until school started, I could save 6,000 dollars.First, I'd pay back the 500 dollars my school advisor had lent me. Then I'd register for this year's physics competition. Since my tuition and fees were fully waived, I wouldn't have to worry about covering my living expenses for the semester.…Time passed quickly.During my first month at the university, I signed up for the ph

Three days after Mia left, Dad came to the university.Unlike Mia, he showed no guilt. The moment he saw me, he started blaming me. "Madison Young, what's wrong with you? Mason is at a critical stage of his rehabilitation. He can't be left alone. Your mother is taking care of him, and she'll come see you when she can."Mia came all this way to see you. That was already her way of giving you an opening. How can you be so inconsiderate of what your parents are going through?"Before, he'd blamed me for being withdrawn and unlikable. Now, he blamed me for being immature and failing to understand them. Yet he still expected me to wait.I laughed.For the first time, I spoke with a sharpness that surprised even me. "So I'm inconsiderate of you? Then when did you ever consider me?"Why was everything they wore and used always new while I was expected to make do with their old things? Why could they sign up for whatever classes they wanted and buy whatever toys they liked while I could