บททั้งหมดของ My Family Celebrates When I Flunk the Exams: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

I froze at the corner of the hallway, a glass of water in my hand. Then, my mom Lillian Montgomery's voice came from the room. It was soft and tender in a way I had never heard in all 18 years of my life. "Don't worry. She won't find out. And even if she does, what's she going to do about it?"At that, my dad, Nicholas Clark, laughed. "Exactly. You two look identical. Who's going to know the difference? Besides, we've raised her all these years. What's wrong with letting you take her score?"My younger sister, Olivia Clark, spoke up. There was a hint of unease in her voice as she asked, "Mom, what if she hears us?""That nerd is probably still in her room going over every answer. You know how she is. She'll check them over and over until she's satisfied. She wouldn't even think to pay attention to what we're saying."Mom scoffed and added, "And even if she did hear us, what could she possibly do?""Your mother and I have already taken care of everything," Dad chimed in. "We've

I was 12 when Grandma passed away. She died without warning. The night before, she had been sitting there, mending my socks. By morning, she never woke up.I held on to her hand and cried all day. I wept until my throat was raw, until my tears ran dry, and until I felt like there was nothing left inside me.Later, my parents came home for the funeral. Olivia trailed behind them in a pretty floral dress, an ice cream cone in hand. She took one look at my tear-streaked face, pouted, then ducked behind Mom.After the funeral, Mom told me, "You're coming home with us. You'll be going to school there from now on."I had no choice but to let them take me to that so-called home. From that day on, my life became one long nightmare. My parents' expectations had become downright cruel. I had to get perfect scores on every test. One point less, and I got beaten. A 99 meant getting my palms whipped, and a 98 meant being sent outside to stand on the porch for two hours. Anything below 9

I tilted my head, feigning confusion. "Hear anything? Like what? I just got some water and went back to my room. Why do you ask?"Mom let out a sigh of relief and smiled again. "Nothing. Here. Eat up."I lowered my gaze and took a bite of my sandwich. The bread was soft, and the ham smelled delicious. But I couldn't taste a thing. All I knew was that, from now on, I had to keep up the act. I had to be better at it than they were. …Over the next few days, I behaved exactly as I always had. I kept quiet, did as I was told, and never fought for anything. When my parents told me to start at the prep school, I complied. Whenever Olivia strutted around the house like she owned the place, I kept my head down and said nothing. Whenever Mom tried to probe me with a few questions, I pretended not to understand what she was getting at and answered her plainly. Gradually, they let their guard down.Olivia's high SAT score became the family's top priority. My parents busied themselve

For the next few days, I shut myself in the room and went over what had happened again and again. I tried filing a complaint online. I found the state Department of Education's official website and located the email address for complaints. Then, I wrote a long email detailing everything that had happened, along with my personal information and all the evidence I had.Hope swelled in me as I hit send. But my email went unanswered. One week passed, then another, and I still hadn't heard back from them.So, I tried calling instead. I dialed the state Department of Education's complaint hotline. A woman picked up and asked what I was calling about.I explained what had happened. She said she would document the complaint and told me to wait for a response.And that was the end of it.I even tried reaching out to the media. I searched online for the tip email addresses of several news outlets and sent them detailed accounts of what had happened to me. Some never responded, while

Waiting was the hardest part. Every day, I went to class at my prep school, came home for dinner, and put up with my parents' forced concern and Olivia's constant digs.Before long, Olivia's college acceptance letter arrived. She'd been accepted to one of the top ten universities in the country to study finance.Mom clutched the letter and burst into tears. Dad, too, was visibly moved as he slipped an arm around Olivia's shoulders. "I knew it. I always knew you'd make us proud," he said.They decided to throw a huge celebration on August 16, spare no expense, and invite every relative and friend. Olivia picked out a red dress to wear to the celebration. Then, Mom took her to get her hair done and treated her to a full day of beauty treatments, spending a small fortune on her.I stood in the corner and watched it all unfold. Somehow, I felt calm. Soon, this would all be over.…On August 16, the celebration was held at the best hotel in town. Mom wore a striking red dress,