Lahat ng Kabanata ng Rigged From Birth: I Still Fought Back: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

For the holiday sales push, I had to close 50 auto loans before New Year's Eve, or I was fired.It was already December 30th, and no matter how hard I pushed myself, I was still ten loans short. Just then, a news notification popped up on my phone."Barton Group is going all out for the holidays! The top 100 employees are each getting a car!"Out of sheer desperation, I called Mom. We hadn't spoken in five years."I saw the news about the company giving cars to its employees. Can you get the loan through me? I'm just a bit short on my quota this month."After a long silence, I finally heard Mom say, "Fine."But immediately after, I heard my twin brother Alan Barton's voice. "Don't bother with him! Didn't he say he wasn't going to rely on the family when he left?"The line went dead, and all that remained was silence. A nurse walked into my hospital room to drop a bill demanding payment for my chemotherapy on the bedside table."You're not the only one with cancer, you know.

The biting wind whipped down my collar. I felt utterly humiliated. Back then, I'd said those words with such conviction.But now I was dying of cancer and couldn't even afford my medical bills. Reality didn't give me time to wallow in self-pity, though. My bank manager sent out another one of those over-the-top motivational messages."Team, our year-end target isn't a goal. It's the bare minimum! Everyone needs to step up. There's no backing out!"Whether you live or die, whether you end up on your feet or on your knees, it all comes down to these last ten hours!"The message couldn't have come at a more fitting time. No matter how useless I was, I still wanted to live because I hadn't really lived my life yet.After racking my brain, I called Uncle Toby."Ten cars? No problem. That works out perfectly. Everyone can have one for New Year's Day. I'll set one aside for you, too. It's been years since you came over to visit."My nose stung, and I choked back a sob. "Thank you,

Early the next morning, before the sun was even up, everyone heard the housekeeper, Eleanor Hicks, scream. "Someone is sitting in a corner! They're not moving! It looks like Jeremy!"Mom, Dad, and Alan came out into the yard and looked at me from a distance.After a night of continuous rain and a sudden drop in temperature, my hair was coated in frost.With a frown, Mom said, "Look at the state he's in after living out there on his own. His hair's practically covering his whole face. Couldn't he have cut it? Jeez. Eleanor, help him inside."Alan hastily stopped Eleanor. "Mom, he's just putting on an act to gain sympathy! He's not a little kid anymore. If he was cold, he could just get up himself. This is exactly what he's been waiting for you to say."The second he sees you softening up, he'll ask you to help him with his quota again. All he has in his head are dishonest tricks."As Dad noticed how awful I looked, he couldn't quite bring himself to ignore me. He gave Alan a littl

But Dad didn't do as Mom said this time. He pressed, "Shouldn't we take Jeremy to the hospital?"Mom, completely frazzled, shoved him away. "I told you he's fine! He can pull through this himself! There's no way a son of mine is so weak that he can't even handle something like this!"The three of them just sat on the couch in silence, just waiting for me to wake up. Then, a low buzzing drifted into their ears. It was a fly.Mom shot up and instantly swatted it dead.Dad asked, his voice trembling, "Why are there flies in this weather?"No sooner had he finished speaking than a second fly appeared. Then, more kept coming. They landed on my head, becoming too many to shoo away.Mom and Dad flailed their hands wildly to swat the flies away, only to knock into me by accident.My body jolted, and a gurgling sound escaped my throat as trapped gas was released. Everyone turned deathly pale.Mom nudged Dad, looking completely dazed. "Go check on him."Dad nudged Alan instead. "You

As I watched Alan relentlessly tear into Dad, I couldn't help thinking that I'd already heard such words at his college acceptance party.Mom's summary of those words back then was that I was utterly worthless. And what she said was what drove me out of the house. After leaving home, I hadn't the slightest idea where to go.In the end, I snuck into my old high school dorm, which was completely empty.I slept on the floor and lived on cold water, but without Mom constantly lecturing me, I actually felt lighter than I ever had.Still, the fact that no one ever came looking for me hurt more than I wanted to admit. I swore to myself that I would make something of my life, just to make them regret it.As my family was considered wealthy, I didn't qualify for student loans or financial aid. Thus, I did whatever it took to make money, whether it was working in a coffee shop, delivering food, or tutoring.I had to earn enough for tuition before the semester started. But going to co