All Chapters of Fairness Ruined My Life: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

As soon as I got home, Mom shot up and walked toward me. Frowning, she gave me a once-over."I don't see any missing limbs. You look perfectly fine to me," she said with an exasperated sigh. "What's this nonsense about you having cancer? If you were going to lie, Cassie, you should've at least come up with something more believable."Now hurry up and wash your hands. Don't bring any germs into the house. I don't know what's wrong with you anyway. You spend all your time coming up with the most ridiculous things."I tried to give Mom the medical report with my diagnosis. Pulling it out of my pocket, I said, "Mom, take a look at this—""Mom, come quick! Check out this video. It's hilarious!" My older twin sister, Cheryl Moore, waved at Mom from the couch.Mom immediately pushed my hand aside and hurried over to Cheryl. "I'm coming. What's so hilarious?"My hand hung in the air.Mom chuckled along with Cheryl for a while before finally remembering me. She pointed toward the dining

Chapter 2

Dad came out of the study. "That's a good idea. We'll put it to a vote. I vote for the northern lights. That's a once-in-a-lifetime trip."Mom raised her hand as well. "I vote for the northern lights, too. I've never seen them before, either."Then she lowered her hand and stroked my head. "Well, Cassie, it's three to one, so we need to go with the majority vote. That's only fair. We'll book our flight tickets right away. You can make another birthday wish next year."Everyone else looked pretty excited about the trip, but all I felt was a knot in my chest. Ever since I was nine years old, I'd made the same wish of wanting to see the ocean. I was 19 years old now. A whole decade had passed without my wish being fulfilled.Next year, huh? Would I even be around next year?Mom nudged me toward the kitchen."Anyway, Cheryl spent the day shopping for clothes with your dad and me. Her feet are swollen from all the walking. You didn't do anything today, so that's not fair at all. Hur

Chapter 3

That night, the abject hunger and the pain caused by my condition left me in so much misery that I couldn't sleep at all.Early the next morning, I dragged my weak and depleted body out of the room. Mom served me a bowl of oatmeal, but she also gave me a jelly donut."Dig in. Why are you so pale anyway? Did you not sleep well last night? Young people shouldn't stay up all night playing on their phones. Have something sweet. It'll give you more energy."Staring at the jelly donut, my eyes started watering a little. Surely this proved that Mom and Dad cared about me, right?Yet before I could bite into it, Cheryl glanced at my plate and pursed her lips. "Mom! Why does she get a jelly donut when mine is just a plain donut? I thought you said we needed to be fair in this family!"Mom looked a little awkward. "The diner must've mixed up my order and gave me the wrong donut."She promptly split the jelly donut in half and gave Cheryl the half with almost all the jelly.I lowered my he

Chapter 4

It felt like my heart stalled for a moment."What does that mean?" I asked.Mom hurried over, grabbed my arm, and pulled me toward the door. "Ignore her. Who knows what she's talking about? She probably mistook us for some other family."I planted my feet firmly and refused to move. After looking at the clothes I had just changed out of, I looked at Cheryl's outfit.The two outfits were identical in style and color. Even the logo on the chest matched exactly. I reached out and touched the fabric of Cheryl's sleeve. The material was soft, thick, and warm. Then I touched my own clothes. The fabric was thin and coarse, almost scratchy against my skin.The two outfits looked identical, but the quality was worlds apart.All these years, whenever Mom and Dad bought us clothes, they told me Cheryl and I were getting the same thing. Yet my clothes always wore out quickly, and whenever I put them on, my skin itched and felt uncomfortable.In that moment, I realized why.I looked up at

Chapter 5

Mom cursed as she hastily wiped the blood from her face with her sleeve. Cheryl covered her mouth and backed away in disgust, afraid the blood would stain her new clothes."We need an ambulance!"Dad was the first to fully register the situation. He scrambled to pull out his phone. Chaos descended over the place. The spectating crowd grew bigger, and one judgmental remark after another rang out.When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, I was immediately rushed into the emergency room. Mom and Dad paced anxiously in the hallway as they waited.Half an hour later, the door to the emergency room opened. The doctor came out holding several reports, his expression extremely grave."Who's the next of kin?"Mom and Dad immediately rushed up to him. "I'm her father! Doctor, how is my daughter?"The doctor sighed and held the reports out."The patient has pancreatic cancer, along with severe gastrointestinal bleeding. She is in critical condition. Here's the treatment consent form.

Chapter 6

I didn't know how long it'd been before I finally opened my eyes. When I looked to the side, I saw Mom and Dad watching over me at my bedside. Their hair was disheveled, and their eyes were bloodshot.The moment Mom saw me wake up, her eyes filled with joy. "Cassie! You're awake!"Her voice was extremely hoarse. She reached out as if to grab my hand, and I instinctively shrank away.Looking at their haggard faces, I instinctively cried out, "I'm sorry… I messed up again. I got in the way of you guys getting Cheryl new things for her trip. I'm sorry. Please don't punish me. Please…"For as long as I could remember, whenever I got sick or something happened to me, all I received from them were their rebukes. They would accuse me of deliberately causing trouble and trying to create problems for the family.But this time, my apology stabbed them right in their hearts.Mom's tears poured down her face. She grabbed my chilly hand and pressed it against her cheek."No, Cassie. I'm the

Chapter 7

Dad didn't bother listening to any more of Cheryl's ranting. He simply ended the call.I stared blankly at him. I could hardly believe it. Were these really my parents? They had actually rejected Cheryl's demands for my sake. That never would've happened before.…Over the next few days, Mom and Dad devoted all their time and energy to me. They didn't even go back to the house.Dad went to the mall and bought me several pairs of soft sneakers. They were exactly the right size, and the soft soles gave my feet plenty of cushioning.As far as I could remember, this was a rare moment when my shoes actually fit properly.Mom threw away all my clothes, which had been washed until they were faded and rough against my skin. She replaced them with the softest, most comfortable cotton pajamas.However, as I stared at the new clothes and shoes, I felt nothing but a deep sense of irony. If these things had come into my life a few years earlier, perhaps I wouldn't have ended up sick from the

Chapter 8

After my parents saw the empty hospital bed and the note on the table, Mom collapsed to the floor. "Cassie!"Dad's face went pale as he fumbled for the car keys. "Quick! We need to head to the beach in Langerton!"He drove down the highway at breakneck speed, while she cried in the front passenger seat, saying, "Step on it, Walter. You need to drive faster! We can't let her go to the beach alone. She'll be frightened. We owe her far too much. We can't let her be alone even in her last moments."Mom sobbed as though her heart were breaking. Her muffled cries filled the car the entire way.The sun gradually sank into the horizon. The sky was aglow in the colors of dusk. Golden light spilled across the shimmering water, and it was a breathtaking sight.Mom and Dad found me at the far end of the beach. I was quietly leaning against a rock, clutching a white seashell I had just picked up."Cassie!" Mom's voice carried through the wind.I turned my head and saw Mom and Dad dashing tow

Chapter 9

Many years passed, and Cheryl never came back. She changed all her contact information and blocked Mom and Dad. They went to every city where they thought she might have settled, searching the streets in a frenzy. They called the phone number that had long since been canceled countless times.Alas, Cheryl seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. They never heard from her again.Only the two aging parents remained in the house.Mom and Dad reinstalled the door they'd removed years ago. The room was filled with stuffed animals, pretty dresses, and the latest shoes.Every month, they would take a bus to the beach in Langerton. They always brought a vanilla cake, the flavor Cheryl hated most and the one I loved most.Mom and Dad would sit on the cold sand all afternoon. Dad would place the cake on a rock and stare out at the crashing waves."Cassie, I went to the supermarket today and saw some fresh oranges. I bought a whole box. They're all at home. No one's eating them

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