Traveling a Thousand Miles, but Not for Me のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 9

As soon as I sent the message, I got a call from my mother, Carmen Dunham. She excitedly told me she was already waiting outside the campus gates.If I hadn't seen that post first, I probably would have been moved to tears.I hummed in acknowledgement, then shut down my computer and headed downstairs.My younger brother, Steve Kaufman, stood obediently beside them and greeted me.I nodded. Whenever he ran into me on campus, he always pretended not to know me.Mom elbowed me disapprovingly."Steve's greeting you. Why are you still so quiet? Honestly, I don't know how you even got into grad school."I pressed my lips together and said nothing.She had forgotten that I'd ranked first on the written exam and passed the first round of interviews on my first try. But when Steve suddenly fainted, and there was no one else at home, I had no choice but to give up my chance and take him to the hospital.It was only in my second attempt that Steve and I both made it through.I'd ranked

The conversation came to an abrupt end, leaving an awkward tension hanging in the air.As if by tacit agreement, they all walked ahead. The distance between us grew with every step. By the time we returned to campus, not a single one of them had said another word to me."Make sure you all come to my graduation tomorrow. I even asked my professor for extra guest passes," Steve announced.I clutched the hem of my shirt, then finally spoke up as Mom and Dad turned to leave. "Mom, Dad, I have guest passes too."Mom shot me a smug look and sneered. "Oh, so now you remember how to speak? I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me."I looked at her hopefully. "Will you come?"What I really wanted to ask was whether she would sit in the seat I had reserved for her at my graduation.But then, I heard her scoff. "I have no intention of embarrassing myself. With your academic performance, aren't you at risk of having to delay graduation if you don't work harder?"Rebecca burst out l

Mom jolted upright in her seat."Thomas? The valedictorian? How is that possible?""Maybe it's just someone with the same name, Mom. Don't make such a fuss," Rebecca said.Dad chimed in, "Exactly! Thomas could never—"Before he could finish, I stepped onto the stage amid thunderous applause.Their eyes widened as they watched me walk out in my graduation gown. I stood tall behind the microphone and cleared my throat."Hello, everyone. I'm Thomas Kaufman, a 2026 graduate in Biotechnology and Engineering."Mom's face flushed red, then drained of color. For once, she was at a complete loss for words.Audrey's mouth fell open as she stared at me wide-eyed.Dad and Rebecca exchanged a look, then swallowed nervously."How is this possible?""Is Thomas really that outstanding?"Steve's face turned deathly pale. Seeing everyone's attention fixed on me, he clenched the hem of his shirt.It wasn't until I finished my speech that they slowly began to recover from the shock.Mom's sh

Audrey stared at the silver ring for half a second before frantically calling me.I answered, only to hear her voice on the verge of breaking."Thomas, where are you? Aren't you coming back to our apartment anymore?"Faith glanced at my phone, then tactfully stepped away.I cleared my throat and said seriously, "No, I'm not. We broke up, and I've already taken all my things."There was a brief silence on the other end. When Audrey spoke again, her voice trembled."But I never agreed to break up."I let out a scornful laugh and replied in the same tone she'd used with me before, "Stop being so unreasonable. I don't need your permission to break up."Mom's voice cut in, and the air of superiority she'd had earlier was gone."Thomas, are you upset because we didn't sit in your section? We didn't do it on purpose. Don't be angry with us. Where are you? Audrey is heartbroken right now. Can you really bear to put her through this?"Dad chimed in, "That's right. We're worried about

I couldn't remember how I got home that day. But from then on, my family never tried calling me from other people's phones again.At last, peace and quiet returned to my life.Every day, I ran my experiments and then went over to Mr. Turner's house for dinner."I'm telling you, even if you're busy with experiments, you still have to eat. Faith can't even get you to listen to her anymore."I felt a little embarrassed by Mr. Turner's nagging. I could only keep my head down and shovel food into my mouth.Faith jumped in to explain. "Dad, we were only late today because I was working on a set of data."Mr. Turner snorted in exasperation. "Neither of you is any better than the other. Once this project is finished, you two had better get your paperwork ready, because you'll both be going back to the college for internships.""Huh?" I said in surprise.Mr. Turner tapped me lightly on the head. "You should keep a position in college. That way, you'll have another option open to you in