Livestreaming the Low-Budget Life
My twin sister, Ruby Stone, and I split up after our parents' divorce. She stays with Mom, while I went with Dad.
Since the divorce, he's sunk into a deep depression, gambling away every penny we have. We move into a dark, damp apartment, and life becomes an endless struggle.
Every day, I go to school and quietly work a part-time job to keep us afloat.
Then, out of nowhere, Ruby—whom I haven't heard from in forever—sends me a link to a live stream. "Check this out, Aria. There's a surprise waiting for you."
I click it, and my jaw drops. I'm the one topping the trending live streams.
The screen splits in two. On one side, I sit in my dingy apartment, hunched over homework under the dim light. On the other side, Mom and Dad cuddle with Ruby on the fancy couch of their sprawling villa.
The comments came pouring in.
"Let's see what happens when twins are raised on opposite sides of fortune all the way to 18."
"Aria still doesn't know, right? Her parents never divorced. They're loaded and perfectly happy. Ruby's life has been like a dream too."
"Poor Aria. She's always starving and never has anything decent to wear. Isn't that basically abuse?"
"She's the more sensible one, so her parents decided to raise her poorly."