11
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I knew Jake wouldn’t rat me out to his
parents.
But looking at the $1,000 deposit in my
account, I felt guilty.
He would disappear the moment class ended,
so I couldn’t catch him.
All I could do was pinch him when he fell
asleep in class.
Before I knew it, he had nicknamed me: “The
Claw“.
But one day, I stopped bothering him.
It was the day the family education show
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It was the day the family education show
aired.
I was taking the scholarship exam when they
filmed it, so I didn’t go.
But my parents still went on with it.
They took the reporters to Brittany’s trophy
room.
Not only did Brittany need extra rooms for
clothes, shoes, and stuffed animals, but also
a room just for her trophies and certificates.
“This is her second–place medal from the city
dance competition, this is her third–place
certificate from the speech contest, and
these are her awards from kindergarten…”
く
Mom and Dad listed them off like they were
reading from a sacred text, rattling off the
story behind every medal and certificate.
Finally, the reporter asked, “We heard you
have another daughter. Do you have anything
to say about her?”
The smiles on my parents‘ faces faded.
“She’s nothing special. She’s nowhere near as
accomplished as Brittany. Let’s not talk about
her.”
“Okay… well, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton, we’ve
seen Brittany and Lucas’s achievements; they
both have their own halls of fame. Can we
see your other daughter’s?”
My parents‘ faces fell.
Г
The only room I had was a small 100 square
foot spare room, so even if they wanted to
show the reporter anything, there wasn’t a
space of my own that would impress anyone.
The microphone was shoved in front of Dad’s
face, and he scoffed.
“She hasn’t amounted to anything, not worth
your time. We provide for her, but she’s never
happy. She even made my wife cry the other
day. What’s so great about her?
“Let’s end the interview here. I don’t want to
talk about that ungrateful daughter.”
