The bank manager perked up and grinned at me. “Oh, is this your sister, Mr. Thompson?”
Mark frowned. “That’s none of your business.
Get back to work.”
The manager scurried away.
Mark looked at me again. “You just got home.
What are you doing here?”
“Putting money in the bank.”
I went to take a number.
“The envelopes? Seriously?” He laughed. “I
thought you’d give those to Mom and Dad.
That’s what Brittany always does.”
I didn’t say anything.
He snorted. “Such a little money–grubber. But
remember this: you can be greedy with your
own money, but you keep your hands off what’s
ours!”
<
He was exactly like he’d been the first time
around.
The first week I got home, a gold necklace went
missing.
Mark decided I’d stolen it.
He said I had no upbringing, that all I cared
about was money, and that I was nothing but
trouble.
And now, even before the necklace went
missing, he’d already made up his mind about
- me.
But I wasn’t going to argue. I just wanted to put
my money in the bank.
Mark just scoffed and walked off.
7
<
That night, Mom, Dad, and Brittany were
helping me pick a school.
The brochures were all for fancy private
schools.
I picked one out. “I don’t want to go to a
private school. I want to go to Northwood
High.”
A regular, run–of–the–mill public high school.
Go to high school, get into college, get out of
this house.
That was the plan.
I didn’t want to be a rich girl.
Mom and Dad looked surprised. Brittany hid her
smile and said, “Sarah, we don’t need to go to
regular high school. We don’t even need to go.
to college. We’re going to study abroad!”
“Yeah, honey, you can go to the Violet
Academy with Brittany. We’ve got your whole
future planned out for you.”
Mom patted my hand.
Dad’s eyes flickered, like he was thinking
something over.
And I knew what he was thinking.
The first time around, I’d gone to the Violet Academy and… well, I’d made a name for
myself, alright.
Not because I was brilliant, but because I was
so out of place.
A backwoods girl among all the richest, most
popular kids in town.
And once people found out I was a Thompson,
it became a joke.
<
People actually came to gawk at me, and when
they saw I was just a scrawny hick, they started
making fun of me.
And Brittany? She was fueling the fire. She not
only found people to make fun of me but even
paid some cute guy to lead me on.
As soon as I fell for him, he released all the
tapes he’d made of us, including the videos.
I became a laughingstock, and I embarrassed
the Thompsons in front of the entire town.
Dad had lost it and slapped me so hard that I
went flying.
“I knew this would happen if we sent you to a
private school! You always embarrass the
Thompson’s family!”
Dad cared a lot about his reputation.
<
And now he was worried about it again.
Brittany knew how to protect his reputation, didn’t she?
“I just want to go to public school. Please let
me go to Northwood.” I was firm.
Mom started to argue, but Dad stopped her. “Alright, alright, let the girl decide for herself. If
we love our kids, we can’t force them to do
things they don’t want to do.”
I almost laughed. But I stopped myself.
Instead, I felt a pang of sadness for my past
self.
8
And so, I started at Northwood High.
It was on the other side of town. After two
く
weeks, I suggested that I should live closer to
the school.
The whole family looked shocked.
Mark rarely came home, but he narrowed his
eyes at me. “Live near school? What is that
about, Sarah? I don’t know if you’ve noticed,
but we aren’t exactly bonding here, huh?
“Is it that hard living with us?”
How could I bond?
I’d tried it for three years, and it never worked.
“It’s just easier to study near the school.”
I was calm and reasonable.
Mark narrowed his eyes.
Mom took my hand. “Honey, is something
wrong? It just feels like you don’t really fit in
<
Well, yeah. I didn’t.
“I want a better study environment.” I said
calmly.
Brittany started to cry. “You must hate me. It’s
alright, I’ll go live near the school. I’ll get out of
your hair.”
