Chapter 3
With Caleb joining my cause, my father’s hesitant expression began to soften.
But my mother eyed me suspiciously, looking me up and down.
“What if you go to college and then disappear after graduation? Who’ll take care of us then? There’s a college graduate from our village whose parents can’t even find him now.”
At her words, my father, Raymond, also grew suspicious, staring intently at me while smoking, trying to determine if I was telling the truth.
My heart sank as I feared my college plans might evaporate. I quickly said:
“I can sign a contract! And I’ll choose a college close to home, then come right back to find work after graduation!”
As my mother tried to argue further, my father extinguished his cigarette and displayed a rare moment of warmth.
“How could I not trust you? Tiffany, you’re my daughter. You and Caleb share the same blood. Our family should be harmonious and supportive of each other…”
However, my mother’s face darkened beside him, she sneered:
“What’s the point of all this education for a girl? She should get a job now, bring home money to support our family, and when she gets married, at least she won’t be around giving us headaches.”
“Mom!” Caleb suddenly interrupted, raising his voice in protest. “With just a high school diploma, how much could she make at some retail job? She’d end up marrying some broke loser. Forget buying me a house–she probably
couldn’t even afford a used car.”
My father also timely shot my mother a harsh glare before half–heartedly smoothing things over.
“Don’t take your mother seriously. She didn’t get much schooling–sharp as a bowling ball, that one.”
Then he put on a show of scolding Caleb.
“Why are you still playing games? That’s unacceptable. Your sister is willing to buy you a car and a house, and you can’t even repay her by writing up this contract yourself? Do you expect her to do that too?”
Hearing this, Caleb didn’t throw his usual tantrum. Instead, he tossed his phone aside, shuffled over in his slippers to find paper and a pen, and began writing the contract with everyone watching. When he finished, he thoughtfully dug out an ink pad from a corner.
With a forced smile, I signed my name and pressed my fingerprint onto the paper, then proceeded to fill out my college application right in front of them.
After watching me complete everything, father and son were unusually cheerful, while my mother let out a heavy snort and rolled her eyes, then stated his conditions:
“Let me make this clear: since you’re the one who wants to go to college, you’ll have to earn your own tuition and living expenses. All the money in this house belongs to Caleb–you don’t get a penny. Since you’ve already submitted your application, you’ll start working for money tomorrow. And you broke my door, so you’re paying for it.”
Facing her merciless demands, I gritted my teeth and agreed to everything, then secretly changed my college preferences later that night.
Chapter 4
The next day, I started work as a kitchen helper at a local restaurant, beginning my new life of back–to–back shifts.
When I got home that first night, I was so exhausted my eyelids kept drooping shut. There was no dinner left for me, and after searching through every cabinet, I couldn’t even find any food. I had no choice but to eat the bread roll I’d set aside for tomorrow’s breakfast before collapsing into bed.
Half–asleep, I suddenly felt my blanket being yanked off as a shrill voice exploded in my ear.
“You worthless girl! Look at what time it is and you’re still sleeping like a damn pig! Get up and go to work!”
As Darlene berated me, I groggily reached for my phone. It was only 4:30 AM–the sun wasn’t even up. I instantly felt a crushing wave of despair and frustration.
“Mom, my shift doesn’t start until eight. Even if I get up at seven, I’ll have plenty of time. Why do I need to be up
now?”
SLAP!
As soon as the words left my mouth, a harsh slap landed across my face.
Darlene stood with her hands on her hips, seething with anger.
“I start my housekeeping job at six and have to be at the market for fresh meat and vegetables before that. What makes you so special that you get to sleep until seven? Get up and make breakfast for everyone!”
Seeing my pained expression, she finally looked satisfied, condescendingly looking down at me and speaking in a lecturing tone:
“No pain, no gain. I’m only doing this for your own good–giving you an early taste of how hard real work is. This
builds character.”
I glanced at the broken door, then back at my mother who looked ready to strike again. Resigned to my fate, I dragged myself out of bed to make breakfast.
After going hungry all night, I was already starving, but Darlene quickly scooped more than half of my oatmeal into Caleb’s bowl.
Caleb rubbed his sleepy eyes, somewhat complaining.
“Mom, how am I supposed to finish all this?”
Yet Darlene pushed the bowl toward her son while shouting: “What do you mean you can’t finish it? You’re starting your senior year soon–that’s hard work! You need to eat more to keep your strength up!”
I glanced at my bowl, now less than half full, and hurriedly shoveled what remained into my mouth.
This tiny portion wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy my hunger, but I had no choice except to head to work on an empty stomach. My workplace was two subway stops away, but without a single penny to my name, I had to walk. Even though my parents knew perfectly well they’d taken every cent from me, they pretended not to notice.
After a full day of grueling work, despite the small free lunch the restaurant provided, I was absolutely famished by the time my shift ended.
But over the next few days, I realized this was becoming my new normal.
Every night I’d return home starving only to find no fresh food available for me, forcing me to eat their leftovers.
In the summer heat, food left out of the refrigerator quickly spoiled.
But when you’re starving, you can’t be picky. I’d wolf it down in a few bites, then rush to wash up and get to bed.
After all, by 4:30 the next morning, Darlene would wake me up “for my own good” to make breakfast for the entire family.
Between the intense physical work, constant hunger, and existing malnutrition, within two weeks I was dizzy and
weak.
