Chapter 2
Every morning, I got up at six.
After school, I headed straight to my part-time job.
I didn't get home until eleven at night.
I'd be up doing homework until one or two in the morning.
My mother never once asked if I was tired.
She did ask me once, "Do you have enough money for yourself?"
I said it's enough.
And she never brought it up again.
Kelly was the only one who ever asked me about it.
That year, during the holidays, she came back from college and spotted me stocking shelves at the supermarket.
"Donna, what are you doing here?" Kelly asked, sounding surprised.
"Just working," I replied.
"Why are you working here?" she pressed.
"I'm saving up," I said.
"Saving up for what?" Kelly pressed.
I glanced at her, feeling a little bitter inside.
She was wearing a brand-new down jacket, carrying a bag of snacks, and her nails were freshly manicured.
"For tuition," I replied.
"Wait, aren't Mom and Dad paying for your tuition?" Kelly asked, genuinely surprised.
She had no clue.
Or maybe she never thought about it.
In Kelly's world, our parents covering tuition was the way things worked. She never questioned it.
It never occurred to her that, living under the same roof, I, her sister, had to work for every dollar of my own tuition.
"Yeah, I'm saving up myself," I replied.
"That's amazing," Kelly said, smiling.
She casually patted my shoulder.
Amazing.
The word stung more than anything else she could have said.
Kelly was sincere about it.
She genuinely thought I was "amazing", not that anything about my situation was unfair or messed up.
Three years.
Every dollar I had, I earned myself.
I could still smell the oil and smoke from the bubble tea shop, feel the chalk dust from the tutoring center, and remember the icy chill of the supermarket's walk-in freezer at dawn.
My hands were marked with red, cracked skin from the cold.
In winter, I'd be stocking shelves in the supermarket freezer, with temperatures way below zero. The gloves were way too big and got in the way, so I ended up working bare-handed.
My mother noticed the red, cracked scars on my hands.
She just said, "Put some ointment on it. It'll be fine."
Right after that, she bought Kelly a set of hand creams for 160 dollars.
The wedding started at ten.
I got changed and took a seat in the living room.
My mother was busy in Kelly's room, running around getting things ready.
My father was there, too.
I was the only one in the living room.
The phone rang. It was my uncle calling.
"Hey, I heard Kelly's getting married today. Congratulations! Is the bridal gift all set?" he asked.
My mother picked up the phone, her voice instantly brightening.
"All set. 56,000 dollars. We can't let Kelly look bad," she replied proudly.
I could hear everything from the living room.
Later, I learned how the money was actually divided.
My parents chipped in 26,000 dollars in cash.
They spent 13,400 dollars on gold jewelry.
The rest, 16,000 dollars, was mine.
Kelly's bridal gift looked pretty respectable.
The Cheney family was happy with it.
Kelly was all smiles.
My mother felt like she looked good.
No one ever mentioned where that 16,000 dollars came from.
No one ever talked about how a 15-year-old girl spent three years grinding away at a bubble tea shop, a tutoring center, and a supermarket freezer.
I'd saved up for three years, and my mother took it all in just one day.
I sat alone in the living room, listening to my mother laugh on the phone. Suddenly, I felt cold inside.
Right at ten, the wedding car pulled up.
Firecrackers were going off everywhere.
Kelly stepped out of her room, wearing a traditional red bridal dress, her makeup flawless.
She looked beautiful.
Honestly, she was stunning.
My mother's eyes welled up with tears.
"My big girl is getting married," she said, her voice trembling.
She hugged Kelly and finally broke down crying.
My father was tearing up, too.
"When you get to your husband's family, make sure you live well," he said softly.
Glenn Cheney, Kelly's groom, was waiting downstairs.
As Kelly walked past me, she paused.
"Donna, why aren't you happy?" she asked gently.
I looked at her.
"Kelly, 16,000 dollars of your bridal gift came from money I spent three years saving up. Did you ever know that?" I said quietly, but there was a chill in my voice.
Kelly's smile faded.
She stood there, stunned for a couple of seconds.
Then she looked over at our mother.
Our mother's expression darkened.
"Is this really the day to bring this up?" our mother snapped.
Kelly gave my hand a gentle pull.
"Donna, I didn't know... I'll talk to Mom about it later," she said softly.
"Alright, that's enough," our mother interrupted, rushing over and pushing Kelly toward the door. "The auspicious hour is almost here. Hurry up. Hurry up."
Kelly was pushed out the door.
She turned and looked back at me.
Her eyes were conflicted, her expression hard to read.
But she stayed silent.
She never said, "I can't take this money."
And she never said, "Mom, you shouldn't have taken Donna's money."
She just shot me a look and got into the car.
The sound of firecrackers drowned everything out.
My mother turned around and looked at me.
"Are you happy now? Making a scene on your sister's big day?" my mother snapped at me.
"Just asking a question is making a scene?" I shot back.
"Why are you being so inconsiderate? Your sister only gets married once..." my mother snapped.
"And I only get to save up my money once," I shot back.
My mother froze for a second, stunned by my words.
"You..." she started, but I cut her off.
"The 56,000-dollar bridal gift. You and Dad put in 26,000 dollars, and 13,400 dollars for gold jewelry. The last 16,000 dollars is my money. Isn't that right?" I said.
My mother didn't say a word.
"Mom, I'm asking you again. Who's going to pay my 2,800 dollars college application fee next month?" I pressed.
"I told you, I'll try to figure something out..." my mother said, dodging the question.
"What are you going to do about it?" I pressed.
"Just don't worry about it for now..." my mother tried to brush me off.
"You had no problem shelling out 56,000 dollars for Kelly's bridal gift, but when it comes to my 2,800 dollars tuition, all you say is 'we'll figure something out'?" I said.
After I said that, the living room fell silent.
My father was standing by the door, holding an unlit cigarette.
He heard every word.
But he didn't say a thing.
The wedding party was held at Heaven Hall, right at the entrance of our apartment complex.
I was seated at the very corner table, with a few distant relatives I barely knew.
My mother and Kelly were at the main table.
My father was busy making rounds, toasting everyone.
No one came looking for me.
Aunt Linda walked by and gave me a look.
"Why are you sitting here all alone? Go join the main table," she said.
"No worries, I'm fine right here," I replied.