Chapter 3
I didn't understand why they'd show up there.
The evening breeze swept in, carrying a chill.
My voice floated in the air, picking up a hint of that coolness too.
"Mr. Miller, Mrs. Miller, we've cut ties. We're not family anymore. I don't need to explain where my money comes from."
With that, I turned and walked away.
Suddenly, Ella piped up.
"Hey, Amelia, what's that red spot on your neck?" she asked.
"Wait, is that... a hickey?" Ella teased.
I stopped in her tracks.
It was just a mosquito bite, and she was making it sound like a hickey.
What Ella was up to was crystal clear.
I turned, my gaze icy as I locked eyes with Ella, whose face showed both shock and an innocent look.
Ella was taken aback, her body wobbling just a bit.
But she kept that innocent look on her face.
"Amelia, even if you're out of cash, you can't just go around selling your body," Ella said.
"Doing this, how are Mom and Dad supposed to hold their heads up?" she added.
For a split second, the air went dead silent.
Then, a barrage of harsh accusations slammed into Amelia's ears.
"Amelia! You really went and did something so shameless just for a pair of shoes that cost a few hundred bucks? Are you really that low?
"No wonder you're so uncivilized, growing up in a poor place like that!
"How could we have a daughter with no shame like you? You've completely disgraced the Miller family!"
I ignored them completely.
I stepped right up to Ella, my eyes narrowing as I stared her down.
"So, little sis, you seem to know exactly what a hickey looks like. Must've slept with quite a few people yourself, huh?"
Ella's eyes went wide.
She opened her mouth to say something.
Before she could even get a word out, I slapped her across the face, making her head turn to the side.
"Amelia!" Daniel shouted, his voice booming with anger.
He pulled Ella behind him, shielding her as he shot me a murderous glare.
He looked like a wild animal, ready to pounce and tear me apart.
"Do you even know? Ella was the one who begged us to come for your birthday today. We even brought you a cake," Daniel said.
"She's always saying she owes you, telling us to be nicer to you and not to get hung up on your bad attitude," he continued.
"But what did you do? You really went that far, selling yourself for cash, then dragging Ella through the mud! And you even slapped her!" Daniel shouted.
"Is this how you treat her after everything she's done for you?" he demanded.
Ella covered her face, biting her lip as tears welled up in her eyes, her body shaking with each sob.
"Daniel, I'm fine. Please don't blame Amelia, it's my fault, " Ella stammered, her voice trembling.
Her crying came to an abrupt halt.
As Ella suddenly collapsed, Daniel quickly caught her before she hit the ground.
My parents rushed over, frantically helping Daniel pick Ella up.
The four of them left in a hurry, leaving behind a bag on the ground, the same one Daniel was carrying earlier.
I walked over, opened the bag, and there it was, a small mango cake.
Ella loved mango more than anything.
Clearly, this was just the leftover cake from her birthday party.
I laughed, a bitter sound escaping my lips.
My whole body trembled uncontrollably.
So this was the "special" cake they brought for me.
Just a leftover piece of cake, one that I was actually allergic to.
The wind made my eyes ache.
Good thing I'd stopped expecting anything from them a long time ago.
Expressionless, I tossed the bag into the trash and headed back to my dorm.
That little birthday drama didn't even faze me.
I aced both the third and fourth SAT practice tests, ranking first in my grade each time.
Maybe with the SAT just around the corner, Daniel didn't have time to give me any trouble anymore.
The weather was nice on the day of the SAT.
After finishing the last exam and stepping outside, I looked up, the distant sunset seemed to tint my eyes red.
It was finally over.
I went back to my dorm, packed up my stuff, and left the school.
Renting a place was still way too much trouble, so I just went with a hotel like always.
As I was chilling in my room, I started thinking about what kind of side gig I could pick up.
Even with 0 million dollars in the bank, I still couldn't shake my habit of squeezing every last cent.
No matter what, I just couldn't stop myself from stretching a dollar as far as it would go.
Take those birthday shoes, for example, they were supposed to be 200 dollars, but I bargained them down to 100 before I finally felt okay buying them.
By the time I finally decided what part-time job to take, results day had rolled around.
Just as I expected, my scores didn't show up.
Daniel and Ella both did pretty well, and Daniel even posted in the class group chat, inviting everyone to their college entrance celebration.
The group chat was buzzing with congratulations, noisy as a marketplace.
Someone mentioned me.
[What about Amelia? She's the top student in our grade, she must've aced the exams too, right? Why isn't she having a graduation party?]
[She probably didn't do well. I saw Amelia after the exam, and her eyes were all red, most likely she messed up and ended up crying.]
[Isn't it a bit suspicious? Amelia used to be nowhere near the top 100, and then suddenly jumped straight to first place in the mock exams. Could it be she just cheated her way up?]
[Come on, I knew it, how could someone from some tiny backwater ever beat Ella and Daniel? Must've been cheating, obviously.]
[Haha, so what? Once the SAT rolls around, she'll totally get exposed.]
[People from some dump are always scheming. No wonder the Miller family kicked her out.]
[Whoa, Amelia got thrown out of the Miller family? That explains why she suddenly moved into the dorms.]
[Serves her right. A country bumpkin will always be a country bumpkin, she's never going to be one of the elite.]
The group chat instantly exploded with sarcasm and ridicule about me.