Chapter 2
Ben looked uneasy, rubbing his throbbing temples.
He tried to dodge it, whining, "I drank way too much last night, and I'm still feeling it. I can't take her to school. Can't you get up and do it for her, just this one time? You're her sister-in-law, after all."
"If you can't take her, then she can take the bus. Leave me alone," I shot back.
I yanked the blanket over my head and ignored Ben's endless nagging.
Not long after, Jenny's voice came from outside the door.
She shouted, "Linda, I already finished breakfast. Why are you still in bed? If we don't leave now, I'm seriously going to be late.
"Ben, hurry up and get Linda moving. What's up with her today? Is she dragging her feet so I get yelled at by the homeroom teacher?"
Ben glanced at me, with my head under the covers, not saying a word.
He sighed in defeat, grumbling as he pulled off the blanket and dragged himself out of bed.
Outside, Monica was pacing furiously, her face stormy with rage, cursing nonstop under her breath.
When she saw Ben open the door, her face twisted with both anger and worry.
She fussed, "Oh, Ben, you don't start work until nine. Why are you up so early? Go back to bed and get some more rest. Don't tire yourself out."
As she spoke, she glared daggers at me, still lying in bed.
She snapped, "Linda, do you know what time it is? Are you planning to stay in bed all day? Do I have to come in and drag you out myself?"
I threw off the covers, got out of bed, and walked over to the bedroom door.
I said, "My office has changed locations. From now on, Ben will take Jenny to school. Stop waking me up for this."
Without waiting for her response, I slammed the door and locked it.
Once Monica realized what was happening, she immediately grabbed Ben and started whining.
She said, "What's up with your wife? You work so hard, and she still expects you to get up and take Jenny to school? That's ridiculous!"
Ben took over the task of taking Jenny to school.
But he barely made it three days before he started complaining nonstop.
Every day, he'd moan about how he couldn't get up in the morning, making it pretty obvious he thought I should be the one taking Jenny instead.
I ignored him. Every day, like clockwork, I'd sleep in past eight and take my sweet time getting up.
Ben had to suck it up and get up early to take Jenny to school.
In less than a month, he had bags under his eyes and looked totally wiped out.
That night at dinner, Ben finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
He cautiously spoke up, "Jenny should start taking the bus to school. I'm really wiped out from staying up late and getting up early every day. I can't handle it anymore."
I snickered to myself. Back in my previous life, I used to work overtime and wouldn't get home until past 2 AM.
The next morning, I really couldn't drag myself out of bed, so I had Ben take Jenny to school for a day.
He instantly pulled a sour face and said I was pretending to be tired and shirking my responsibilities.
Now that he was the one feeling the pain, he finally got what it was like.
Jenny immediately got upset, slamming her utensils down on the table, her eyes going red. "Ben! School is already exhausting enough for me every day, and now you want me to get up even earlier and squeeze onto the bus?"
She pouted, her face scrunched up in frustration as she whined, "The bus is so smelly and stuffy. Every time I ride it, I feel dizzy and sick. How am I supposed to focus in class after that?"
Seeing this, Monica immediately targeted me.
She started lecturing me, putting on the pressure. "Linda, look at Ben. He's been getting up early every day lately, and he looks totally exhausted. Don't make him get up early anymore.
"You've always been the one taking Jenny to school, so what's a few more months? She's about to graduate. You can't drop the ball now. When Jenny gets into a top university, you'll get some bragging rights as her sister-in-law."
I kept picking at my food, not saying a word, and didn't even look up from my plate.
There was no way I could outtalk the whole family by myself.
It was not like they could force me. If I didn't want to take Jenny, what were they gonna do?
Seeing that I didn't argue back, Monica and the rest assumed I'd agreed.
The next morning, at 7:30, I was still comfortably sprawled out in bed.
Ben kept yelling and shaking me, but I lay there, not moving an inch.
I didn't budge, not even pretending I was about to get up.
Monica stormed in, furious, and tried to pull me out of bed.
I smacked her hand away, hard.
Then I kicked Ben off the bed.
I yelled, "Get out. Stop bothering me while I'm sleeping."
Ever since I put my foot down and refused to take Jenny to school, Monica started glaring at me with open contempt, like she couldn't stand the sight of me.
That day, after work, I went into the bathroom to use the toilet.
The sink, which had been dry that morning, was now splashed with water everywhere.
My red towel was all damp.
Turned out, like in my previous life, Monica had washed her socks in my sink.
A cold smirk crept onto my lips.
Thinking about how Monica's gross habits ended up backfiring on Ben, I couldn't help but laugh.
A week later, Ben started scratching his face every so often.
I knew right away that he'd fallen for it.
At first, Ben just figured it was some seasonal allergy and brushed it off.
But when a nasty ring of red, itchy, peeling skin broke out on his face, making him want to claw it off, Ben finally started to freak out.
He went straight to the hospital.
The doctor examined Ben's face, looking pretty grim.
Even for a seasoned doctor, he scratched his head, totally confused. "You've got fungus on your face. You really need to watch your hygiene. Don't use your face towel for your feet."
Ben was totally stunned, his lips quivering in disbelief. "How could I possibly get fungus on my face? Doc, are you serious? I never wiped my feet with my face towel."