Chapter 4
The post blew up fast.
By the end of the afternoon, my reputation as the "wicked girl" had spread all over campus.
Everywhere I went, I could feel people staring and gossiping about me.
Even the classmates who used to greet me now went out of their way to avoid me.
Ryan's friend even came up to me, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Ann, you can't be so selfish. Sometimes you have to let things go."
I couldn't care less about these buzzing flies.
But when I bumped into Ethan again at the library entrance, he asked me one more thing.
"Do you need help with that forum post?" he asked.
His tone was still calm, but I could hear the concern in his voice.
"No need. Just some clowns acting up," I replied.
He gave me a long look, but didn't push it.
"By the way, I've put together a project team for the 'Urban Heritage Digital Preservation' project. We're still looking for someone to take charge of data integration and analysis. Interested?" he asked.
I was a bit surprised.
I knew about this project. It was one of the school's key initiatives, and only the top students from each department got to join.
"Why me?" I asked.
"Because you have the best grades and the clearest logic," Ethan said, like it was obvious. "I've read all your past papers and assignments."
I hadn't expected him to pay attention to that.
"Alright, I'm in," I said.
I needed something to take my mind off things, to keep myself busy.
This project was the perfect opportunity.
For the next few days, I was practically living in the library and the project team's activity room.
I thought, 'Dad and my brothers must have realized the silent treatment isn't working, so they're switching tactics.'
My eldest brother started flooding his social media with photos of him and Nora having fun together.
One day they were at Magic Kingdom, the next skiing, and the day after that, off to some tropical island for a vacation.
The captions were always the same: "Nothing beats having a caring sister. A guy with a sister is truly blessed."
My second brother was even more direct. He changed his profile picture to a photo of him and Nora together.
They were probably thinking, 'This will get under her skin, make her jealous, and even make her regret leaving.'
I muted their posts.
I deleted all my old chat history with my second brother too. Out of sight, out of mind.
Until one afternoon, I got a call from Mrs. May, the housekeeper, her voice trembling with worry.
"Ann, you need to come home right now. The piano your mom left you...your dad is about to give it away." Auntie May said anxiously.
My mind went blank for a moment.
That piano was a gift from my mom on my tenth birthday, one of her most precious keepsakes.
I hung up and immediately grabbed a cab home.
The whole ride, my heart was in knots.
When I finally reached the front door, I caught sight of a few movers hauling the white grand piano out.
In that instant, my face flushed and my eyes stung with tears.
But I clenched my teeth and forced myself not to cry.
Nora was standing off to the side, acting all concerned as she bossed the movers around.
"Careful, don't scratch it. This thing's really expensive," she fussed, pretending to care.
When Nora spotted me, a flash of panic crossed her face, but she quickly switched back to her go-to sweet-and-innocent routine.
"Oh, Ann, you're back. Dad said you never play the piano anymore and it's taking up space. My friend who's into music really needs one, so..." Nora said.
"Put it down." I snapped.
The movers exchanged glances and stopped in their tracks.
Nora bit her lip, her eyes going red again.
"Ann, please don't be upset. I know your mom left it for you, but isn't it a waste just sitting there unused? Wouldn't it be better if it went somewhere it could actually be appreciated?" Nora said, trying to sound all reasonable.
Her so-called logic was the same excuse Ryan used when he replaced my choir solo.
"Put to use?" I scoffed. "People like you have no right to touch it."
I grabbed my phone and dialed 911 right away.
"Hi, this is an emergency. Someone's breaking into my house and trying to take my stuff," I said.
Nora's face went ghostly pale.
"Ann, you...you can't call the cops. This is our own house." she stammered.
I said coldly, "This is my house.
"My name's on the deed. All of you are living in my house right now.
"That includes you, Nora. You're not even a guest, just an outsider."
Before Nora could get a word in, my dad and brothers came rushing out, drawn by the noise.
The cops showed up in no time. They always move fast when there's a theft in a rich neighborhood.
Just as things were getting tense, the police arrived.
When my dad saw the cops, his face turned stormy.
"Ann, have you lost your mind? Calling the cops over something this small? Stop making a scene and wasting their time. Cancel the call now." he barked.
I ignored him and turned to the officers. "Officer, this piano is my mother's keepsake, worth over 330,000 dollars. They're trying to take it away and sell it without my permission."
When the cops heard how much it was worth, their faces turned serious and they started grilling my dad and Nora.
My dad was shaking with rage, pointing at me. "You've got some nerve. I'm your father. Do I really need your permission to get rid of a piece of furniture?"
I shot back, "Yes, you do. Because this piano was left to me by my mom. You have no right to touch anything that belonged to her in this house.
"And I'm officially telling you all: you have one week to get out of this house."