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Her mother posted Instagram carousels calling her sister a "little princess" and booked months in advance for her brother. Yet on July 19th, all her mother said was to heat up her own lunch before rushing out the door. How much cruelty can a daughter take before she cuts the bond completely and walks away to start a new life?
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Her mother posted Instagram carousels calling her sister a "little princess" and booked months in advance for her brother. Yet on July 19th, all her mother said was to heat up her own lunch before rushing out the door. How much cruelty can a daughter take before she cuts the bond completely and walks away to start a new life?
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00:00:05This family celebrates everyone's birthday, everyone's but mine, because my parents only
00:00:11love my twin siblings, Ethan and Chloe. They don't love me. When Ethan wants a birthday
00:00:16party, my parents book a private room at his favorite steakhouse a month in advance. When
00:00:22it's Chloe's turn and she wants to go to Six Flags, the whole family goes. Mom even
00:00:26posts nine photos on Instagram, but on my birthday, this house always treats it like
00:00:32any other day. I thought turning 18 would be different. That morning, I got up early on
00:00:37purpose, put on light makeup, and sat on the living room couch to wait. Mom walked past
00:00:43me on her way out, carrying Chloe's dance bag. Heat up your own lunch. I'm taking Chloe to
00:00:49her intensive class. Dad was watering tomatoes in the backyard. Ethan called him to go play
00:00:55basketball at the park, and the two of them left soon after. At noon, I was the only one
00:01:01left in the house. I sent a message in the family group chat. I'm 18 today. No one replied.
00:01:09At seven that night, everybody came home. No one sang. No one felt like anything was missing.
00:01:15I was 18 now. At last, I could decide for myself where I wanted to go.
00:01:21Mallory, delete that message from the group chat. I almost missed Grandpa's voice message.
00:01:27Ethan didn't even look up. He tapped the edge of his plate, lightly with his dinner knife,
00:01:33signaling Mom to give him more ribs. I looked down at my phone. The message in the family
00:01:40chat, I'm 18 today, was still sitting there. No one had replied. Mom came over with a plate
00:01:47of garlic bread and set it in the middle of the table. All right. No phones at dinner.
00:01:56I looked at the food on the table. Ethan liked ribs. Chloe liked mac and cheese. Mom had made the
00:02:02salad for herself. Not a single dish was for me. I liked seafood. Grilled salmon was my favorite. I had
00:02:11said it so many times. No one in this family remembered. Dad, today... Dad set down his iced tea
00:02:20and glanced at me. The next second, he turned back to Ethan. How's your wrist from basketball this
00:02:26afternoon? Does the sprain still hurt? It's okay. Shoot. It aches a little when I shoot. I'll take you to
00:02:32a
00:02:33sports therapist tomorrow. My words died in midair. I finished dinner quietly and went to wash the
00:02:39dishes. I turned the faucet on high. From the living room came the sound of Chloe practicing ballet
00:02:47basics, her toes landing against the floor one by one. Mom counted beats beside her. Ethan was playing
00:02:53Xbox in his room, shouting every few minutes. Dad was on the couch with his iPad. Everyone in this house
00:02:59had something of their own. Everyone had someone answering them. Except me. I stood in the kitchen,
00:03:08washing platelets and cups for five people. The water was loud. Loud enough that even if I cried,
00:03:15no one would hear. After the dishes, I went back to my room and shut the door. My phone lit
00:03:20up. It was a
00:03:21message in the class group chat. It was the only happy birthday I had received all day from a classmate
00:03:26I
00:03:26had known for less than a year. I replied, thank you. Then I opened my photo album and kept scrolling
00:03:31back. After I turned six, mom's camera had almost completely turned toward them. Most of the photos
00:03:37were of them. I scrolled for a long time before I finally found one. It was from when I was
00:03:42nine and
00:03:43had entered the school speech contest. Mom had taken it from the audience. The photo was blurry. Only half
00:03:49my body was in it because the other half of the frame was Chloe in the front row, turning back
00:03:54toward the
00:03:55camera with a bright smile. I stood off stage in front of the microphone, my face barely visible.
00:04:02The phone screen dimmed and my face appeared in the black reflection. 18-year-old Mallory Hayes had
00:04:08spent the whole morning putting on makeup, waited all day, and still hadn't gotten a single happy
00:04:14birthday. Mom's voice came from outside the door. Mallory, wake your sister at seven tomorrow morning.
00:04:22She has training at 8.30. Okay.
00:04:29Hey, sis. It's seven. Chloe had woken up on her own. She stood in my doorway in a pink leotard,
00:04:35her hair half-tied. I checked my phone. 6.53. My alarm hadn't even gone off.
00:04:42You got up by yourself? Yeah. I set an alarm. Mom told you to wake me, but I was afraid
00:04:49you didn't
00:04:49sleep well last night. She said it so casually, but the words still stung. She knew I hadn't slept
00:04:55well last night. I'll help you tie your hair. No, it's fine. I can do it.
00:05:04She turned and left. Chloe had always been like that with me. She wasn't cruel. She just wasn't close.
00:05:13She called me sis, but the word carried no weight. The twins had their own rhythm, and I had never
00:05:20been able to enter it. At breakfast, Mom was warming milk for Chloe. Ethan wasn't up yet.
00:05:27Mally, have you eaten? I have. I hadn't. She didn't even check whether there was a bowl I'd used on
00:05:34the table.
00:05:35She just nodded. Chloe, did you pack your water bottle? It's hot today. Drink more water.
00:05:41I did. Mally, drive your sister there. She still doesn't know the stops near the training center.
00:05:48Chloe had been going to that training center for two years. Mom still said she didn't know the way.
00:05:54Okay. As we were leaving, Ethan finally got up and called from his doorway.
00:06:00Mom, what's for breakfast?
00:06:03I left you a bagel and yogurt on the table.
00:06:06A bagel and yogurt? Ethan's regular breakfast.
00:06:10No one had ever asked what I wanted in the morning. On the way to the training center,
00:06:15Chloe sat in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone.
00:06:19She wasn't trying to be cold. It just never occurred to her to talk to me.
00:06:26Sis?
00:06:27When she suddenly spoke, my palm tightened on the wheel.
00:06:31What?
00:06:33That message you sent in the group chat yesterday? Ethan told you to delete it?
00:06:38Yeah.
00:06:40Did you?
00:06:43No.
00:06:44She nodded, then lowered her head to look at her phone again. I waited for a long time,
00:06:50waiting for her to say, happy birthday. She didn't. When we reached the training center,
00:06:55she unbuckled her seat belt.
00:06:57Sis, I'm here.
00:06:59Yeah. Train hard.
00:07:01Can you pick me up this afternoon? I finish at five.
00:07:04I have a study group this afternoon.
00:07:06That was a lie. I had nothing this afternoon. I just didn't want to go.
00:07:10Then I'll ask mom to pick me up. Okay.
00:07:14At 4.50 that afternoon, mom sent a message in the family group chat.
00:07:18Chloe finishes training at five. Who can pick her up?
00:07:21I'm in a meeting.
00:07:22I'm at a friend's house. Mallory, aren't you free this afternoon?
00:07:26I looked at that message. She started with who can pick her up, but in the end,
00:07:30it still landed on me. It's on your way anyway, right? Just go pick her up. It wasn't on my
00:07:34way at
00:07:35all. But in this family, my road was always on the way. My time was always free.
00:07:40I typed okay and sent it. Then I turned my phone face down on the desk.
00:07:46Suddenly, I wondered, what would happen if one day I didn't reply with okay?
00:07:52If I turned off my phone, canceled my number, and disappeared too?
00:07:57Would they first panic because no one could pick up Chloe? Or would they think of me first? I knew
00:08:03the answer. When I picked Chloe up, her face was flushed from training and her hair was damp.
00:08:08Sis, I'm thirsty. Where's your water bottle?
00:08:11Finished it. I handed her the spare bottle of water in the car.
00:08:15Thanks, sis.
00:08:17On the way home, she soon fell asleep against the window.
00:08:20I adjusted the air conditionings so the car wouldn't be so cold. She was the little princess
00:08:24everyone in the family revolved around. And most of the roads I had driven through this city had been
00:08:28for someone else, but not for much longer. Not long after, the school college counselor called
00:08:34me into her office.
00:08:35Malorie Hayes, I saw your awards record. Honorable Ments in the National Math Olympias. That's
00:08:40impressive. Awards like that carry real weight. Which schools are you considering for early
00:08:44applications?
00:08:45I'm still looking. What do your parents think?
00:08:48I haven't told them yet. Something this important and you're not discussing it with your family first?
00:08:53I want to look into it myself first. I knew that even if I told them, no one would take
00:08:58it seriously.
00:08:58On last month's mock examine, I ranked third in the entire grade. I took a photo of my report card
00:09:02and sent it to the family group chat. My third place ranking stayed in the chat for only a very
00:09:06short while.
00:09:06All it got from mom was one sentence. Not bad. The next message was a video mom sent of Chloe
00:09:11dancing.
00:09:11That afternoon, when I got home, I found a dusty letter among a pile of bills and flyers on the
00:09:16coffee table. It said, Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes. Your daughter, Mallory Hayes,
00:09:21has received an honorable mention in the National High School Mathematics Olympiad.
00:09:25Two months had passed. The envelope hadn't even been opened. It was tucked between bills and pizza
00:09:29curans. Completely forgotten. At dinner, mom answered a FaceTime call from my aunt. My aunt asked about
00:09:35Ethan's swim meet. Mom said he had taken second place in the district, pride filling her voice.
00:09:40My aunt asked about Chloe's dance competition. Mom said she had won gold at regionals and the
00:09:45judges had praised how steady she was off dyes. How's Mallory? She's applying to college soon too,
00:09:50right? She's doing fine. Third in my grade, a National Math Olympiac award. In mom's mouth,
00:09:57all of it became doing fine. I sat at the dining table, still holding the award letter that had been
00:10:02forgotten for two months. No one asked how I had been lately. No one turned to me and said,
00:10:06Mallory, what about you? I went back to my room, opened my laptop, and started looking up colleges
00:10:11that would actually care about competition backgrounds. In the end, I stopped at Carnegie
00:10:15Mellon. Hundreds of miles away from home, no one would remember me, only when they needed someone to
00:10:19pick up my sister. I opened the application page. My fingers hovered over the screen for three seconds
00:10:24before I finally closed it. I decided to try one more time. If they still couldn't see me this time,
00:10:31I would leave. Completely.
00:10:36Mallory, Ashley is coming to stay with us for a while.
00:10:41Give her your room and share with Chloe for now. Saturday morning, mom said it casually while
00:10:46changing shoes by the door. I was sitting at the dining table eating cereal. My spoon stopped in midair.
00:10:55Why my room? Your room gets the best natural light. Ashley hasn't been feeling well lately,
00:11:00and the doctor said more sunlight would be good for her. Ethan's room has a window too. Your brother
00:11:05is a boy. Ashley is a girl. How could they share a room? Then let her stay with Chloe. Chloe
00:11:09needs
00:11:09space to stretch at night. Your room only has a bed and a desk. It's easy to clear out. How
00:11:14long is she
00:11:14staying? About half a month. Her summer program is over here. I didn't argue anymore. Experience had taught
00:11:19me a long time ago that arguing was useless. That afternoon, Ashley came in dragging two large
00:11:25suitcases, smiling sweetly. Auntie? Uncle? You're here! You're here! Come in! Mom was so warm,
00:11:35as if an important guest had arrived. Ashley pushed her suitcases into my room and looked around from the
00:11:41doorway. Auntie, can this bookshelf be moved out? I want to put a vanity mirror here. Of course. Mallory,
00:11:49move the bookshelf out. On my bookshelf were three years of notebooks, reference books, and a few
00:11:55certificates. It took me an hour to move everything into a corner of Chloe's room. That night, I laid a
00:12:01mattress on the floor of Chloe's room. Sis, why don't you sleep on the bed? I'll sleep on the floor.
00:12:08No, the floor is fine. Ashley is actually okay. Don't be upset. Ashley was never what upset me.
00:12:18What hurt was that in this house, I was always the one expected to give way. On the third day,
00:12:25I went
00:12:25back to my room to get review materials and opened the door to find Ashley flipping through my math
00:12:30competition notes. These are yours? Your handwriting is so neat. Yeah. Please put them back. I was just
00:12:36looking. You're way too protective of this stuff. She casually put the notebook back on the desk. I glanced
00:12:42over and suddenly realized one was missing. There was a blue one on the desk. Where is it? I didn't
00:12:46touch it. I didn't see it. I searched for 10 minutes and finally found it in the trash can.
00:12:51Half the cover had been torn off, and several pages inside were soaked with coffee. The writing
00:12:56blurred into smears. It was the problem-solving notebook I had been organizing since freshman year.
00:13:00Three years. I only had that one copy. Ashley, this? Oh, maybe I knocked it over when I was carrying
00:13:06coffee.
00:13:06Just write another one. I stood in the doorway holding the drenched notebook, my hands shaking.
00:13:14I took the notebook back to Chloe's room and dried it page by page with a hair broyer.
00:13:20Where the writing was blurred, I slowly filled it back in with a pencil.
00:13:27I worked until one in the morning. The next morning, Ashley sat in my old seat,
00:13:31chatting happily with Mom. No one asked why the circles under my eyes were so dark,
00:13:35or what had happened last night. And I no longer needed to wait for that one last time.
00:13:41From that day on, I began preparing to leave. Until the day I received my acceptance letter,
00:13:46I knew the time had come to leave this house. I packed my suitcase and bought a Greyhouse ticket
00:13:50for the early dawn departure the next day. The destination was Pittsburgh. Then I walked to the
00:13:55door and placed my house key on the small entryway table. I left the group chat and deactivated my old
00:14:00phone
00:14:00number. The screen went dark. The whole world suddenly became much quieter. I pulled my suitcase,
00:14:09opened the door, and closed it softly behind me.
00:14:24This family celebrates everyone's birthday. Everyone's but mine. Because my parents only
00:14:30love my twin siblings, Ethan and Chloe. They don't love me. When Ethan wants a birthday party,
00:14:36my parents book a private room at his favorite steakhouse a month in advance.
00:14:41When it's Chloe's turn and she wants to go to Six Flags, the whole family goes. Mom even posts nine
00:14:46photos on Instagram. But on my birthday, this house always treats it like any other day. I thought
00:14:52turning 18 would be different. That morning, I got up early on purpose, put on light makeup, and sat on
00:14:59the living room couch to wait. Mom walked past me on her way out, carrying Chloe's dance bag.
00:15:05Heat up your own lunch. I'm taking Chloe to her intensive class. Dad was watering tomatoes in the backyard.
00:15:13Ethan called him to go play basketball at the park, and the two of them left soon after. At noon,
00:15:19I was the
00:15:19only one left in the house. I sent a message in the family group chat. I'm 18 today. No one
00:15:27replied. At 7 that night,
00:15:28everybody came home. No one sang. No one felt like anything was missing. I was 18 now. At last,
00:15:36I could decide for myself where I wanted to go. Mallory, delete that message from the group chat.
00:15:43I almost missed Grandpa's voice message. Ethan didn't even look up.
00:15:48He tapped the edge of his plate lightly with his dinner knife, signaling Mom to give him more ribs.
00:15:56I looked down at my phone. The message in the family chat, I'm 18 today, was still sitting there. No
00:16:03one
00:16:03had replied. Mom came over with a plate of garlic bread and set it in the middle of the table.
00:16:11All right. No phones at dinner. I looked at the food on the table. Ethan liked ribs. Chloe liked mac
00:16:20and cheese. Mom had made the salad for herself. Not a single dish was for me. I liked seafood.
00:16:27Grilled salmon was my favorite. I had said it so many times. No one in this family remembered.
00:16:35Dad, today... Dad set down his iced tea and glanced at me. The next second, he turned back to Ethan.
00:16:44How's your wrist from basketball this afternoon? Does the sprain still hurt?
00:16:48It's okay. Shoot. It aches a little when I shoot. I'll take you to a sports therapist tomorrow.
00:16:53My words died in midair. I finished dinner quietly and went to wash the dishes. I turned the faucet on
00:17:01high.
00:17:03From the living room came the sound of Chloe practicing ballet basics. Her toes landing
00:17:08against the floor one by one. Mom counted beats beside her. Ethan was playing Xbox in his room,
00:17:13shouting every few minutes. Dad was on the couch with his iPad. Everyone in this house had something
00:17:18of their own. Everyone had someone answering them. Except me.
00:17:26I stood in the kitchen, washing platelets and cups for five people. The water was loud. Loud enough
00:17:33that even if I cried, no one would hear. After the dishes, I went back to my room and shut
00:17:38the door.
00:17:39My phone lit up. It was a message in the class group chat. It was the only happy birthday I
00:17:43had
00:17:43received all day from a classmate I had known for less than a year. I replied, thank you. Then I
00:17:49opened my
00:17:49photo album and kept scrolling back. After I turned six, Mom's camera had almost completely turned
00:17:54toward them. Most of the photos were of them. I scrolled for a long time before I finally found
00:17:59one. It was from when I was nine and had entered the school speech contest. Mom had taken it from
00:18:05the audience. The photo was blurry. Only half my body was in it because the other half of the frame
00:18:11was Chloe in the front row, turning back toward the camera with a bright smile. I stood off stage
00:18:17in front of the microphone, my face barely visible. The phone screen dimmed, and my face appeared in
00:18:24the black reflection. 18-year-old Mallory Hayes had spent the whole morning putting on makeup,
00:18:30waited all day, and still hadn't gotten a single happy birthday. Mom's voice came from outside the door.
00:18:37Mallory, wake your sister at seven tomorrow morning. She has training at 8.30. Okay.
00:18:48Hey sis, it's seven. Chloe had woken up on her own. She stood in my doorway in a pink leotard,
00:18:54her hair half tied. I checked my phone. 6.53. My alarm hadn't even gone off. You got up by
00:19:02yourself?
00:19:03Yeah. I set an alarm. Mom told you to wake me, but I was afraid you didn't sleep well last
00:19:09night.
00:19:10She said it so casually, but the words still stung. She knew I hadn't slept well last night.
00:19:16I'll help you tie your hair. No, it's fine. I can do it.
00:19:23She turned and left. Chloe had always been like that with me. She wasn't cruel. She just wasn't close.
00:19:32She called me sis, but the word carried no weight. The twins had their own rhythm,
00:19:39and I had never been able to enter it. At breakfast, Mom was warming milk for Chloe.
00:19:44Ethan wasn't up yet. Mally, have you eaten? I have. I hadn't. She didn't even check whether
00:19:52there was a bowl I'd used on the table. She just nodded. Chloe, did you pack your water bottle?
00:19:57It's hot today. Drink more water. I did. Mally, drive your sister there. She still
00:20:05doesn't know the stops near the training center. Chloe had been going to that training center for
00:20:09two years. Mom still said she didn't know the way. Okay.
00:20:14As we were leaving, Ethan finally got up and called from his doorway. Mom, what's for breakfast?
00:20:22I left you a bagel and yogurt on the table. A bagel and yogurt. Ethan's regular breakfast.
00:20:29No one had ever asked what I wanted in the morning. On the way to the training center,
00:20:34Chloe sat in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone. She wasn't trying to be cold.
00:20:39It just never occurred to her to talk to me.
00:20:45Sis?
00:20:46When she suddenly spoke, my palm tightened on the wheel.
00:20:50What? That message you sent in the group chat yesterday? Ethan told you to delete it?
00:20:59Yeah. Did you?
00:21:02No.
00:21:03She nodded, then lowered her head to look at her phone again. I waited for a long time,
00:21:09waiting for her to say, happy birthday. She didn't. When we reached the training center,
00:21:14she unbuckled her seat belt. Sis, I'm here.
00:21:18Yeah. Train hard. Can you pick me up this afternoon? I finish at five.
00:21:23I have a study group this afternoon. That was a lie. I had nothing this afternoon. I just didn't
00:21:29want to go. Then I'll ask mom to pick me up. Okay. At 4.50 that afternoon, mom sent a
00:21:35message in the
00:21:36family group chat. Chloe finishes training at five. Who can pick her up? I'm in a meeting.
00:21:41I'm at a friend's house. Mallory, aren't you free this afternoon? I looked at that message.
00:21:47She started with who can pick her up, but in the end it still landed on me. It's on your
00:21:51way anyway,
00:21:51right? Just go pick her up. It wasn't on my way at all, but in this family, my road was
00:21:56always on
00:21:56the way. My time was always free. I typed okay and sent it. Then I turned my phone face down
00:22:02on the
00:22:02desk. Suddenly I wondered what would happen if one day I didn't reply with okay. If I turned off my
00:22:13phone, canceled my number and disappeared too, would they first panic because no one could pick up Chloe
00:22:19or would they think of me first? I knew the answer. When I picked Chloe up, her face was flushed
00:22:25from
00:22:25training and her hair was damp. Sis, I'm thirsty. Where's your water bottle? Finished it. I handed
00:22:32her the spare bottle of water in the car. Thanks, sis. On the way home, she soon fell asleep against
00:22:38the window. I adjusted the air conditionings so the car wouldn't be so cold. She was the little
00:22:42princess everyone in the family revolved around, and most of the roads I had driven through this city
00:22:47had been for someone else, but not for much longer. Not long after, the school college counselor
00:22:52called me into her office. Mallory Hayes, I saw your awards record. Honorable Ments in the National
00:22:58Math Olympias. That's impressive. Awards like that carry real weight. Which schools are you considering
00:23:03for early applications? I'm still looking. What do your parents think? I haven't told them yet.
00:23:09Something this important and you're not discussing it with your family first?
00:23:12I want to look into it myself first. I knew that even if I told them, no one would take
00:23:17it seriously.
00:23:17On last month's mock examine, I ranked third in the entire grade. I took a photo of my report card
00:23:21and sent it to the family group chat. My third place ranking stayed in the chat for only a very
00:23:25short while. All it got from mom was one sentence. Not bad. The next message was a video mom sent
00:23:29of
00:23:29Chloe dancing. That afternoon, when I got home, I found a dusty letter among a pile of bills and
00:23:34flyers on the coffee table. It said, Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes. Your daughter, Mallory Hayes,
00:23:40has received an honorable mention in the National High School Mathematics Olympiad.
00:23:44Two months had passed. The envelope hadn't even been opened. It was tucked between bills and pizza
00:23:48courons. Completely forgotten. At dinner, mom answered a FaceTime call from my aunt. My aunt
00:23:54asked about Ethan's swim meet. Mom said he had taken second place in the district, pride filling her
00:23:58voice. My aunt asked about Chloe's dance competition. Mom said she had won gold at regionals and the judges
00:24:04had praised how steady she was off dyes. How's Mallory? She's applying to college soon too, right?
00:24:11She's doing fine. Third in my grade, a National Math Olympiac award. In mom's mouth, all of it became
00:24:17doing fine. I sat at the dining table, still holding the award letter that had been forgotten for two
00:24:22months. No one asked how I had been lately. No one turned to me and said, Mallory, what about you?
00:24:27I went back to my room, opened my laptop and started looking up colleges that would actually care about
00:24:31competition backgrounds. In the end, I stopped at Carnegie Mellon. Hundreds of miles away from home,
00:24:36no one would remember me, only when they needed someone to pick up my sister. I opened the
00:24:40application page. My fingers hovered over the screen for three seconds before I finally closed it.
00:24:46I decided to try one more time. If they still couldn't see me this time, I would leave. Completely.
00:24:56Mallory, Ashley is coming to stay with us for a while.
00:25:00Give her your room and share with Chloe for now. Saturday morning, mom said it casually while
00:25:05changing shoes by the door. I was sitting at the dining table eating cereal. My spoon stopped in
00:25:10midair. Why my room? Your room gets the best natural light. Ashley hasn't been feeling well
00:25:19lately and the doctor said more sunlight would be good for her. Ethan's room has a window too.
00:25:23Your brother is a boy. Ashley is a girl. How could they share a room? Then let her stay with
00:25:27Chloe.
00:25:28Chloe needs space to stretch at night. Your room only has a bed and a desk. It's easy to clear
00:25:32out.
00:25:32How long is she staying? About half a month. Her summer program is over here.
00:25:36I didn't argue anymore. Experience had taught me a long time ago that arguing was useless.
00:25:41That afternoon, Ashley came in dragging two large suitcases, smiling sweetly.
00:25:48Auntie? Uncle? You're here! You're here! Come in!
00:25:52Mom was so warm, as if an important guest had arrived. Ashley pushed her suitcases into my room and
00:25:59looked around from the doorway. Auntie, can this bookshelf be moved out? I want to put a vanity
00:26:04mirror here. Of course. Mallory, move the bookshelf out. On my bookshelf were three years of notebooks,
00:26:12reference books, and a few certificates. It took me an hour to move everything into a corner of Chloe's
00:26:18room. That night, I laid a mattress on the floor of Chloe's room. Sis, why don't you sleep on the
00:26:25bed?
00:26:25I'll sleep on the floor. No, the floor is fine. Ashley is actually okay. Don't be upset.
00:26:34Ashley was never what upset me. What hurt was that in this house, I was always the one expected to
00:26:41give
00:26:41way. On the third day, I went back to my room to get review materials and opened the door to
00:26:47find
00:26:47Ashley flipping through my math competition notes. These are yours? Your handwriting is so neat.
00:26:53Yeah. Please put them back. I was just looking. You're way too protective of this stuff.
00:26:58She casually put the notebook back on the desk. I glanced over and suddenly realized one was missing.
00:27:03There was a blue one on the desk. Where is it? I didn't touch it. I didn't see it.
00:27:07I searched for 10 minutes and finally found it in the trash can. Half the cover had been torn off
00:27:12and
00:27:12several pages inside were soaked with coffee. The writing blurred into smears. It was the problem-solving
00:27:17notebook I had been organizing since freshman year. Three years. I only had that one copy.
00:27:22Ashley, this? Oh, maybe I knocked it over when I was carrying coffee. Just write another one.
00:27:26I stood in the doorway holding the drenched notebook, my hands shaking.
00:27:33I took the notebook back to Chloe's room and dried it page by page with a hair broyer.
00:27:39Where the writing was blurred, I slowly filled it back in with a pencil.
00:27:46I worked until one in the morning. The next morning, Ashley sat in my old seat, chatting happily with
00:27:51mom. No one asked why the circles under my eyes were so dark or what had happened last night. And
00:27:57I
00:27:57no longer needed to wait for that one last time. From that day on, I began preparing to leave. Until
00:28:03the day I received my acceptance letter, I knew the time had come to leave this house. I packed my
00:28:08suitcase
00:28:08and bought a grey house ticket for the early dawn departure the next day. The destination was
00:28:12Pittsburgh. Then I walked to the door and placed my house key on the small entryway table. I left the
00:28:17group chat and deactivated my old phone number. The screen went dark. The whole world suddenly became
00:28:24much quieter. I pulled my suitcase, opened the door, and closed it softly behind me.
00:28:43This family celebrates everyone's birthday. Everyone's but mine. Because my parents only
00:28:49love my twin siblings, Ethan and Chloe. They don't love me. When Ethan wants a birthday party,
00:28:55my parents book a private room at his favorite steakhouse a month in advance.
00:29:00When it's Chloe's turn and she wants to go to Six Flags, the whole family goes. Mom even posts nine
00:29:05photos
00:29:06on Instagram. But on my birthday, this house always treats it like any other day. I thought turning 18
00:29:12would be different. That morning, I got up early on purpose, put on light makeup, and sat on the living
00:29:19room couch to wait. Mom walked past me on her way out, carrying Chloe's dance bag. Heat up your own
00:29:25lunch.
00:29:25I'm taking Chloe to her intensive class. Dad was watering tomatoes in the backyard. Ethan called him
00:29:33to go play basketball at the park, and the two of them left soon after. At noon, I was the
00:29:39only one
00:29:39left in the house. I sent a message in the family group chat. I'm 18 today. No one replied. At
00:29:47seven
00:29:47that night, everybody came home. No one sang. No one felt like anything was missing. I was 18 now.
00:29:54At last, I could decide for myself where I wanted to go. Mallory, delete that message from the group
00:30:01chat. I almost missed Grandpa's voice message. Ethan didn't even look up. He tapped the edge of his
00:30:08plate, lightly with his dinner knife, signaling Mom to give him more ribs. I looked down at my phone.
00:30:16The message in the family chat, I'm 18 today, was still sitting there. No one had replied.
00:30:24Mom came over with a plate of garlic bread and set it in the middle of the table.
00:30:30All right. No phones at dinner.
00:30:34I looked at the food on the table. Ethan liked ribs. Chloe liked mac and cheese. Mom had made the
00:30:40salad for herself. Not a single dish was for me. I liked seafood. Grilled salmon was my favorite.
00:30:48I had said it so many times. No one in this family remembered. Dad, today...
00:30:56Dad set down his iced tea and glanced at me. The next second, he turned back to Ethan.
00:31:03Ethan, how's your wrist from basketball this afternoon? Does the sprain still hurt?
00:31:07Ethan, it's okay. Shoot. It aches a little when I shoot.
00:31:10Ethan, I'll take you to a sports therapist tomorrow.
00:31:12My words died in midair. I finished dinner quietly and went to wash the dishes. I turned the faucet on
00:31:20high.
00:31:22From the living room came the sound of Chloe practicing ballet basics,
00:31:26her toes landing against the floor one by one. Mom counted beats beside her. Ethan was playing
00:31:31Xbox in his room, shouting every few minutes. Dad was on the couch with his iPad. Everyone in this
00:31:37house had something of their own. Everyone had someone answering them. Except me. I stood in the
00:31:45kitchen washing platelets and cups for five people. The water was loud. Loud enough that even if I cried,
00:31:53no one would hear. After the dishes, I went back to my room and shut the door. My phone lit
00:31:59up. It was a
00:31:59message in the class group chat. It was the only happy birthday I had received all day from a classmate
00:32:04I
00:32:04had known for less than a year. I replied, thank you. Then I opened my photo album and kept scrolling
00:32:10back. After I turned six, Mom's camera had almost completely turned toward them. Most of the photos
00:32:15were of them. I scrolled for a long time before I finally found one. It was from when I was
00:32:20nine and
00:32:21had entered the school speech contest. Mom had taken it from the audience. The photo was blurry. Only half
00:32:27my body was in it because the other half of the frame was Chloe in the front row, turning back
00:32:33toward the
00:32:33camera with a bright smile. I stood off stage in front of the microphone, my face barely visible.
00:32:40The phone screen dimmed and my face appeared in the black reflection. 18-year-old Mallory Hayes
00:32:46had spent the whole morning putting on makeup, waited all day, and still hadn't gotten a single
00:32:51happy birthday. Mom's voice came from outside the door. Mallory, wake your sister at seven tomorrow
00:32:59morning. She has training at 8.30. Okay.
00:33:07Hey sis, it's seven. Chloe had woken up on her own. She stood in my doorway in a pink leotard,
00:33:13her hair half tied. I checked my phone. 6.53. My alarm hadn't even gone off.
00:33:20You got up by yourself? Yeah. I set an alarm. Mom told you to wake me, but I was afraid
00:33:27you didn't
00:33:27sleep well last night. She said it so casually, but the words still stung. She knew I hadn't slept well
00:33:33last night. I'll help you tie your hair. No, it's fine. I can do it.
00:33:42She turned and left. Chloe had always been like that with me. She wasn't cruel. She just wasn't close.
00:33:51She called me sis, but the word carried no weight. The twins had their own rhythm,
00:33:58and I had never been able to enter it. At breakfast, Mom was warming milk for Chloe. Ethan wasn't up
00:34:04yet.
00:34:05Mally, have you eaten? I have. I hadn't. She didn't even check whether there was a bowl
00:34:12I'd used on the table. She just nodded. Chloe, did you pack your water bottle? It's hot today.
00:34:18Drink more water. I did. Mally, drive your sister there. She still doesn't know the stops near the
00:34:25training center. Chloe had been going to that training center for two years. Mom still said she
00:34:31didn't know the way. Okay. As we were leaving, Ethan finally got up and called from his doorway.
00:34:38Mom, what's for breakfast? I left you a bagel and yogurt on the table. A bagel and yogurt? Ethan's
00:34:46regular breakfast. No one had ever asked what I wanted in the morning. On the way to the training
00:34:52center, Chloe sat in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone. She wasn't trying to be cold.
00:34:59It just never occurred to her to talk to me.
00:35:04Sis? When she suddenly spoke, my palm tightened on the wheel. What? That message you sent in the
00:35:13group chat yesterday? Ethan told you to delete it? Yeah. Did you? No. She nodded, then lowered her head to
00:35:25look at her phone again. I waited for a long time, waiting for her to say, happy birthday.
00:35:30She didn't. When we reached the training center, she unbuckled her seat belt. Sis, I'm here.
00:35:37Yeah. Train hard. Can you pick me up this afternoon? I finish at five. I have a study group this
00:35:43afternoon.
00:35:44That was a lie. I had nothing this afternoon. I just didn't want to go. Then I'll ask mom to
00:35:49pick me up.
00:35:51Okay. At 4.50 that afternoon, mom sent a message in the family group chat.
00:35:56Chloe finishes training at five. Who can pick her up? I'm in a meeting. I'm at a friend's house.
00:36:02Mallory, aren't you free this afternoon? I looked at that message. She started with,
00:36:07who can pick her up? But in the end, it still landed on me. It's on your way anyway, right?
00:36:11Just go pick
00:36:11her up. It wasn't on my way at all. But in this family, my road was always on the way.
00:36:16My time was
00:36:16always free. I typed okay and sent it. Then I turned my phone face down on the desk.
00:36:24Suddenly, I wondered, what would happen if one day I didn't reply with okay? If I turned off my phone,
00:36:33canceled my number, and disappeared too? Would they first panic because no one could pick up Chloe?
00:36:39Or would they think of me first? I knew the answer. When I picked Chloe up, her face was flushed
00:36:44from
00:36:44training and her hair was damp. Sis, I'm thirsty. Where's your water bottle? Finished it. I handed
00:36:51her the spare bottle of water in the car. Thanks, sis. On the way home, she soon fell asleep against
00:36:57the window. I adjusted the air conditionings so the car wouldn't be so cold. She was the little
00:37:01princess everyone in the family revolved around. And most of the roads I had driven through this city
00:37:06had been for someone else, but not for much longer. Not long after, the school college counselor
00:37:11called me into her office. Mallory Hayes, I saw your awards record. Honorable Ments in the National
00:37:17Math Olympias. That's impressive. Awards like that carry real weight. Which schools are you
00:37:22considering for early applications? I'm still looking. What do your parents think? I haven't
00:37:27told them yet. Something this important and you're not discussing it with your family first?
00:37:32I want to look into it myself first. I knew that even if I told them, no one would take
00:37:36it seriously.
00:37:37On last month's mock examine, I ranked third in the entire grade. I took a photo of my report card
00:37:40and
00:37:41sent it to the family group chat. My third place ranking stayed in the chat for only a very short
00:37:44while. All it got from mom was one sentence. Not bad. The next message was a video mom sent of
00:37:49Chloe dancing. That afternoon, when I got home, I found a dusty letter among a pile of bills and
00:37:53flyers on the coffee table. It said, Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes. Your daughter, Mallory Hayes,
00:37:59has received an honorable mention in the National High School Mathematics Olympiad. Two months had passed.
00:38:04The envelope hadn't even been opened. It was tucked between bills and pizza courons, completely forgotten.
00:38:09At dinner, mom answered a FaceTime call from my aunt. My aunt asked about Ethan's swim meet. Mom said he
00:38:15had taken second place in the district, pride filling her voice. My aunt asked about Chloe's
00:38:19dance competition. Mom said she had won gold at regionals, and the judges had praised how steady
00:38:24she was off dyes. How's Mallory? She's applying to college soon too, right? She's doing fine. Third in
00:38:32my grade, a National Math Olympiac award. In mom's mouth, all of it became doing fine. I sat at the
00:38:38dining table, still holding the award letter that had been forgotten for two months. No one asked how
00:38:42I had been lately. No one turned to me and said, Mallory, what about you? I went back to my
00:38:46room,
00:38:47opened my laptop, and started looking up colleges that would actually care about competition backgrounds.
00:38:51In the end, I stopped at Carnegie Mellon. Hundreds of miles away from home, no one would remember me,
00:38:56only when they needed someone to pick up my sister. I opened the application page. My fingers hovered
00:39:01over the screen for three seconds before I finally closed it. I decided to try one more time. If they
00:39:08still couldn't see me this time, I would leave. Completely.
00:39:15Mallory, Ashley is coming to stay with us for a while.
00:39:19Give her your room and share with Chloe for now. Saturday morning, mom said it casually while
00:39:24changing shoes by the door. I was sitting at the dining table eating cereal. My spoon stopped in midair.
00:39:33Why my room? Your room gets the best natural light. Ashley hasn't been feeling well lately,
00:39:38and the doctor said more sunlight would be good for her. Ethan's room has a window too. Your brother
00:39:43is a boy. Ashley is a girl. How could they share a room? Then let her stay with Chloe. Chloe
00:39:47needs space
00:39:48to stretch at night. Your room only has a bed and a desk. It's easy to clear out. How long
00:39:52is she staying?
00:39:52About half a month. Her summer program is over here. I didn't argue anymore. Experience had taught me
00:39:57a long time ago that arguing was useless. That afternoon, Ashley came in dragging two large
00:40:03suitcases, smiling sweetly. Auntie? Uncle? You're here! You're here! Come in! Mom was so warm,
00:40:13as if an important guest had arrived. Ashley pushed her suitcases into my room and looked around from the
00:40:19doorway. Auntie, can this bookshelf be moved out? I want to put a vanity mirror here.
00:40:25Of course. Mallory, move the bookshelf out. On my bookshelf were three years of notebooks,
00:40:31reference books, and a few certificates. It took me an hour to move everything into a corner of Chloe's
00:40:37room. That night, I laid a mattress on the floor of Chloe's room. Sis, why don't you sleep on the
00:40:44bed?
00:40:44I'll sleep on the floor. No, the floor is fine. Ashley is actually okay. Don't be upset.
00:40:53Ashley was never what upset me. What hurt was that in this house, I was always the one expected to
00:41:00give
00:41:00way. On the third day, I went back to my room to get review materials and opened the door to
00:41:06find
00:41:06Ashley flipping through my math competition notes. These are yours? Your handwriting is so neat.
00:41:12Yeah. Please put them back. I was just looking. You're way too protective of this stuff.
00:41:17She casually put the notebook back on the desk. I glanced over and suddenly realized one was missing.
00:41:22There was a blue one on the desk. Where is it? I didn't touch it. I didn't see it.
00:41:26I searched for 10 minutes and finally found it in the trash can. Half the cover had been torn off
00:41:31and
00:41:31several pages inside were soaked with coffee. The writing blurred into smears. It was the problem-solving
00:41:36notebook I had been organizing since freshman year. Three years. I only had that one copy.
00:41:41Ashley, this? Oh, maybe I knocked it over when I was carrying coffee. Just write another one.
00:41:45I stood in the doorway holding the drenched notebook, my hands shaking.
00:41:52I took the notebook back to Chloe's room and dried it page by page with a hair broyer.
00:41:58Where the writing was blurred, I slowly filled it back in with a pencil.
00:42:05I worked until one in the morning. The next morning, Ashley sat in my old seat, chatting happily with
00:42:10mom. No one asked why the circles under my eyes were so dark or what had happened last night. And
00:42:16I
00:42:16no longer needed to wait for that one last time. From that day on, I began preparing to leave. Until
00:42:22the day I received my acceptance letter, I knew the time had come to leave this house. I packed my
00:42:27suitcase
00:42:27and bought a Greyhouse ticket for the early dawn departure the next day. The destination was Pittsburgh.
00:42:32Then I walked to the door and placed my house key on the small entryway table. I left the group
00:42:37chat
00:42:37and deactivated my old phone number. The screen went dark. The whole world suddenly became much quieter.
00:42:45I pulled my suitcase, opened the door, and closed it softly behind me.
00:43:02This family celebrates everyone's birthday. Everyone's but mine. Because my parents only
00:43:08love my twin siblings, Ethan and Chloe. They don't love me. When Ethan wants a birthday party,
00:43:14my parents book a private room at his favorite steakhouse a month in advance.
00:43:19When it's Chloe's turn and she wants to go to Six Flags, the whole family goes. Mom even posts nine
00:43:24photos on Instagram. But on my birthday, this house always treats it like any other day. I thought
00:43:30turning 18 would be different. That morning, I got up early on purpose, put on light makeup,
00:43:36and sat on the living room couch to wait. Mom walked past me on her way out, carrying Chloe's dance
00:43:42bag. Heat up your own lunch. I'm taking Chloe to her intensive class. Dad was watering tomatoes
00:43:49in the backyard. Ethan called him to go play basketball at the park, and the two of them left
00:43:55soon after. At noon, I was the only one left in the house. I sent a message in the family
00:44:01group chat.
00:44:02I'm 18 today. No one replied. At seven that night, everybody came home. No one sang. No one felt like
00:44:10anything was missing. I was 18 now. At last, I could decide for myself where I wanted to go.
00:44:18Mallory, delete that message from the group chat. I almost missed Grandpa's voice message.
00:44:24Ethan didn't even look up. He tapped the edge of his plate, lightly with his dinner knife,
00:44:30signaling Mom to give him more ribs. I looked down at my phone. The message in the family chat,
00:44:37I'm 18 today, was still sitting there. No one had replied. Mom came over with a plate of garlic bread
00:44:45and set it in the middle of the table. All right. No phones at dinner. I looked at the food
00:44:54on the
00:44:54table. Ethan liked ribs. Chloe liked mac and cheese. Mom had made the salad for herself. Not a single dish
00:45:02was for me. I liked seafood. Grilled salmon was my favorite. I had said it so many times. No one
00:45:10in
00:45:10this family remembered. Dad, today... Dad set down his iced tea and glanced at me. The next second,
00:45:20he turned back to Ethan. How's your wrist from basketball this afternoon? Does the sprain still hurt?
00:45:26It's okay. Shoot. It aches a little when I shoot. I'll take you to a sports therapist tomorrow. My words
00:45:32died in mid-air. I finished dinner quietly and went to wash the dishes. I turned the faucet on high.
00:45:41From the living room came the sound of Chloe practicing ballet basics, her toes landing
00:45:46against the floor one by one. Mom counted beats beside her. Ethan was playing Xbox in his room,
00:45:51shouting every few minutes. Dad was on the couch with his iPad. Everyone in this house had something
00:45:56of their own. Everyone had someone answering them. Except me. I stood in the kitchen, washing
00:46:06platelets and cups for five people. The water was loud. Loud enough that even if I cried, no one would
00:46:13hear. After the dishes, I went back to my room and shut the door. My phone lit up. It was
00:46:18a message in the
00:46:19class group chat. It was the only happy birthday I had received all day from a classmate I had known
00:46:24for less than a year. I replied, thank you. Then I opened my photo album and kept scrolling back. After
00:46:30I turned six, mom's camera had almost completely turned toward them. Most of the photos were of them.
00:46:35I scrolled for a long time before I finally found one. It was from when I was nine and had
00:46:40entered the
00:46:40school speech contest. Mom had taken it from the audience. The photo was blurry. Only half my body was in
00:46:47it because the other half of the frame was Chloe in the front row, turning back toward the camera
00:46:52with a bright smile. I stood off stage in front of the microphone, my face barely visible. The phone
00:47:00screen dimmed and my face appeared in the black reflection. 18-year-old Mallory Hayes had spent the
00:47:06whole morning putting on makeup, waited all day, and still hadn't gotten a single happy birthday. Mom's
00:47:12voice came from outside the door. Mallory, wake your sister at seven tomorrow morning. She has training
00:47:20at 8 30. Okay. Hey sis, it's seven. Chloe had woken up on her own. She stood in my doorway
00:47:31in a pink
00:47:32leotard, her hair half tied. I checked my phone. 6 53. My alarm hadn't even gone off. You got up
00:47:39by
00:47:40yourself? Yeah. I set an alarm. Mom told you to wake me, but I was afraid you didn't sleep well
00:47:46last night.
00:47:48She said it so casually, but the words still stung. She knew I hadn't slept well last night.
00:47:54I'll help you tie your hair. No, it's fine. I can do it.
00:48:01She turned and left. Chloe had always been like that with me. She wasn't cruel. She just wasn't close.
00:48:10She called me sis, but the word carried no weight. The twins had their own rhythm, and I had never
00:48:18been
00:48:18able to enter it. At breakfast, mom was warming milk for Chloe. Ethan wasn't up yet.
00:48:24Mallory, have you eaten? I have. I hadn't. She didn't even check whether there was a bowl I'd used
00:48:31on the table. She just nodded. Chloe, did you pack your water bottle? It's hot today. Drink more water.
00:48:38I did. Mallory, drive your sister there. She still doesn't know the stops near the training center.
00:48:44Chloe had been going to that training center for two years. Mom still said she didn't know the way.
00:48:51Okay. As we were leaving, Ethan finally got up and called from his doorway. Mom, what's for breakfast?
00:49:00I left you a bagel and yogurt on the table. A bagel and yogurt? Ethan's regular breakfast.
00:49:07No one had ever asked what I wanted in the morning. On the way to the training center,
00:49:12Chloe sat in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone.
00:49:16She wasn't trying to be cold. It just never occurred to her to talk to me.
00:49:23Sis? When she suddenly spoke, my palm tightened on the wheel. What?
00:49:30That message you sent in the group chat yesterday? Ethan told you to delete it?
00:49:37Yeah. Did you? No. She nodded, then lowered her head to look at her phone again.
00:49:45I waited for a long time, waiting for her to say, happy birthday. She didn't. When we reached the
00:49:52training center, she unbuckled her seat belt. Sis, I'm here. Yeah. Train hard. Can you pick me up this
00:49:59afternoon? I finish at five. I have a study group this afternoon. That was a lie. I had nothing this
00:50:05afternoon. I just didn't want to go. Then I'll ask mom to pick me up. Okay. At 4.50 that
00:50:12afternoon,
00:50:13mom sent a message in the family group chat. Chloe finishes training at five. Who can pick her up?
00:50:18I'm in a meeting. I'm at a friend's house. Mallory, aren't you free this afternoon? I looked at that
00:50:24message. She started with who can pick her up, but in the end, it still landed on me. It's on
00:50:29your way
00:50:29anyway, right? Just go pick her up. It wasn't on my way at all. But in this family, my road
00:50:34was always
00:50:34on the way. My time was always free. I typed okay and sent it. Then I turned my phone face
00:50:40down on the
00:50:41desk. Suddenly I wondered what would happen if one day I didn't reply with okay. If I turned off my
00:50:51phone,
00:50:51canceled my number, and disappeared too. Would they first panic because no one could pick up Chloe?
00:50:58Or would they think of me first? I knew the answer. When I picked Chloe up, her face was flushed
00:51:03from
00:51:03training and her hair was damp. Sis, I'm thirsty. Where's your water bottle? Finished it. I handed her
00:51:10the spare bottle of water in the car. Thanks, sis. On the way home, she soon fell asleep against the
00:51:16window. I adjusted the air conditionings so the car wouldn't be so cold. She was the little princess
00:51:21everyone in the family revolved around, and most of the roads I had driven through this city had
00:51:25been for someone else, but not for much longer. Not long after, the school college counselor called
00:51:31me into her office. Mallory Hayes, I saw your awards record. Honorable Ments in the National Math
00:51:36Olympias. That's impressive. Awards like that carry real weight. Which schools are you considering for
00:51:41early applications? I'm still looking. What do your parents think? I haven't told them yet. Something this
00:51:47important, and you're not discussing it with your family first? I want to look into it myself first.
00:51:53I knew that even if I told them, no one would take it seriously. On last month's mock examine,
00:51:57I ranked third in the entire grade. I took a photo of my report card and sent it to the
00:52:00family group
00:52:00chat. My third place ranking stayed in the chat for only a very short while. All it got from mom
00:52:04was one sentence. Not bad. The next message was a video mom sent of Chloe dancing. That afternoon, when I
00:52:10got home, I found a dusty letter among a pile of bills and flyers on the coffee table. It said,
00:52:15Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes. Your daughter, Mallory Hayes, has received an honorable mention
00:52:20in the National High School Mathematics Olympiad. Two months had passed. The envelope hadn't even
00:52:24been opened. It was tucked between bills and pizza courons, completely forgotten. At dinner,
00:52:29mom answered a FaceTime call from my aunt. My aunt asked about Ethan's swim meet. Mom said he had taken
00:52:34second place in the district, pride filling her voice. My aunt asked about Chloe's dance competition.
00:52:39Mom said she had won gold at regionals, and the judges had praised how steady she was off dyes.
00:52:44How's Mallory? She's applying to college soon too, right?
00:52:49She's doing fine.
00:52:51Third in my grade, a National Math Olympiac award. In mom's mouth, all of it became doing fine.
00:52:56I sat at the dining table, still holding the award letter that had been forgotten for two months.
00:53:00No one asked how I had been lately. No one turned to me and said, Mallory, what about you? I
00:53:05went back
00:53:05to my room, opened my laptop, and started looking up colleges that would actually care about competition
00:53:09backgrounds. In the end, I stopped at Carnegie Mellon. Hundreds of miles away from home,
00:53:14no one would remember me, only when they needed someone to pick up my sister. I opened the application
00:53:18page. My fingers hovered over the screen for three seconds before I finally closed it. I decided to try
00:53:25one more time. If they still couldn't see me this time, I would leave. Completely.
00:53:34Mallory, Ashley is coming to stay with us for a while.
00:53:38Give her your room and share with Chloe for now. Saturday morning, mom said it casually while
00:53:43changing shoes by the door. I was sitting at the dining table eating cereal. My spoon stopped in
00:53:49midair. Why my room? Your room gets the best natural light. Ashley hasn't been feeling well lately,
00:53:57and the doctor said more sunlight would be good for her. Ethan's room has a window too. Your brother
00:54:02is a boy. Ashley is a girl. How could they share a room? Then let her stay with Chloe.
00:54:06Chloe needs space to stretch at night. Your room only has a bed and a desk. It's easy to clear
00:54:10out.
00:54:11How long is she staying? About half a month. Her summer program is over here. Okay.
00:54:14I didn't argue anymore. Experience had taught me a long time ago that arguing was useless.
00:54:19That afternoon, Ashley came in dragging two large suitcases, smiling sweetly.
00:54:26Auntie? Uncle? You're here! You're here! Come in! Mom was so warm, as if an important guest had arrived.
00:54:34Ashley pushed her suitcases into my room and looked around from the doorway.
00:54:39Auntie, can this bookshelf be moved out? I want to put a vanity mirror here.
00:54:44Of course. Mallory, move the bookshelf out. On my bookshelf were three years of notebooks,
00:54:50reference books, and a few certificates. It took me an hour to move everything into a corner of Chloe's room.
00:54:56That night, I laid a mattress on the floor of Chloe's room.
00:55:01Sis, why don't you sleep on the bed? I'll sleep on the floor.
00:55:05No, the floor is fine. Ashley is actually okay. Don't be upset.
00:55:12Ashley was never what upset me. What hurt was that in this house, I was always the one expected to
00:55:19give way.
00:55:21On the third day, I went back to my room to get review materials and opened the door to find
00:55:25Ashley
00:55:26flipping through my math competition notes. These are yours? Your handwriting is so neat.
00:55:31Yeah. Please put them back. I was just looking. You're way too protective of this stuff.
00:55:36She casually put the notebook back on the desk. I glanced over and suddenly realized one was missing.
00:55:41There was a blue one on the desk. Where is it? I didn't touch it. I didn't see it.
00:55:45I searched for 10 minutes and finally found it in the trash can. Half the cover had been torn off,
00:55:50and several pages inside were soaked with coffee. The writing blurred into smears.
00:55:54It was the problem-solving notebook I had been organizing since freshman year. Three years.
00:55:58I only had that one copy. Ashley, this? Oh, maybe I knocked it over when I was carrying coffee.
00:56:03Just write another one. I stood in the doorway holding the drenched notebook, my hands shaking.
00:56:11I took the notebook back to Chloe's room and dried it page by page with a hair broyer.
00:56:17Where the writing was blurred, I slowly filled it back in with a pencil.
00:56:24I worked until one in the morning. The next morning, Ashley sat in my old seat, chatting happily with
00:56:29Mom. No one asked why the circles under my eyes were so dark or what had happened last night, and
00:56:35I
00:56:35no longer needed to wait for that one last time. From that day on, I began preparing to leave until
00:56:41the
00:56:41day I received my acceptance letter. I knew the time had come to leave this house. I packed my suitcase
00:56:46and bought a Greyhouse ticket for the early dawn departure the next day. The destination was Pittsburgh.
00:56:51Then I walked to the door and placed my house key on the small entryway table. I left the group
00:56:56chat and
00:56:56deactivated my old phone number. The screen went dark. The whole world suddenly became much quieter.
00:57:04I pulled my suitcase, opened the door, and closed it softly behind me.
00:57:21This family celebrates everyone's birthday. Everyone's but mine. Because my parents only love my twin
00:57:27siblings, Ethan and Chloe. They don't love me. When Ethan wants a birthday party, my parents book a
00:57:34private room at his favorite steakhouse a month in advance. When it's Chloe's turn and she wants to go
00:57:40to Six Flags, the whole family goes. Mom even posts nine photos on Instagram. But on my birthday, this house
00:57:47always treats it like any other day. I thought turning 18 would be different. That morning, I got up early
00:57:53on
00:57:53purpose, put on light makeup, and sat on the living room couch to wait. Mom walked past me on her
00:58:00way
00:58:00out, carrying Chloe's dance bag. Heat up your own lunch. I'm taking Chloe to her intensive class.
00:58:07Dad was watering tomatoes in the backyard. Ethan called him to go play basketball at the park,
00:58:13and the two of them left soon after. At noon, I was the only one left in the house.
00:58:18I sent a message in the family group chat. I'm 18 today. No one replied. At seven that night,
00:58:26everybody came home. No one sang. No one felt like anything was missing. I was 18 now. At last,
00:58:34I could decide for myself where I wanted to go. Mallory, delete that message from the group chat.
00:58:40I almost missed grandpa's voice message. Ethan didn't even look up. He tapped the edge of his plate,
00:58:47lightly with his dinner knife, signaling mom to give him more ribs. I looked down at my phone.
00:58:55The message in the family chat, I'm 18 today, was still sitting there. No one had replied.
00:59:02Mom came over with a plate of garlic bread and set it in the middle of the table.
00:59:08All right. No phones at dinner.
00:59:12I looked at the food on the table. Ethan liked ribs. Chloe liked mac and cheese. Mom had made the
00:59:18salad
00:59:19for herself. Not a single dish was for me. I liked seafood. Grilled salmon was my favorite. I had said
00:59:27it
00:59:27so many times. No one in this family remembered. Dad, today... Dad set down his iced tea and glanced at
00:59:37me.
00:59:38The next second, he turned back to Ethan. How's your wrist from basketball this afternoon?
00:59:43Does the sprain still hurt? It's okay. Shoot. It aches a little when I shoot. I'll take you to a
00:59:49sports
00:59:49therapist tomorrow. My words died in midair. I finished dinner quietly and went to wash the dishes. I turned the
00:59:57faucet on high. From the living room came the sound of Chloe practicing ballet basics, her toes landing
01:00:05against the floor one by one. Mom counted beats beside her. Ethan was playing Xbox in his room,
01:00:10shouting every few minutes. Dad was on the couch with his iPad. Everyone in this house had something
01:00:16of their own. Everyone had someone answering them. Except me. I stood in the kitchen, washing
01:00:25platelets and cups for five people. The water was loud. Loud enough that even if I cried, no one would
01:00:32hear. After the dishes, I went back to my room and shut the door. My phone lit up. It was
01:00:37a message
01:00:38in the class group chat. It was the only happy birthday I had received all day from a classmate
01:00:42I had known for less than a year. I replied, thank you. Then I opened my photo album and kept
01:00:47scrolling
01:00:48back. After I turned six, Mom's camera had almost completely turned toward them. Most of the photos were
01:00:53of them. I scrolled for a long time before I finally found one. It was from when I was nine
01:00:58and had
01:00:59entered the school speech contest. Mom had taken it from the audience. The photo was blurry. Only half
01:01:05my body was in it because the other half of the frame was Chloe in the front row, turning back
01:01:11toward
01:01:11the camera with a bright smile. I stood off stage in front of the microphone, my face barely visible.
01:01:18The phone screen dimmed and my face appeared in the black reflection. 18-year-old Mallory Hayes had spent
01:01:25the whole morning putting on makeup, waited all day, and still hadn't gotten a single happy birthday.
01:01:31Mom's voice came from outside the door. Mallory, wake your sister at seven tomorrow morning.
01:01:38She has training at 8 30. Okay.
01:01:45Hey sis, it's seven. Chloe had woken up on her own. She stood in my doorway in a pink leotard,
01:01:51her hair half-tied. I checked my phone. 6 53. My alarm hadn't even gone off.
01:01:58You got up by yourself? Yeah. I set an alarm. Mom told you to wake me, but I was afraid
01:02:05you didn't
01:02:05sleep well last night. She said it so casually, but the words still stung. She knew I hadn't slept well
01:02:12last night. I'll help you tie your hair. No, it's fine. I can do it.
01:02:20She turned and left. Chloe had always been like that with me. She wasn't cruel. She just wasn't close.
01:02:29She called me sis, but the word carried no weight. The twins had their own rhythm,
01:02:36and I had never been able to enter it. At breakfast, Mom was warming milk for Chloe. Ethan wasn't up
01:02:42yet.
01:02:43Mally, have you eaten? I have. I hadn't. She didn't even check whether there was a bowl I'd used
01:02:50on the table. She just nodded. Chloe, did you pack your water bottle? It's hot today. Drink more water.
01:02:57I did. Mally, drive your sister there. She still doesn't know the stops near the training center.
01:03:04Chloe had been going to that training center for two years. Mom still said she didn't know the way.
01:03:10Okay. As we were leaving, Ethan finally got up and called from his doorway. Mom, what's for breakfast?
01:03:19I left you a bagel and yogurt on the table. A bagel and yogurt? Ethan's regular breakfast.
01:03:26No one had ever asked what I wanted in the morning. On the way to the training center,
01:03:31Chloe sat in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone. She wasn't trying to be cold. It just never
01:03:38occurred to her to talk to me. Sis? When she suddenly spoke, my palm tightened on the wheel.
01:03:48What? That message you sent in the group chat yesterday? Ethan told you to delete it?
01:03:55Yeah. Did you? No.
01:03:59No. She nodded, then lowered her head to look at her phone again. I waited for a long time,
01:04:06waiting for her to say, happy birthday. She didn't. When we reached the training center,
01:04:12she unbuckled her seat belt. Sis, I'm here.
01:04:16Yeah. Train hard. Can you pick me up this afternoon? I finish at five. I have a study group this
01:04:21afternoon.
01:04:22That was a lie. I had nothing this afternoon. I just didn't want to go. Then I'll ask mom to
01:04:27pick me up.
01:04:28Okay. At 4.50 that afternoon, mom sent a message in the family group chat.
01:04:35Chloe finishes training at five. Who can pick her up? I'm in a meeting. I'm at a friend's house.
01:04:40Mallory? Aren't you free this afternoon? I looked at that message. She started with who can pick her up,
01:04:45but in the end, it still landed on me. It's on your way anyway, right? Just go pick her up.
01:04:50It wasn't on my way at all, but in this family, my road was always on the way. My time
01:04:54was always free.
01:04:56I typed okay and sent it. Then I turned my phone face down on the desk.
01:05:02Suddenly, I wondered, what would happen if one day I didn't reply with okay? If I turned off my phone,
01:05:10canceled my number, and disappeared too. Would they first panic because no one could pick up Chloe?
01:05:17Or would they think of me first? I knew the answer. When I picked Chloe up, her face was flushed
01:05:22from
01:05:22training and her hair was damp. Sis, I'm thirsty. Where's your water bottle? Finished it. I handed her
01:05:29the spare bottle of water in the car. Thanks, sis. On the way home, she soon fell asleep against the
01:05:35window. I adjusted the air conditionings so the car wouldn't be so cold. She was the little princess
01:05:40everyone in the family revolved around, and most of the roads I had driven through this city had
01:05:44been for someone else, but not for much longer. Not long after, the school college counselor called
01:05:50me into her office. Mallory Hayes, I saw your awards record. Honorable Ments in the National Math Olympias.
01:05:56That's impressive. Awards like that carry real weight. Which schools are you considering for early
01:06:01applications? I'm still looking. What do your parents think? I haven't told them yet. Something this
01:06:06important, and you're not discussing it with your family first? I want to look into it myself first.
01:06:12I knew that even if I told them, no one would take it seriously. On last month's mock examine,
01:06:16I ranked third in the entire grade. I took a photo of my report card and sent it to the
01:06:19family group
01:06:19chat. My third place ranking stayed in the chat for only a very short while. All it got from mom
01:06:23was
01:06:23one sentence. Not bad. The next message was a video mom sent of Chloe dancing. That afternoon, when I
01:06:29got home, I found a dusty letter among a pile of bills and flyers on the coffee table. It said,
01:06:34Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes. Your daughter, Mallory Hayes, has received an honorable mention
01:06:39in the National High School Mathematics Olympiad. Two months had passed. The envelope hadn't even
01:06:43been opened. It was tucked between bills and pizza curans, completely forgotten. At dinner,
01:06:48mom answered a FaceTime call from my aunt. My aunt asked about Ethan's swim meet. Mom said he had taken
01:06:53second place in the district, pride filling her voice. My aunt asked about Chloe's dance competition.
01:06:58Mom said she had won gold at regionals, and the judges had praised how steady she was off dyes.
01:07:03How's Mallory? She's applying to college soon too, right?
01:07:08She's doing fine. Third in my grade, a National Math Olympiac award. In mom's mouth,
01:07:14all of it became doing fine. I sat at the dining table, still holding the award letter that had
01:07:18been forgotten for two months. No one asked how I had been lately. No one turned to me and said,
01:07:23Mallory, what about you? I went back to my room, opened my laptop, and started looking up
01:07:26colleges that would actually care about competition backgrounds. In the end, I stopped at Carnegie Mellon.
01:07:31Hundreds of miles away from home, no one would remember me, only when they needed someone to pick
01:07:35up my sister. I opened the application page. My fingers hovered over the screen for three seconds,
01:07:41before I finally closed it. I decided to try one more time. If they still couldn't see me this time,
01:07:48I would leave. Completely.
01:07:53Mallory, Ashley is coming to stay with us for a while.
01:07:57Give her your room and share with Chloe for now.
01:07:59Saturday morning, mom said it casually while changing shoes by the door. I was sitting at the
01:08:05dining table eating cereal. My spoon stopped in midair.
01:08:11Why my room? Your room gets the best natural light.
01:08:15Ashley hasn't been feeling well lately, and the doctor said more sunlight would be good for her.
01:08:19Ethan's room has a window too. Your brother is a boy, Ashley is a girl. How could they share a
01:08:23room?
01:08:23Then let her stay with Chloe. Chloe needs space to stretch at night.
01:08:27Your room only has a bed and a desk. It's easy to clear out. How long is she staying?
01:08:31About half a month. Her summer program is over here. I didn't argue anymore.
01:08:35Experience had taught me a long time ago that arguing was useless.
01:08:38That afternoon, Ashley came in dragging two large suitcases, smiling sweetly.
01:08:45Auntie? Uncle? You're here! You're here! Come in!
01:08:49Mom was so warm, as if an important guest had arrived. Ashley pushed her suitcases into my room
01:08:56and looked around from the doorway. Auntie, can this bookshelf be moved out? I want to put a vanity
01:09:01mirror here. Of course. Mallory, move the bookshelf out. On my bookshelf were three years of notebooks,
01:09:09reference books, and a few certificates. It took me an hour to move everything into a corner of Chloe's room.
01:09:15That night, I laid a mattress on the floor of Chloe's room.
01:09:20Sis, why don't you sleep on the bed? I'll sleep on the floor.
01:09:24No, the floor is fine. Ashley is actually okay. Don't be upset.
01:09:31Ashley was never what upset me. What hurt was that in this house, I was always the one expected to
01:09:38give way.
01:09:40On the third day, I went back to my room to get review materials and opened the door to find
01:09:44Ashley
01:09:45flipping through my math competition notes. These are yours? Your handwriting is so neat.
01:09:50Yeah. Please put them back. I was just looking. You're way too protective of this stuff.
01:09:55She casually put the notebook back on the desk. I glanced over and suddenly realized one was missing.
01:10:00There was a blue one on the desk. Where is it? I didn't touch it. I didn't see it.
01:10:04I searched for 10 minutes and finally found it in the trash can. Half the cover had been torn off,
01:10:09and several pages inside were soaked with coffee. The writing blurred into smears. It was the
01:10:13problem-solving notebook I had been organizing since freshman year. Three years. I only had that
01:10:18one copy. Ashley, this? Oh, maybe I knocked it over when I was carrying coffee. Just write another one.
01:10:23I stood in the doorway holding the drenched notebook, my hands shaking.
01:10:30I took the notebook back to Chloe's room and dried it page by page with a hair broyer.
01:10:37Where the writing was blurred, I slowly filled it back in with a pencil.
01:10:43I worked until one in the morning. The next morning, Ashley sat in my old seat,
01:10:48chatting happily with mom. No one asked why the circles under my eyes were so dark,
01:10:52or what had happened last night. And I no longer needed to wait for that one last time.
01:10:57From that day on, I began preparing to leave. Until the day I received my acceptance letter,
01:11:02I knew the time had come to leave this house. I packed my suitcase and bought a Greyhouse ticket
01:11:06for the early dawn departure the next day. The destination was Pittsburgh. Then I walked to
01:11:11the door and placed my house key on the small entryway table. I left the group chat and deactivated
01:11:16my old phone number. The screen went dark. The whole world suddenly became much quieter.
01:11:23I pulled my suitcase, opened the door, and closed it softly behind me.
01:11:40This family celebrates everyone's birthday. Everyone's but mine. Because my parents only love
01:11:46my twin siblings, Ethan and Chloe. They don't love me. When Ethan wants a birthday party,
01:11:52my parents book a private room at his favorite steakhouse a month in advance.
01:11:57When it's Chloe's turn and she wants to go to Six Flags, the whole family goes.
01:12:01Mom even posts nine photos on Instagram. But on my birthday, this house always treats it like any
01:12:07other day. I thought turning 18 would be different. That morning, I got up early on purpose, put on light
01:12:14makeup, and sat on the living room couch to wait. Mom walked past me on her way out, carrying Chloe's
01:12:20dance bag. Heat up your own lunch. I'm taking Chloe to her intensive class.
01:12:26Dad was watering tomatoes in the backyard. Ethan called him to go play basketball at the park,
01:12:32and the two of them left soon after. At noon, I was the only one left in the house. I
01:12:38sent a message
01:12:39in the family group chat. I'm 18 today. No one replied. At seven that night, everybody came home.
01:12:46No one sang. No one felt like anything was missing. I was 18 now. At last, I could decide for
01:12:53myself
01:12:54where I wanted to go. Mallory, delete that message from the group chat. I almost missed grandpa's voice
01:13:00message. Ethan didn't even look up. He tapped the edge of his plate lightly with his dinner knife,
01:13:08signaling mom to give him more ribs. I looked down at my phone. The message in the family chat,
01:13:16I'm 18 today, was still sitting there. No one had replied. Mom came over with a plate of garlic bread
01:13:23and set it in the middle of the table. All right, no phones at dinner. I looked at the food
01:13:32on the table.
01:13:33Ethan liked ribs. Chloe liked mac and cheese. Mom had made the salad for herself. Not a single dish
01:13:40was for me. I liked seafood. Grilled salmon was my favorite. I had said it so many times. No one
01:13:48in
01:13:48this family remembered. Dad, today... Dad set down his iced tea and glanced at me. The next second,
01:13:58he turned back to Ethan. How's your wrist from basketball this afternoon? Does the sprain still
01:14:03hurt? It's okay. Shoot. It aches a little when I shoot. I'll take you to a sports therapist tomorrow.
01:14:09My words died in midair. I finished dinner quietly and went to wash the dishes. I turned the faucet on
01:14:17high.
01:14:19From the living room came the sound of Chloe practicing ballet basics, her toes landing against
01:14:24the floor one by one. Mom counted beats beside her. Ethan was playing Xbox in his room, shouting every
01:14:30few minutes. Dad was on the couch with his iPad. Everyone in this house had something of their own.
01:14:36Everyone had someone answering them. Except me. I stood in the kitchen, washing platelets and cups for
01:14:45five people. The water was loud. Loud enough that even if I cried, no one would hear. After the dishes,
01:14:53I went back to my room and shut the door. My phone lit up. It was a message in the
01:14:57class group chat.
01:14:58It was the only happy birthday I had received all day from a classmate I had known for less than
01:15:02a year.
01:15:03I replied, thank you. Then I opened my photo album and kept scrolling back. After I turned six,
01:15:09mom's camera had almost completely turned toward them. Most of the photos were of them. I scrolled for
01:15:14a long time before I finally found one. It was from when I was nine and had entered the school
01:15:19speech
01:15:19contest. Mom had taken it from the audience. The photo was blurry. Only half my body was in it
01:15:25because the other half of the frame was Chloe in the front row, turning back toward the camera with
01:15:31a bright smile. I stood off stage in front of the microphone, my face barely visible. The phone screen
01:15:38dimmed and my face appeared in the black reflection. 18 year old Mallory Hayes had spent the whole morning
01:15:45putting on makeup, waited all day, and still hadn't gotten a single happy birthday. Mom's voice came from
01:15:51outside the door. Mallory, wake your sister at seven tomorrow morning. She has training at 8 30.
01:16:01Okay. Hey sis, it's seven. Chloe had woken up on her own. She stood in my doorway in a pink
01:16:10leotard,
01:16:10her hair half tied. I checked my phone. 6 53. My alarm hadn't even gone off. You got up by
01:16:18yourself?
01:16:18Yeah. I set an alarm. Mom told you to wake me, but I was afraid you didn't sleep well last
01:16:25night.
01:16:26She said it so casually, but the words still stung. She knew I hadn't slept well last night.
01:16:32I'll help you tie your hair. No, it's fine. I can do it.
01:16:39She turned and left. Chloe had always been like that with me. She wasn't cruel. She just wasn't close.
01:16:49She called me sis, but the word carried no weight. The twins had their own rhythm,
01:16:55and I had never been able to enter it. At breakfast, Mom was warming milk for Chloe. Ethan wasn't up
01:17:01yet.
01:17:02Mally, have you eaten? I have. I hadn't. She didn't even check whether there was a bowl I'd used on
01:17:09the table. She just nodded. Chloe, did you pack your water bottle? It's hot today. Drink more water.
01:17:16I did. Mally, drive your sister there. She still doesn't know the stops near the training center.
01:17:23Chloe had been going to that training center for two years. Mom still said she didn't know the way.
01:17:29Okay. As we were leaving, Ethan finally got up and called from his doorway. Mom, what's for breakfast?
01:17:38I left you a bagel and yogurt on the table. A bagel and yogurt? Ethan's regular breakfast.
01:17:45No one had ever asked what I wanted in the morning. On the way to the training center,
01:17:50Chloe sat in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone. She wasn't trying to be cold. It just never
01:17:57occurred to her to talk to me. Sis? When she suddenly spoke, my palm tightened on the wheel.
01:18:08What? That message you sent in the group chat yesterday? Ethan told you to delete it?
01:18:15Yeah. Did you? No.
01:18:18No. She nodded, then lowered her head to look at her phone again. I waited for a long time,
01:18:25waiting for her to say, happy birthday. She didn't. When we reached the training center,
01:18:31she unbuckled her seat belt. Sis, I'm here. Yeah. Train hard. Can you pick me up this afternoon?
01:18:38I finish at five. I have a study group this afternoon. That was a lie. I had nothing this
01:18:43afternoon. I just didn't want to go. Then I'll ask mom to pick me up. Okay. At 4.50 that
01:18:50afternoon,
01:18:51mom sent a message in the family group chat. Chloe finishes training at five. Who can pick her up?
01:18:56I'm in a meeting. I'm at a friend's house. Mallory, aren't you free this afternoon? I looked at that
01:19:02message. She started with who can pick her up, but in the end, it still landed on me. It's on
01:19:07your way
01:19:07anyway, right? Just go pick her up. It wasn't on my way at all. But in this family, my road
01:19:12was
01:19:12always on the way. My time was always free. I typed okay and sent it. Then I turned my phone
01:19:18face down on the desk. Suddenly I wondered what would happen if one day I didn't reply with okay.
01:19:28If I turned off my phone, canceled my number and disappeared too, would they first panic
01:19:34because no one could pick up Chloe or would they think of me first? I knew the answer. When I
01:19:39picked
01:19:39Chloe up, her face was flushed from training and her hair was damp. Sis, I'm thirsty. Where's your
01:19:46water bottle? Finished it. I handed her the spare bottle of water in the car. Thanks, sis. On the way
01:19:53home, she soon fell asleep against the window. I adjusted the air conditionings so the car wouldn't
01:19:57be so cold. She was the little princess everyone in the family revolved around and most of the roads I
01:20:02had driven through this city had been for someone else, but not for much longer. Not long after,
01:20:07the school college counselor called me into her office. Mallory Hayes, I saw your awards record.
01:20:13Honorable Ments in the National Math Olympias. That's impressive. Awards like that carry real weight.
01:20:18Which schools are you considering for early applications? I'm still looking. What do your
01:20:22parents think? I haven't told them yet. Something this important and you're not discussing it with your
01:20:27family first? I want to look into it myself first. I knew that even if I told them, no one
01:20:33would take
01:20:33it seriously. On last month's mock examine, I ranked third in the entire grade. I took a photo of my
01:20:37report card and sent it to the family group chat. My third place ranking stayed in the chat for only
01:20:40a
01:20:41very short while. All it got from mom was one sentence. Not bad. The next message was a video mom
01:20:45sent of Chloe dancing. That afternoon, when I got home, I found a dusty letter among a pile of bills
01:20:50and
01:20:51flyers on the coffee table. It said, congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes. Your daughter, Mallory Hayes,
01:20:56has received an honorable mention in the National High School Mathematics Olympiad.
01:21:00Two months had passed. The envelope hadn't even been opened. It was tucked between bills and pizza
01:21:05courons. Completely forgotten. At dinner, mom answered a FaceTime call from my aunt. My aunt asked about
01:21:10Ethan's swim meet. Mom said he had taken second place in the district, pride filling her voice. My aunt
01:21:16asked about Chloe's dance competition. Mom said she had won gold at regionals and the judges had praised
01:21:20how steady she was off dyes. How's Mallory? She's applying to college soon too, right?
01:21:27She's doing fine. Third in my grade, a National Math Olympiac award. In mom's mouth, all of it became
01:21:33doing fine. I sat at the dining table, still holding the award letter that had been forgotten for two
01:21:38months. No one asked how I had been lately. No one turned to me and said, Mallory, what about you?
01:21:43I went back to my room, opened my laptop and started looking up colleges that would actually care about
01:21:47competition backgrounds. In the end, I stopped at Carnegie Mellon. Hundreds of miles away from home,
01:21:52no one would remember me, only when they needed someone to pick up my sister. I opened the application
01:21:56page. My fingers hovered over the screen for three seconds before I finally closed it. I decided to try
01:22:03one more time. If they still couldn't see me this time, I would leave. Completely.
01:22:11Mallory, Ashley is coming to stay with us for a while. Give her your room and share with Chloe for
01:22:18now. Saturday morning, mom said it casually while changing shoes by the door. I was sitting at the
01:22:24dining table eating cereal. My spoon stopped in midair. Why my room? Your room gets the best natural
01:22:33light. Ashley hasn't been feeling well lately and the doctor said more sunlight would be good for her.
01:22:38Ethan's room has a window too. Your brother is a boy. Ashley is a girl. How could they share a
01:22:42room?
01:22:43Then let her stay with Chloe. Chloe needs space to stretch at night. Your room only has a bed and
01:22:47a
01:22:47desk. It's easy to clear out. How long is she staying? About half a month. Her summer program is
01:22:51over here. I didn't argue anymore. Experience had taught me a long time ago that arguing was useless.
01:22:57That afternoon, Ashley came in dragging two large suitcases, smiling sweetly.
01:23:04Auntie, uncle. You're here. You're here. Come in. Mom was so warm as if an important guest had arrived.
01:23:12Ashley pushed her suitcases into my room and looked around from the doorway.
01:23:17Auntie, can this bookshelf be moved out? I want to put a vanity mirror here.
01:23:22Of course. Mallory, move the bookshelf out. On my bookshelf were three years of notebooks,
01:23:28reference books, and a few certificates. It took me an hour to move everything into a corner of Chloe's
01:23:34room. That night, I laid a mattress on the floor of Chloe's room.
01:23:39Sis, why don't you sleep on the bed? I'll sleep on the floor.
01:23:43No, the floor is fine. Ashley is actually okay. Don't be upset. Ashley was never what upset me.
01:23:53What hurt was that in this house, I was always the one expected to give way.
01:23:59On the third day, I went back to my room to get review materials and opened the door to find
01:24:03Ashley
01:24:04flipping through my math competition notes. These are yours? Your handwriting is so neat.
01:24:09Yeah. Please put them back. I was just looking. You're way too protective of this stuff.
01:24:14She casually put the notebook back on the desk. I glanced over and suddenly realized one was missing.
01:24:19There was a blue one on the desk. Where is it? I didn't touch it. I didn't see it.
01:24:23I searched for 10 minutes and finally found it in the trash can. Half the cover had been torn off,
01:24:28and several pages inside were soaked with coffee. The writing blurred into smears. It was the problem
01:24:33solving notebook I had been organizing since freshman year. Three years. I only had that one copy.
01:24:38Ashley, this? Oh, maybe I knocked it over when I was carrying coffee. Just write another one.
01:24:43I stood in the doorway holding the drenched notebook, my hands shaking.
01:24:49I took the notebook back to Chloe's room and dried it page by page with a hair broyer.
01:24:56Where the writing was blurred, I slowly filled it back in with a pencil.
01:25:02I worked until one in the morning. The next morning, Ashley sat in my old seat, chatting happily with
01:25:08mom. No one asked why the circles under my eyes were so dark, or what had happened last night. And
01:25:13I
01:25:13no longer needed to wait for that one last time. From that day on, I began preparing to leave. Until
01:25:19the
01:25:19day I received my acceptance letter, I knew the time had come to leave this house. I packed my suitcase
01:25:24and
01:25:25bought a grey house ticket for the early dawn departure the next day. The destination was
01:25:28Pittsburgh. Then I walked to the door and placed my house key on the small entryway table. I left
01:25:33the group chat and deactivated my old phone number. The screen went dark. The whole world suddenly became
01:25:40much quieter. I pulled my suitcase, opened the door, and closed it softly behind me.
01:25:55so that it was my friend and the room since I tried and developed it, could I make right住
01:25:57the firm? Here
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