Superstitious Mother, Dangerous Future

When Dad got home that night, he overheard Mom saying that the opium-based tonics were supposed to be great for boosting health. Without missing a beat, he tore open a packet and started chewing on it. My little brother, never one to be left out, started whining for some too. Mom, smiling as if she'd just won a prize, gave him some right away and then waved me off to the kitchen to make dinner.

I crouched over the sink, scrubbing the crawfish Dad had brought home, and watched as the three of them skipped dinner altogether, snacking on the tonics like they were candy. Every now and then, Mom would pop a piece into her mouth, savoring it like it was the finest treat. I kept my head down and gave a cold smile. Let them eat. The more they eat, the better.

By the time I finished with the crawfish and walked back to the dining room, they had already finished and gone out to the grocery store. The table was a disaster, with only a few wilted lettuce leaves floating in the soup bowl. I served myself some oatmeal and ate it with what little broth was left.

When they got back, I had already washed the dishes and retreated to my room. However, calling it a "room" felt like a joke. It was really just a cluttered storage space with piles of junk everywhere, and the door was a flimsy sliding one. No wonder, in my past life, my brother had no trouble sneaking in to kill me.

Lying on my bed, I could hear them laughing and chatting in the living room. My brother was working his charm on Dad, asking for the newest video game console, and Mom was already in the kitchen, whipping up some late-night crawfish just for him.

In my past life, I might've cried, wondering why my brother and I-- both born to the same parents-- were treated so differently. Was it because I was a girl? But now, I didn't care anymore. All I wanted was to break free from this toxic family.

The next morning, I woke up early, like I always did, and made breakfast for everyone. Once they were all up, I was finally able to head out for school. As I walked, I started thinking about how I could move out and live on campus. After I got to school, I went straight to the office to talk to my homeroom teacher about it.

"Living on campus is fine," she said after hearing me out, "but you'll need a parent to sign off on it." She printed out a form and handed it to me. "Take this home and get it signed, then bring it back to me."

I bit my lip, hesitating. "Is there any way to do it without getting a signature?"

She frowned slightly and gave me a kind look. "Is there a problem at home? You should really talk it over with your parents. They just want what's best for you."

I had no choice but to take the form and leave.

After school, I came home and found the front door locked. Without my keys, I turned around and went down to the card room. The air was thick with smoke, but I spotted Mom right away.

"Mom, I forgot my keys," I said quietly.

She rolled her eyes. "Seriously? What's wrong with you? Can't even remember a key? Raising you is worse than raising a pig!" She cursed under her breath while digging through her purse for the key.

I stood there silently until a greasy voice broke the tension. The man across from her leaned back in his chair and grinned. "Is this your daughter? She's a real beauty."

Ignoring his disgusting stare, I snatched the keys from my mom and got out of there as fast as I could.

When I got home, I dropped my backpack and headed straight to the kitchen to start prepping dinner. If I didn't have everything ready by the time my mom came back with my brother from his tutoring class, and her precious baby was hungry, I'd be in trouble. Again.

A little while later, I heard knocking at the door. I set down the spatula and went to answer it.

"Are you deaf, girl? I've been knocking forever!" My mom snapped at me, then bent down to help my brother take off his shoes.

He was holding fried skewers in one hand and bubble tea in the other, waving them at me with a smug grin. "Too bad, you don't get any! Ha!"

I ignored him. I was used to his teasing by now. Turning back to the kitchen, I focused on the food. My brother was always eating junk-- fried food, sugary drinks, anything unhealthy. The house was always stocked with cases of soda and juice, and if we ran out, my mom would rush to buy more. So even though he was still in elementary school, my brother weighed over 180 pounds. He couldn't walk a few steps without panting, and all he did after school was lie on the couch playing video games.

Before all this started, I used to tell him to eat better and exercise. But no one listened. My mom said he had a "lucky figure," and they both accused me of being jealous. I got chewed out for even bringing it up.

Dinner that night was strange. My mom actually asked about my schoolwork, which threw me off. I hesitated before saying, "It's fine." Then she started talking about the girl next door, how she'd dropped out after middle school to get a job. Now she was sending thousands of dollars home every month, and she'd just gotten married. Apparently, her husband had spent a fortune on the wedding.

I felt a pit in my stomach as my mom went on. "Not like my daughter, eating and drinking for free every day while I'm the one footing the bill."

After dinner, my mom pulled my dad into their bedroom. They started whispering behind closed doors, but the way she glanced at me before shutting it gave me chills.

Once I finished washing the dishes, I hurried to my room. That's when it hit me-- this had happened before. In my last life, my mom had tried to get me to drop out of school and marry that greasy, middle-aged guy who'd been creeping on me earlier. He was a deadbeat who spent all his time gambling and drinking. His wife had left him for someone else. But then his family got a big payout from a property deal, and he got even lazier. No respectable family wanted their daughter to marry him, but my mom didn't care. She was willing to trade me for the ten thousand dollars he promised.