The Home That Ranked Me Below Ten Pets, I Don't Want It

2: 2

The box came open, and there was a crack in the figurine's protective case.

Tiny. No longer than a finger.

But my parents blew up.

"You did this on purpose!"

"We told you we'd get the AC installed for you, but you just had to get back at your sister."

I struggled to get up, and there wasn't an ounce of strength left in me.

"It was Amelia's bubble tea. I slipped on it and sprained my ankle."

Dad cut me off, disgusted. "You've got eyes, don't you? A cup that big, and you couldn't see it? All you know how to do is make excuses!"

The second they saw Amelia's face crumple, they were on the phone to a repair guy.

"What are you standing around for? Carry it! And be careful this time!"

The pain kept blacking out my vision.

"I feel really sick, Dad. I need to go to the hospital."

"Tough it out!" Dad snapped. "That condition of yours isn't going to kill you if it waits a while!"

"If Amelia's case doesn't get fixed right away and it can't be repaired, then what?"

They hauled me up and loaded that huge cardboard box onto my back again.

At the car, the figurine case was set down gently on the back seat.

And I got sent to the trunk.

Inside that stifling metal box, every breath scorched going down.

I begged, my voice raw. "Dad, Mom, take the divider out, let me get some of the AC too, please?"

Mom's irritated voice came from the front. "No! What if it messes with the cold air around the figurine case? Fan yourself with a piece of cardboard!"

The car pulled out, and between the dark and the jolting I nearly passed out.

By the time we reached the mall's underground lot and the door opened, I more or less rolled out.

Flushed all over, sweat soaked through every inch of my clothes.

Even the air in the parking garage was a hundred times cooler than the trunk.

But my parents didn't so much as glance at me. They took Amelia and walked straight to the elevator.

"We're taking Amelia for ice cream first. Rest a bit, then bring the case and come find us."

Not long after, my phone buzzed. A location came through.

Carrying that heavy case, I limped through the enormous mall, searching.

But when I got to the spot, there was no one there.

I called five times before Mom finally picked up, annoyed.

"Not that store."

After that, I was their monkey on a string.

Following one wrong location after another, I crossed back and forth through the mall.

More than half an hour later, I finally found them at a dessert shop.

"How can you be this stupid!" Dad started right in on me. "You couldn't find your way and it never crossed your mind to ask someone?"

I didn't even know which store they were in. How was I supposed to ask?

Sweat ran down my cheeks and into my mouth, salty and bitter.

While we waited for the case to be repaired.

The shop brought out a plate of sliced watermelon.

The owner handed a piece to me.

"You must be roasting, sweetie. Have some melon, cool yourself off."

I bit in, and the cold, clean sweetness of the juice burst in my mouth.

That taste I hadn't had in so long almost brought me to tears.

At home, the watermelon always went to Amelia first, the sweetest bite from the very center, then to my parents.

Then to her ten pets.

What was left for me was always the rind, gnawed clean.

I was about to take a second bite when Mom snatched the watermelon out of my hand.

"All you think about is yourself! Couldn't you get a piece for your sister?"

And with that, she carried the whole plate over and set it in front of Amelia.

But Amelia had ice cream in her left hand and frozen yogurt in her right.

Several different cups of bubble tea were lined up in front of her too.

There was no way she could finish it all.

Not that they ever once thought of giving a share to me.

The sweetness of the watermelon still lingered on my tongue, but the bitterness inside me churned like a rising sea.

Once the case was fixed and we got home, I finally couldn't hold up any longer and lay down, exhausted, on the living room floor.

The living room AC only ran when Amelia was there.

But the moment I lay down, Mom kicked me in the leg.

"Get up! Back to your room! Amelia's pets need to come out for some air!"

I curled up in the corner and begged, small and low. "Mom, I'll just stay in the corner. I won't get in their way."

They wouldn't allow it.

"Then, then can I stay in the pets' AC room for a little while? Just a little while."

"No!" Mom refused flatly. "You're covered in germs. What if you pass something to Amelia's babies?"

They shoved me out onto the balcony.

Through a pane of glass.

They held the pets, laughing and playing around.

And I was like some drifter peering in at other people's happiness.