They Gave Her Eight Thousand And Me Eight Hundred And Called It Fair Chapter 01

They Gave Her Eight Thousand And Me Eight Hundred And Called It Fair Chapter 01

Three days after my college entrance exam scores came out, I came across a post asking for advice.

“Both my daughters are applying to schools in New York. How do I split their living expenses to make it fair?”

The comments below were all identical in tone.

“What’s there to think about? They’re both your daughters—every child is equally precious. Giving them the same amount is the fairest!”

I was about to scroll past when I spotted my brother’s familiar profile picture in one of the latest popular comments.

“Can’t judge without knowing the full story.”

“As an older brother, let me be real with you. You raise two girls differently.”

“My older daughter isn’t pretty to begin with, so there’s no point in spending money on her clothes. She’s wooden and boring too—give her money and she wouldn’t even know how to spend it. My younger daughter? She’s clever, lively, and beautiful. Her skincare alone costs over two hundred bucks a month!”

“If you ask me, give the older one eight hundred a month and the younger one eight thousand. Now that’s real need-based distribution.”

Under his reply, my childhood friend had chimed in with approval.

“What this guy said is spot on!”

“Since we’ll all be in New York anyway, we can look after the younger one. Your mom can rest easy at home.”

I was staring at the screen, and suddenly I laughed until tears streamed down my face.

When we played hide-and-seek as kids, they’d hold hands and hide together, leaving me alone in the dark attic with my hands over my eyes, counting.

I naively believed that as long as I searched hard enough, I could find a place among them.

But when I opened my eyes, I’d discover they’d already snuck off behind my back to buy ice cream.

Turns out, growing up didn’t change anything.

They walked side by side toward the bright, bustling lights of New York, while I was nothing more than the cheap babysitter they’d brought along as an afterthought.

In the final minute before the application deadline, I deleted every New York university from my list and switched my choices to schools two thousand miles away, all the way down south.

This game of playing lady-in-waiting to the princess? I was done playing.

***

“Megan, come out and have some fruit.”

A knock on the door pulled my thoughts back to reality.

My mom stood in the doorway holding a plate of freshly sliced cantaloupe, smiling warmly at me.

“It’s okay if your exam didn’t go well. Don’t shut yourself up in your room.”

I quickly closed the post and walked out into the living room.

Mom handed the sweetest middle pieces of the cantaloupe to my younger sister, Grace, then turned to me with gentle eyes.

“Even if you can only get into community college, your dad and I won’t look down on you. It’s not like our family can’t afford to keep you.”

On my phone screen, the official text message from the state education examination authority was still glowing.

“Megan Hayes, your total score is 1520. State ranking: 7.”

I turned off the screen and placed my phone face-down on the coffee table.

“Yeah, I know,” I said quietly.

My dad was flipping through a thick college application guide with my brother Sean, helping Grace research schools.

“Grace really outdid herself this time—scored 1350. She’s got a solid shot at a good state school. New York or Boston?”

Sean’s voice was brimming with pride.

“New York, of course. Evan’s in New York too.”

Grace snuggled into Mom’s arms, playing cute.

From start to finish, not a single person asked me a single question. Not one. “What did you score?”

Dad closed the guide and clapped his hands with a smile.

“Alright, we’ll take our time sorting out applications. To celebrate our little Grace’s achievement, Dad’s taking both you sisters to the mall today to pick out graduation gifts. Whatever catches your eye—Dad’s paying! Go get changed!”

My heart gave a tiny, barely perceptible flutter.

Ever since Grace fell seriously ill when she was twelve, I hadn’t enjoyed the privilege of going to the mall to pick out a gift for a very long time.

“Okay.”

I stood up and walked quickly back to my room.

I changed into a clean white shirt. I even carefully applied a little tinted lip balm.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I took a deep breath.

Maybe, deep down, they still cared about me after all.

I pushed open my bedroom door.

The living room was completely empty.

In the entryway, my parents’ and brother’s shoes were all gone.

I stood there, frozen in place.

My phone buzzed. Grace had posted on Instagram three minutes ago.

“Family mission: mall trip to pick out my graduation gifts!”

The attached photo was a car selfie. Dad driving. Sean riding shotgun. Mom and Grace in the backseat.

All four of them beamed radiantly at the camera.

There was no seat reserved for me in that five-seater car.

My fingers felt a little stiff as I dialed my mom’s number.

“Hello? Megan, what’s up?”

It was noisy on the other end. I could faintly hear mall music playing in the background.

“Did you… leave already?”

I heard my own voice, very soft.

“Oh! I completely forgot to tell you!”

Mom’s tone was natural and breezy.

“I saw you’d been in your room so long without coming out. I figured you thought it was too hot outside and didn’t want to go.”

“Just stay home and enjoy the AC. There’s still half a watermelon in the fridge.”

She hadn’t even bothered to ask me. She’d simply made the decision for me.

“Mom! I want that Häagen-Dazs ice cream!”

Grace’s petulant voice came through the phone.

“Alright, alright, two scoops for my baby girl.”

Mom laughed as she answered her, then said to me hurriedly, “Okay Megan, I have to go now. We’re helping your sister look at bags.”

Click.

The call disconnected.