Chapter 2

I locked the door and leaned against its cold surface.

Tears gathered in my eyes, but I bit my lip hard and refused to let them fall.

I crawled under the bed and dragged an old canvas bag out from the very back. Inside were my bank cards and a notebook.

I opened the notebook. It held a record of every dollar I had earned since high school.

Some entries had a short note beside them, a sentence or two about what I had gone through to earn that money.

I also had a separate bank account no one knew about. I had built it up little by little.

That money was supposed to help me escape this house after graduation. It was the only security I had for my future.

But I couldn’t wait until graduation anymore.

I had to enter that competition.

I could no longer count on my family. Not for a single cent!

I took out my phone and started contacting every possible source of work I could think of.

I had turned down some jobs to focus on classes and the competition. Now I would take them all back—and find more.

“Hello, Mr. Brooks? This is Emily Carter.”

“That weekend trade-show interpreting job you mentioned—the one paying a hundred and sixty a day. Do you still need someone?”

“Great. Absolutely, I’ll take it! I’m available both days!”

“Hi, Rachel. It’s Emily.”

“Do you remember that middle-school math tutoring job you recommended? Does the family still need someone?”

“Three times a week, thirty dollars for two hours? I can do that. Whatever schedule works for them!”

“Mr. Harris? Yes, it’s Emily Carter.”

“You need temporary staff for the mall promotion next week, right?”

“I’m available both days! I’ll be there on time!”

I swallowed my pride and accepted every job I could get, no matter how exhausting or tedious.

I kept my voice humble and made it clear how much I wanted the work.

The next month was hell.

I attended classes during the day and raced to one part-time job after another whenever I had a break.

At night, I tutored. Then I forced myself to stay awake to review my coursework and prepare my competition materials.

More than once, I fell asleep standing on a packed subway and missed my stop.

A few times, tutoring ran so late that someone followed me on the way back to campus. I ran the whole way, terrified.

I was tired. So unbelievably tired. Both my body and my mind were at their limits.

But late at night, when everything was quiet, I would look at the balance in my banking app, slowly but steadily climbing.

A bittersweet warmth would rise in my chest. Pain, mixed with hope.

I was building my own way forward with my own two hands. No one could take that from me.

A week before the competition, my old laptop finally died.

Clinging to one last thread of hope, I went home again.

This time, I wasn’t asking for a gift. I wanted a loan.

I had even prepared an IOU.

Once I got home, I gathered my courage and approached Mom.

“Mom, my laptop broke. I really need it to finish my competition project.”

“Could you… could you lend me a thousand dollars?”

“I’ll buy a new one and pay you back when I get my scholarship money next semester. I promise! I’ll even sign an IOU!”

Mom sprang to her feet. Her finger came so close it nearly jabbed my nose.

“A thousand dollars? Emily, have you lost your mind?”

“Do you think your parents own a bank? Look at this house! Look at your father!”

“How many thousands do you think he can earn hauling bricks his whole life? We haven’t even figured out your sister’s tuition for next semester!”

Chloe stood nearby, adding fuel to the fire in a breezy voice.

“Are you doing this on purpose, Emily? Your laptop could break anytime, but it just happens to break now?”

“I think you just don’t want me to have anything nice! Mom, that bag I wanted—”

“Be quiet!” Mom snapped at Chloe, but when she turned back to me, her fury only intensified.

“I’m telling you, there’s no money! Not one cent!”

“You want a laptop? Earn the money yourself! Or make do with the computers at school!”

Dad watched my face turn pale under her shouting and spoke hesitantly.

“Linda, she needs it for something important. Maybe we could…”

“Robert!” Mom’s shriek cut him off.

“What does this have to do with you? Huh? You want to act like a big shot? Fine. Where’s your pay?”

“Have you been hiding money from me this month? Hand it over! If you don’t have any, get out of my face!”

Dad’s face turned a deep, ugly red. In the end, he silently went to crouch in the corner and lit another cigarette.

Watching them, I suddenly laughed. The sound held nothing but bitterness and contempt.

“Fine. I get it. I understand.”

Without another word, I went back to the storage room that served as my bedroom.

This time, my heart went completely cold.

The next day, I withdrew $1,200 from the bank and bought a new laptop at an electronics store.

Looking at my much smaller balance hurt. But more than anything, I felt resolved.

From now on, I really could depend only on myself.