“Besides, your mother and I leave before dawn and don't get home until late. We work ourselves to the bone every single day. The mortgage alone is enough to suffocate us.”
“Where do you think we'd find spare money to buy you a tablet?”
Any other time, any other day.
I would have apologized on the spot and told them to forget I ever asked.
But this time, I didn't apologize.
I stood up and looked him in the eye.
“You signed Letitia up for dance classes, didn't you?”
“You could take the money from her dance lessons and use it to buy me a tablet instead.”
That was the line that broke him.
He didn't hesitate. His hand came up and cracked across my face.
The slap echoed through the room.
After that sharp, clean sound.
The house went dead silent.
Mom rushed over and pulled at my arm：“Honey, stop making your father angry. You're too young to be playing video games anyway.”
“And your sister is a natural-born dancer. If she doesn't train now, at her age, she'll never catch up.”
Hearing Mom's attempt to smooth things over.
I laughed.
“Mom. Dad. In your eyes.”
“Letitia's dancing matters more than my education.”
“Doesn't it?”
Mom stared at me blankly.
Then her brow furrowed and her expression hardened：“What's gotten into you today? You're like a completely different person.”
“And yes, of course your sister's dancing is more important.”
Those words hit me like ice water filling my lungs.
Dad let out another cold scoff：“Don't think just because you've hit your rebellious phase you can run your mouth however you please.”
He swept the cake off the table. It hit the floor with a wet thud. He pointed at me and roared：“Get back to your room and study. Without my permission, you don't leave that room. Not one step.”
“Or I'll break your legs.”
I looked at them, long and hard.
Then I turned and walked to my room without a word.
The moment the door closed behind me.
Dad's voice carried through from the living room, angrier than before.
“Getting more out of line by the day.”
“Doesn't have a clue how hard his parents work.”
“If all you care about is playing games.”
“Then your life is already over!”
“Nobody can save you.”
I leaned back against the door, and the tears came without a sound.
After a while.
They had soaked my entire face.
I never needed a tablet.
I'd used studying as an excuse to test them.
To see if they'd say yes.
But this test destroyed the last scrap of hope I had left. All those years of being good, being responsible, pushing myself to make them proud, and none of it was worth a single thing in their eyes.
The only one they ever cared about was Letitia.
A long time passed.
I wiped my face dry with the back of my hand. Something settled behind my eyes, harder and more certain than anything I'd ever felt. I pulled out my battered phone, repaired so many times the screen was a web of cracks, and typed out a message：“I've decided to accept the invitation. I'll join your laboratory's classified research.”
It wasn't long before.
The phone buzzed. A reply.
“William, are you absolutely certain you wish to accept this invitation?”
“Yes.”
“For the next five to ten years, you will be unable to see your family. You will not even be permitted to contact them.”
“Once you join, you will be completely cut off from everyone in your current life.”
“That's fine. No one's ever cared about me anyway.”
The other end went quiet.
Just as the waiting was starting to claw at me.
The reply finally came through.
“We will send a specialist to pick you up tomorrow.”
“Remember, this is top secret. You are not to tell anyone.”
“Including your family.”
“Understood.”
