“Kathleen risked her life. She jumped into that ice hole and saved me, and after she passed out, this woman deliberately dragged her off to some hidden corner, and that's why Kathleen ended up hospitalized, gravely ill!”
“Afterward, she was afraid Kathleen would expose what she'd done, so she threw her heiress weight around, went after Kathleen at every turn, told everyone Kathleen was only the adopted daughter, and made sure she was frozen out!”
“Kathleen had no choice. She gave up a spot at the best school, Harbor Prep, and came to ours instead!”
“It wasn't enough that this one's a lazy nothing. She couldn't stand for Kathleen to score higher than her, so any time Kathleen did well, she had people scream that Kathleen cheated and copied, and got even more of them to bully her!”
“But Kathleen is kind. She kept begging me not to bring any of this up, so for the sake of what we'd been, I covered for her too, and did everything I could to protect Kathleen.”
“What I never imagined was that today, right under my nose, she'd scald Kathleen!”
Every word, every line, dripping like blood.
Even I listened and felt like a monster.
But not one of those vicious things had I ever done.
If there was anything at all, it was this. Someone once asked me why my parents only went to my sister's parent-teacher conferences and never came to mine.
Naive as I was, I took Kathleen's hand and said,:
“Because she's my little sister. She needs Mom and Dad's love more.”
And once, someone said Kathleen didn't look like my parents.
She lowered her head and said in a timid little voice,:
“Because I'm the Gilberts' adopted daughter.”
If her saying with her own mouth that she was adopted counts as me being cruel, then fine, I'll own it.
But my parents and Elliot heard me out, and their eyes only went colder.:
“This circle bows to the powerful and tramples the weak, judges you by what you can do for them. You know that better than anyone, don't you?”
“You forced Kathleen to call herself an adopted daughter. Wasn't that just telling everyone she doesn't belong in this circle, that she's fair game?”
For a moment I had nothing. In the end I said, flat,:
“I was busy pushing for a spot in the Ivy Honors Program. Every bit of my energy went into studying. I really didn't have the mind for these petty little games.”
My parents blinked.:
“What program? We've never heard of it. If you're going to make something up, at least make it convincing.”
I could only put it another way.:
“I got a perfect score on the SATs……”
“And one more thing, Elliot. The one who saved you was me. Not her.”
His answer was a hard shove.:
“Trudy, you scored 305. You really think I don't know that?”
“And now you've got the nerve to fight Kathleen for the credit of saving someone!”
The shock that had been on my parents' faces a moment before curdled instantly into disappointment.
A wave of helplessness rose up in me.
Let them think whatever they wanted. I was past caring.
Back home, my father called me into the study.:
“Why did you bully Kathleen? All because Elliot likes her?”
I stiffened my neck and refused to explain.
When all anyone had to do was ask at my school to learn the truth.
I didn't understand. Why was it that not a single one of them believed me?
I wanted to go to my room and get my phone to clear my name, but my father thought I was throwing a tantrum.
He pulled out the ruler right then and went at me.
My mother threw her arms around him by force, and that alone spared me a few strokes.
But there were already several purple welts across my arms and back, the pain boring straight through me.
Tears streamed down my mother's face.:
“Trudy, he's just a man. Is he really worth all this?”
“You'd have no trouble getting into a good college if you just tried a little harder, so how could you……”
So it turned out my mother hadn't cried because she felt for me. She'd cried because I'd let her down.
And the reason she and my father never showed up to my parent-teacher conferences wasn't because they trusted me to handle things.
It was favoritism.
Numb, I pushed her away and went back to my room alone.
For the next two days, my father ordered that I be given no food, so I could sit and reflect on my mistakes.
That beating had left me burning with fever, and I didn't have the strength to fight any of it.
On the third day, they swept off to the Skyview Hotel to throw their banquet, and not one of them spared me a thought.
The packed reception hall was crowded with the guests my parents had invited.
My mother and father raised their glasses to the room:
"Thank you all for coming to celebrate my daughter's college admission and her engagement!"
The very next second, my principal, who'd been waiting in vain for me, passed by the hall and recognized my parents at a glance.
He immediately waved to the teachers behind him, along with the staff from the Ivy admissions office:
"Quick! No wonder Trudy never showed. She's right here!"
Principal Lambert led the way, cameras and microphones trailing behind him, and the whole crowd surged toward my parents.
"Congratulations, congratulations! Your daughter got into the Ivy League. It's the strongest record in our school's history!"
My parents froze for a moment, and then, noticing the cameras and microphones all around them, couldn't wait to shove Kathleen forward:
"Kathleen, sweetheart, why would you hide something like this? Getting into the Ivy League and not even telling your mom and dad!"
Kathleen steeled herself and smiled blankly into the lenses.
But Principal Lambert and Ms. Finch from the Ivy admissions office exchanged a glance, then said in unison:
"We mean your real daughter—Trudy Gilbert!"
