She didn’t even let me finish.
She glanced at them and said, “What’s wrong
with them? They’re not broken. You can still
wear them.”
Then she went back to humming a tune while
packing Josh’s bags.
Josh took extra loud steps closer to me,
making a point of showing off his new
sneakers.
“Wow, those shoes are totally nasty. You’re
not walking with me tomorrow.”
The next thing he knew, my dirty shoes were
stomped right on top of his.
“Now, yours are nasty too.”
Josh shouted, “Ashley! You’re a freak!”
L
Vம்
- 5.
While Josh ran to go tattle, I quickly found a
good, durable pair of shoes online and sent
the link to my dad.
His voice message came back immediately:
CC
Ashley, why are you buying such cheap
shoes? Go pick out something nice.”
I replied, “Dad, I just need these for
orientation. It doesn’t have to be anything
fancy.”
A few minutes later, the order said “Paid.”
I was finally relieved as I went to my room to
pack when my mom came storming in.
She held up her phone, a grim look on her
face.
“Ashley, are you getting your dad to buy you
things again?”
My stomach lurched. She was looking at my
online shopping history.
“Mom, are you spying on my shopping?”
L
She just scoffed.
“If I didn’t look, how would I know that you’re
bad–mouthing me to your dad again?”
I rolled my eyes.
Bad–mouthing her?
I was speechless and didn’t even want to
fight with her.
I turned to leave when I saw something pop
up in the family group chat.
It was from my mom.
“Not only does she spend money like water,
she runs and tells on me to her dad. How am I
supposed to control this girl?”
- 6.
Me:
$15. Spending like water?
I’m not even allowed to use my own cash, my
dad had to pay for a link. And now I’m bad-
mouthing her?
<
I honestly couldn’t tell if I was her biological
child or not.
Luckily, not many people in the group chat
responded, besides my aunt, who said
something about “taking away her allowance
so she learns to save.”
And that was how my mom shrank my
monthly budget to $50.
No matter how much I explained how
ridiculously insufficient that was, she always
came back with the same line, “Well behaved
girls don’t overspend.”
And to make sure my dad wouldn’t secretly
give me cash, she lied and said she gave us
the same amount.
Watching my dad, dusty and tired, on our
video call, I took a deep breath.
Okay, $50 it is.
Being a “good girl” is easy.
As long as my mom didn’t embarrass me first.
く
- 7.
On the first day of orientation, my mom was
wearing a designer suit, clutching her Chanel
purse.
Josh was head–to–toe in streetwear,
