I didn't have time to socialize at school.

Even with the SAT looming, I spent my lunch breaks collecting recyclables every day, running errands to buy lunch for my classmates, or sitting in the corner of the sports field copying lines for students who refused to do their homework, charging them a dollar for every 1,000 words.

But I never expected Harper to corner me against a wall with a group of her friends while I was in the middle of picking up plastic bottles.

She pulled out a slip from the pocket of her school uniform. It was the loan agreement I had signed for Dad just two days ago.

The slip read. "Cash advance for next month's tampon expenses."

"See? I wasn't lying!" Harper announced. "I told you all the truth. Maddie Cooper here has to borrow money from my dad just to buy tampons.

"She's so young, but she's completely wasted and owes our family over 600 thousand dollars. A parasite like her is deeply in debt before she's even earned a single dime. Who knows how she's squandering her money behind our backs?

"I'm serious! If any of you hang out with her, be careful because she might steal your money!"

It turned out that Harper had been using me as gossip material for her friends.

As classmates around us began whispering and pointing at me, my face instantly flushed red.

Tampons.

Having Harper broadcast my private business out loud in front of everyone made me so embarrassed that I wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

My eyes were red-rimmed as I lunged forward to grab the slip, but she held it high above her head.

Later, she showed it to the teenage boys in school and pinned it to the school's bulletin board.

"Everyone should see the true colors of the top student in our grade. What's the point of getting excellent grades when you're barely an adult and 607,300 dollars in debt? She's rotten to the core!"

That afternoon, I became the laughingstock of the entire school, and "the girl who buys tampons on credit" became my label.

A teacher, Wendy Stone, summoned both Harper and me into her office.

Wendy was a responsible and dedicated woman. She furiously called Harper out for her disrespectful behavior, then dialed our parents' numbers.

Soon, Mom and Dad arrived.

Dad was dressed in a tailored suit, looking well-refined and well-mannered. The first thing he did when he entered the office was to apologize to Wendy like a highly educated gentleman.

But when Wendy carefully brought up "protecting a teenage girl's privacy with family education" and "ensuring basic living necessities", Dad pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled.

"You've misunderstood, Ms. Stone. This is financial literacy training within our household.

"Maddie has never had a proper understanding of money since she was a kid. Our family follows a bill split in household expenses, so she signed personal loan agreements, designed to teach her survival skills and independence."

Wendy was left speechless.

After we left the office and arrived at a deserted corner of the hallway, the smiles vanished from Mom's and Dad's faces.

When Dad checked the time on his phone, Mom immediately understood and began scolding me.

"Maddie, because of the trouble you caused at school, your stepdad and I had to take an hour off work to handle it.

"His hourly rate is 500 dollars, and mine is 300 dollars, plus 50 dollars for wear and tear on the car. That brings the total to 850 dollars."

Mom scribbled the numbers down and added, "This bill will go on your tab. It's for the additional time costs you inflicted on us."

That was how my debt grew again.

…

On our way home, Harper happily held hands with both Dad and Mom, while I was left lagging far behind them.

Suddenly, she turned around and stuck her tongue out at me, grinning.

…

At the dinner table that evening, Mom suddenly threw her hands over her mouth, retched, and bolted into the bathroom.

Dad was briefly stunned before his eyes lit up, and he even dropped his spoon.

"Julia!" he yelled and rushed over to pound on the door. "What's wrong? Are you—"

That guess was quickly verified at the hospital. Mom was pregnant at the ripe age of 42 with Dad's biological child.

As Mom ran her hand over her belly, her face was flushed with a radiant, blissful glow. The impending arrival of the token of their love left her and Dad in a great mood.

Dad turned to me and announced, "Our household resources have to be strategically restructured to guarantee the optimal development and care of our newest addition.

"So, Maddie, your bedroom will be renovated into a nursery for your future younger brother."

My heart lurched, and I asked, "W-Where am I supposed to sleep then?"

Dad knocked on the table and pointed at the balcony. "Your mom and I talked about it. We'll enclose that corner of the balcony and set up a folding bed for you."

Balcony?

It was freezing in the winter and scorching in the summer, with barely any cover or protection.

Even after I cried and protested, Mom and Dad remained unyielding. Their tone left no room for negotiation, and everything they said boiled down to telling me to be sensible.

"We need to tighten our budget for household expenses now that a new member is joining our family. Maddie, your SAT is almost over, which means you're fully capable of working an adult job.

"After your SAT ends next year, we expect you to forfeit your chance at college and start working to pay back your debt to us."

No! I had to further my studies! Wendy told me that studying was my only way out of this life.

I desperately tried to argue my case, only to receive a furious slap from Mom, hard across the face.

Then, Mom and Dad pulled out the black ledger along with a stack of loan agreements bearing my name and tossed it in front of me.

"Let's get one thing straight, Maddie. You're not my biological child, so our family isn't obliged to support you until adulthood, especially since we've practiced a strict bill split for so many years.

"Don't you know how much money you owe us? You're a severely net-negative project!" Dad yelled.

I clutched my face and looked at Mom, who was immersed in the blissful glow of her pregnancy.

"Mom, have you forgotten? I may not be Dad's biological child, but I'm yours," I thought.

But she kept her head down and gently caressed her pregnant belly, fully absorbed in the happiness of being pregnant with Dad's baby.

She slowly grew uncomfortable under my resentful gaze. Finally, as if to make up her mind, she raised her head and looked at me.

"Don't blame us, Maddie. Raising a child is far too expensive these days. Your brother isn't even born yet, and we already need to save for his baby formula and education.

"You're all grown up now. You should be mature enough to help ease our financial burden. Besides, you do owe us a massive sum of money…"

My eyes turned red-rimmed as I stared at her in utter disbelief.

That was when I finally understood that in this house, I was nothing more than just an indebted outsider.

Without saying another word, I turned around to pack up my belongings.

The unborn baby in Mom's womb, her and Dad's real flesh and blood, wasn't even here yet. But to show just how much they already treasured it, they decided to set up the nursery ahead of time by kicking me out and moving me to the balcony.

I had a fever again the first night sleeping out on the balcony.

It was the June rainy season. The balcony had sealed windows, but the damp wind and rain leaking through turned the place into a humid, freezing icebox. I had to wrap myself in two thick blankets just to fall asleep every day.

In the middle of one night, I woke up parched, so I decided to head over to the living room to pour myself a glass of warm water.

Just as I stepped into the living room, my eyes fell on a box of unfinished cherries sitting on the coffee table. They were enormous, deep purplish-red, and gave off a sweet, enticing fragrance.

The sticky note Dad left was next to it.

"Honey, these are imported cherries, great for your iron levels. It will give you that pregnancy glow. You're pregnant with our baby, and these are packed with vitamins for our little one. They were ten dollars a kilogram, so make sure you don't share them with the outsider."

Obviously, I was the outsider he was referring to.

I stared at the box of cherries and let out a cold laugh deep in my heart.

Just then, a muffled groan drifted out from within the master bedroom. "Water… Bring me water…"

Dad was away on a business trip, and even with the SAT drawing near, Harper had left the house to party with her friends as usual. Since it had gotten too late, she decided to spend the night sleeping over. Neither of them was home that night.

I pushed open the door and saw my pregnant mom lying in bed. Her face was deathly pale, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Being pregnant at such an advanced age took a massive toll on her body. She would have terrible leg cramps in the middle of the night, and she was thirsty and in pain.

The moment she saw that it was me, she slipped back into her commanding, authoritative tone.

"Are you deaf, Maddie? I called for ages, but why didn't you come in here? Can't you see how much pain I'm in?

"Hurry up and massage my legs. They're cramping and hurting so much!"

I stood by the bed in silence and looked at the frail Mom with cold indifference.

"It's 3:00 am, Mom. That's outside regular working hours, and according to labor laws, night shift care requires double pay."

Mom's eyes widened as if I were a stranger. "What on earth are you talking about?"