I still remembered when Elaine first came to us. It happened to fall right on my birthday.

I'd begged and begged for my mom to take us all out for a nice steakhouse dinner.

The whole ride there, Elaine sat in the back seat next to me, all smiles, playing cat's cradle with me.

Then, when they brought out the cake, she looked at the name written across the top.

Elaine burst into tears, clinging to my mom, saying how much she missed her own mommy and daddy.

And how she envied me for having parents to spend my birthday with.

Without a word, my mom scraped my name right off the cake and pulled my dad and my brother in to sing "Happy Birthday" to Elaine.

Then she announced:

"Even when it's not your birthday, you can still have cake."

That day, I was supposed to be the star. Instead, I became a bystander.

Afterward, my mom brought out the very first reward coupons.

Just like the stack in front of me now, a full five of them.

She flung them at my face, glaring at me, furious.

"Sibyl, what stunt are you pulling this time? Elaine picked that restaurant just for you. Why didn't you show up?"

I looked at her, feeling the paper's edge sting where it grazed my skin.

The ripple stirring in my chest slowly went still, and I let it go.

"You think I didn't want to go?"

My mom froze, as if only now realizing they hadn't waited for me at all.

Then she looked at me with a fresh flicker of disgust, set the takeout box down on the table, and let her face go cold.

"Whose fault is that? You're the one who dawdles."

"I'll make it up to you next time."

I didn't say anything more.

At my dad's call, she went back into Elaine's room and started fiddling with the brand-new PS console they'd just bought, the one that cost tens of thousands.

The four of them, a family, sat down to play a co-op game together.

Listening to the sound of their laughter and chatter.

I pressed a hand to my lower belly, which was starting to throb, and cold sweat broke out across my forehead.

Almost on instinct I pulled out my phone and got an online doctor on the line, clenching my teeth as I described all my symptoms.

The answer came back: suspected acute appendicitis.

Face bloodless, I hunched over and knocked on Elaine's door.

I wanted my dad to drive me to the hospital on his little scooter.

But a few minutes later, my brother came to the door with a black look on his face, and when he heard my answer he let out a sudden, cold laugh.

"Your stomach hurts? I think you're just jealous everyone's spending time with Elaine, so you're faking sick and lying."

I shook my head. The pain left me no strength to argue.

The hand clamped over my belly pressed harder.

In the end it was my mom, worried the noise would break Elaine's concentration, who reached under the TV stand, grabbed a packet of cold medicine, and tossed it at me.

"It's probably just those cold leftovers upsetting your stomach. It won't kill you. Just tough it out."

I chewed it down dry, and my stomach only hurt worse.

With no other choice, I dug the piggy bank out from under my bed and smashed it open.

Clutching a little over five hundred dollars in loose change, I went to the hospital for an IV.

But the test results weren't good.

The doctor frowned, holding my chart.

"This is bowel necrosis caused by a foodborne virus. A family member has to sign. We need to operate immediately to remove it."

"If we wait and the bowel perforates and fluid leaks into your abdominal cavity, it'll be too late."

Hearing that, I started shaking all over.

A chill crawled straight up from the soles of my feet to my spine.

I tried to call my mom, nearly hitting the wrong button several times.

But the line just kept ringing, unanswered.

It wasn't until my fifty-eighth call home that my brother finally picked up, annoyed.

Before I could get a word out, he laid into me.

"God, are you done? If it won't go through, it means we don't want to answer. Your ringtone's broken Elaine's concentration a bunch of times already."

"Whatever it is, tell us later. Stop calling."

I called again right after, and I'd already been blocked.

Out of options, I called Teacher Chavez.

The moment she heard something was wrong in my voice, she grabbed a cab and rushed to the hospital.

Signed the papers, fronted the medical bills.

Gave it everything she had.

Right before they wheeled me into the operating room, Teacher Chavez seemed to sense how scared I was.

She gently smoothed a hand over my hair.

"Don't be afraid. You'll sleep through it and it'll be over."

When the anesthesia wore off and I opened my eyes again,

there were two more people in the hospital room.

My brother looked at me without a trace of worry. Instead, his voice came out full of blame.

"You couldn't get sick any other day, could you? You had to pick the exact same day as Elaine's graduation photoshoot."

"I honestly can't tell if you did it on purpose or not..."

My mother shot him a glare, signaling him to say less.

"Your sister's sick. What are you carrying on about?"

"Your dad's with Elaine. Our job is to look after Sibyl."

That was what she said. But when my mouth went dry and I wanted water,

my brother was busy on his phone, picking out filters for Elaine.

My mother was on a video call with her, helping her choose a dress for the shoot.

Neither of them was paying me the slightest bit of attention.

In the end it was the delivery driver, the one who came in with the porridge, who noticed. He lifted the cup and let me take a small sip to wet my throat.

"Little one, aren't they your family? How come they're both glued to their phones instead of taking care of the patient?"

At that, my mother's and my brother's faces turned sour.

After he left,

my brother looked at me.

"Always playing the victim. It was just water. Anyone who didn't know better would think we abused you."

My mother didn't argue. She seemed to agree with him.

But she still tore open the takeout box and lifted the seafood porridge to my lips, the kind I was allergic to.

When she saw I wouldn't eat it,

it was as if she'd found her excuse to give up. Her face darkened.

"What kind of temper tantrum is this now? Dragging things out on purpose just to get in the way of us taking Elaine's photos?"

"Eat it or don't!"

Then the two of them angrily dropped everything and left me there.

The woman in the next bed had watched the whole thing. She looked at me almost in disbelief.

"That's your mother and brother?"

I hummed a yes, forced back the wetness at the corners of my eyes, and pulled my lips into a small curve.

"I'd rather they weren't my real mother and brother."

For the next several days, the people looking after my wound in the hospital were the "quick shift" caregivers they'd hired.

Once I could get out of bed and move around, I scrolled through Elaine's trending page.

Only then did I learn that while I'd been sick, the whole family had been out with her, checking off influencer restaurants and chasing celebrity concerts...

Of course, my mother had sent photos during that time too.

They were just pictures of the reward coupons piling up higher and higher on the desk in my room.

"When you're feeling better, we'll all go together next time."

There wasn't a ripple in my heart.

I went and processed my own discharge papers.

As luck would have it, I'd barely stepped out the door when Teacher Chavez called.

Besides confirming that the scholarship was official, the rest was a transfer receipt.

"The school took your family situation into account. We raised money for your tuition and living expenses to support you through college."

I looked at the amount, four thousand dollars, and my eyes went hot and stung.

But the next second, I froze where I stood.

I heard Teacher Chavez say happily,

"The money's already been sent to you. Did you get the notification from the bank?"

I checked my empty inbox and suddenly remembered I'd never opened an account.

At the time, I'd filled in an old bank card of my mother's that she never used.

The moment I thought of it, my stomach dropped.

I hurried home on the bus, and the moment I walked in I saw Elaine and my mother in a crowd of relatives.

"Think back to when Elaine's parents died so early in that car crash. If it weren't for your Aunt Letitia, she'd never have had it this good."

"Absolutely. She really raised her like her own daughter."

"Oh, Sibyl's back too."

I didn't bother answering my aunt. I just held out my hand to my mother.

"Where's the money?"

The air went dead silent. My mother's face was cold.

“What, your family didn't cover your tuition? You need people to chip in for you?”

“Or have you grown a spine, thinking three grand is enough to put yourself through college on your own?”

No matter how she spun it, that money was mine.

I looked at her and repeated what I'd just said, word for word.

“The three thousand. Hand it over.”

Elaine caught the moment and, ever so thoughtful, took hold of my arm.

She pointed at the brand-new graphics card sitting unopened in the living room.

“I'm so sorry, Sibyl. Aunt Letitia was a little short when she bought my gift, so she used it to cover the balance.”

“If you really need the money, I'll go return it.”

But my mother threw out a hand to stop her.

“Return nothing. It was bought for you, so you keep it.”

“She's going to be living at home anyway. What does she need all that cash on her for? If something comes up, she'll just turn to the family for help.”

With that, she went back inside, came out with the reward coupons, and pressed them into my hand.

She said the money would count as a loan from me, and she'd pay it back next time.

But this time, looking at the worthless little cards in my palm, something in me went still and dead.

In front of everyone, I threw the coupons into the trash and strode toward the door.

If Elaine had always been their first choice, then I would make myself my own only one.

That night, a crowd of them sat clustered around Elaine in the living room, chatting.

My mother, though, walked into my room alone, and the sight of the metal box in the trash caught her eye at once.

She opened it and looked at the coupons packed inside, right to the brim.

Her heart sank.

She glanced around at the bare, shabby furnishings of the room, and it seemed to hit her only then, all those years of neglecting me.

After a long while, she sent several voice messages to my phone.

“Sibyl, honey, it's dark out and it's dangerous for a girl to be alone. Whatever it is, come home and we'll talk.”

“The three thousand was Mom's fault. I've transferred it to you.”

“Elaine's already been to Disney World, so this time we'll go to Hawaii. Mom will have your brother book the tickets……”

But I looked at the messages, and not a ripple stirred in me.

Some things, if I never had them before, I no longer needed at all.