During Memorial Day weekend, Lucas suggested our family take a road trip to Yellowstone National Park. I said it was too dangerous to go to such a remote area without a professional guide, and we should go somewhere else. Mom thought I was ruining Lucas’s excitement. She slapped me across the face and told me to go if I wanted, or get lost if I didn’t. In the end, our family still hit the road. That night, we encountered someone blocking our car. I warned Dad not to open the door, but he called me selfish and forced me to open it. Outside was a bear-man, and it immediately clamped its jaws on my arm. Instead of saving me, Mom pushed me out with all her might. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Lucas suggested going to the wilderness. I warned them again, but Mom still told me to get lost. Alright, that’s exactly what I was waiting for. “Wash my clothes and iron them properly when they’re dry,” Lucas said as he walked past me, kicking my basin with his foot. Water splashed onto my feet, making me shiver from the cold. That’s when I truly felt that I had been reborn. Lucas walked into the living room where Mom and Dad were sitting on the couch watching TV. He plopped down casually and suggested, “Dad, let’s drive to Yellowstone for Memorial Day. My classmate went during spring break and said it was amazing.” “We already promised Grandma we’d visit her in the countryside this year,” Dad said with a troubled expression. “What’s fun about the countryside? Come on, Dad. We just got a new car, and we’ve never taken a road trip before,” Lucas whined to Dad. I watched this scene, feeling a bit dazed. It was the same in my previous life. Lucas pestered Dad about going to Yellowstone because his deskmate had gone during spring break and bragged about it every day. As Dad was hesitating, Mom came out of the bedroom. She had a face mask on and frowned when she saw I hadn’t finished washing the clothes. “Aria, you’ve been washing these two pieces of clothing all morning. When are you planning to do the dishes?” Hearing this, I quickly sped up, hung up the clothes after washing them, and then went to the kitchen. Mom thought doing housework would ruin her hands, so she never did any. Dad was afraid of trouble and good at using technology. So we had a dishwasher and a washing machine, but as long as I was home, I wasn’t allowed to use them. When I finished washing the dishes and came out, Mom and Dad had already agreed to the plan of driving to Yellowstone. Lucas was excitedly browsing items to buy on his phone. Seeing this, I asked, “Where are we going for Memorial Day?” Mom said, “Yellowstone. You’re lucky. If it weren’t for Lucas, you wouldn’t get to go to such a nice place.” I kindly reminded them, “I read online that it’s best to avoid such remote areas. Even experienced explorers can get into trouble.” Lucas immediately became unhappy. “Mom, look at her. She’s always ruining the mood.” Sure enough, just like in my previous life, Mom raised her hand and slapped me. “You think you’re so smart? Go if you want, if not, then get lost.” My face stung from the slap. I held my cheek and thought for a few seconds. Then I started to act crazy. I swept everything off the coffee table with one hand, sending glass cups crashing to the floor. “I’ve had enough! You tell me to go, but I won’t!” I had always been the obedient punching bag at home, so this outburst startled all three of them. Taking advantage of their shock, I ran back to my room to grab my backpack and headed for the door. As I reached it, Mom finally reacted, her voice loud. “Aria, if you have the guts to leave, don’t come back!” I didn’t look back, slamming the door shut with a thunderous bang. Once outside, I couldn’t help but smile. After this scene, even if I wanted to go, Mom and Dad probably wouldn’t let me anymore.
Luckily, our high school required students to live on campus. It was Sunday, the day to return to school. I stayed out until 5 PM before going back. Lucas and I went to the same school. During evening study hall, I went to find him to ask for this week’s allowance. When I got to his classroom, Lucas was bragging to his classmates about going to Yellowstone for Memorial Day. “My parents have already bought everything. I’ll take photos for you guys. This time I’m going further than Tim.” Tim was Lucas’s deskmate, who supposedly went to Yellowstone this month. Hearing this, Tim said, “You can’t go further than me. My dad said we reached the boundary. Going any further would be dangerous.” Lucas raised his chin arrogantly, “That’s because your dad’s not capable. My dad used to be in the army. He can kill a wolf with his bare hands.” I remembered from my previous life that we drove to a place in Yellowstone where there was a sign warning that going further would be very dangerous. Dad was hesitant and didn’t want to continue. But Lucas wasn’t happy and said his classmate had gone that far, so he had to go further. So Mom pressured Dad to keep driving. Dad drove for a while but then couldn’t find the way back. We had entered in the afternoon, but by nightfall, we still didn’t know how to get back to the main road. That’s when we saw someone waving at our car. Dad, who had been looking for a way out all afternoon, felt hopeful and stopped in front of the person. The person started knocking on our windows. Mom and I were sitting in the back, and Dad said to me, “This must be a local. Aria, open the door for the man. We can give him a ride and he can show us the way out.” I remembered reading in a book that if you encounter someone waving in a remote area, you should never stop. Because in this situation, there are only two possibilities. One is that it’s a real person, but in a place with nothing around, a real person you encounter is either a robber or a fugitive. The other possibility is that it’s a bear-man, which are very clever and can mimic human actions. The person outside kept knocking on the window but didn’t speak. I felt the second possibility was more likely. I told Dad about this and said, “Let’s just drive away.” Usually, whatever I said, Lucas would argue against it. This time was no exception. Lucas said, “Aria, do you have some kind of paranoia? There aren’t that many bad people in the world.” Mom poked my head with her fingernail, “You think you’re so smart after reading a few books? You think you have better judgment than us two adults?” Dad also frowned in the front seat, “Just open the door when I tell you to. Why so much nonsense? Open it quickly.” I didn’t want to. Mom reached over me, cursing as she opened the door herself. The moment the door opened, a furry big head thrust in. My arm suddenly hurt terribly as it effortlessly dragged me out. Up close, I saw it was indeed a bear-man. “Dad, Mom, save me!” The bear had my arm clamped tightly in its jaws. The pain made my whole body tremble, but I still struggled desperately. But how could human strength resist a bear? Amidst my screams, Mom quickly closed the door. The bear threw me straight up into the air, and I fell vertically to the ground. I felt like all my bones were shattered and my nerves severed. The bear bit open my stomach with one bite. Mom and Dad drove away.
Thinking of this, I felt as if I could still feel the bear-man tearing at my flesh. My legs trembled slightly. Until someone tapped me on the shoulder, I was finally freed from the terror. Looking up, I met Lucas’s sullen face. “What do you want?” I held out my hand, “Give me this week’s allowance.” Lucas and I were only a year apart, but we were well-known throughout the school. I was in the top ten of my grade, while Lucas was dead last in his. Every pair of Lucas’s shoes cost over a thousand dollars, and all his clothes under the school uniform were designer brands. Meanwhile, I wore the same pair of shoes all year round and only had four outfits to rotate. At first, Mom and Dad said they’d give us each fifty dollars a week for living expenses. But fifty dollars wasn’t enough to live on at our school, so I skipped dinner every day, ate just an egg and a glass of milk for breakfast, and two steamed buns with some chili sauce for lunch. Lucas lived much better than me, ordering stir-fry dishes in the cafeteria every day. When I saw this and asked Mom about it, she scolded me, “You don’t focus on your studies, always comparing yourself to your brother. How could I possibly give him money?” I asked her, “Then why does Lucas eat stir-fry dishes in the cafeteria every day?” “His friends must be treating him,” Mom sneered. “Your brother has many friends, unlike you who doesn’t have a single one.” I felt so wronged at the time. Was it that I didn’t want to make friends? It was that I had no time to make friends. Whether it was holidays or weekends, I always had endless housework to do. I barely had time to do my homework. Later I found out that Mom really hadn’t given Lucas extra money. She had just pre-loaded five thousand dollars onto his meal card, and would reload it whenever it ran out. Lucas said, “Mom and Dad didn’t give you any.” I asked, “Then what am I supposed to eat?” Lucas sneered, “How should I know? That’s what you get for talking back to Mom!” I knew it would be like this. It was the same before. Whenever I did something that made Mom unhappy, she would directly cut off my living expenses. Sometimes she even threatened not to let me go to school. I always thought Mom wouldn’t be so heartless and always held onto a glimmer of hope for her. So every time I would compromise and do whatever she told me to do. But what did I get in return? She pushed me out of the car without hesitation and didn’t even look back as they drove away. After I died, Mom stared out the car window for a long time. But she said to Dad, “It’s good that she’s dead. Now no one will say our Lucas isn’t as good as his sister.” That’s when I realized my family had no feelings for me. Whether I ranked first or was obedient, Mom only cared about Lucas. Seeing Lucas’s smug expression, I felt a bit disgusted but still asked him for money, “If they won’t give it to me, you give it to me.” Lucas’s face changed immediately, “Why should I?” “If you don’t give it to me, I’ll tell Mom about you chasing that girl in your class.” Lucas had been pursuing a girl in his class, and everyone knew about it. But the girl wasn’t blind and wasn’t interested in a mama’s boy like him. After my experience in my previous life, I realized that Mom wasn’t just favoring her son over her daughter – she hated all females. She didn’t just dislike me; she disliked all girls who appeared around Lucas. Once before, when another girl was pursuing Lucas and the family found out about it, Mom went to the school and hit that girl, calling her nasty names to her face. When Lucas heard this, he immediately became anxious. He grabbed my collar and raised his fist at me, “Aria, who gave you permission to talk to me like that? Say it again and I’ll beat you to death!” I looked at him fearlessly, “You’re already threatening to beat me to death, so I might as well tell. Besides, Mom calls me every day to ask about you anyway.” Lucas’s expression changed, and he finally let go of me, blurting out a curse. In the end, he took out fifty dollars from his pocket and threw it on the ground. I said coldly, “I want a hundred.” Lucas cursed at me under his breath and took out another fifty. He pointed at my face and warned, “Don’t you dare say a word more.” Although I had a hundred dollars now, I still didn’t dare spend it carelessly. But life was a bit better than before. At least I dared to order a plate of potato strips for lunch. I remembered that in my previous life, school continued until the Monday of the following week, and we started the holiday on the 30th. When Mom and Dad found out about this, they specially took two days off in advance and picked us up from school on the afternoon of the 29th to drive straight to Wyoming. This week, Mom hadn’t called me to ask about her son’s situation. I thought that no matter what, she wouldn’t take me along. But on the afternoon of the 29th, the teacher called me over and said my parents were waiting for me at the gate. I reluctantly and slowly went out of the school gate. This time, Mom was sitting in the front passenger seat, and Lucas was in the back. “Aria, what are you dawdling for? Get in the car quickly. We’ll hit traffic soon,” Dad shouted at me. I opened the car door and got in, “Didn’t you say you weren’t taking me?” Dad said, “We’re a family. We should do everything together.” But Mom sneered beside him, “You treat her like family, but does she treat you like family?” I expressed my thoughts again, “I don’t want to go.” Mom got annoyed and bared her teeth at me, “Don’t push your luck. Go when I tell you to go. Say another word and I’ll hit you.” When Mom said she would hit someone, she really would. I once had three ribs broken by her. So every time she bared her teeth, my whole heart would tremble. I didn’t dare say anything more. Lucas let out a nasty laugh beside me. The car quickly left the school, getting further and further away as we looked back. We were about to get on the highway. I thought and thought, and finally came up with an idea. “Ouch, ouch!” I clutched my stomach and started yelling, “Ah! My stomach hurts!”
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