My Family Members Are Dolls That Never Respond To Me Chapter 02
Smart.
It was the word I had heard more than any other growing up.
Annie was prettier than I was. She was sweeter and easier to love.
The only thing I had going for me was my intelligence.
I could read a chapter once and recite it from memory. I could glance at a problem and see the answer.
But none of that ever made my parents love me more.
My brother was just as intelligent, and they took pride in him.
From Mom, my intelligence drew only a weary sigh.
“What’s the point of a girl being so clever?”
“You’d be better off more like Annie. A little less clever, a little sweeter. That’s what makes a girl lovable.”
That one remark became their excuse for every act of favoritism that followed.
Nora is smart, they would say. She can take care of herself.
So the best food went to Annie first.
The new dresses went to Annie first.
Even their love went to Annie first.
The same qualities they praised in my brother became reasons I did not deserve to be loved.
Then I met Adrian Frost, who was a year ahead of me in school.
He had not met Annie yet.
When I told him everything, he frowned.
“They love her more because she’s less capable? How does that make any sense?”
“Nora, being smart isn’t a flaw.”
Then he met Annie.
More than once after that, he said with a laugh, “Your sister’s kind of a ditz. It’s actually pretty adorable.”
But I still loved Adrian.
He was the first person who had ever told me that my intelligence was not the problem.
In the end, he came to love Annie too.
Back in the living room, silence stretched between us.
My brother was the first to frown. He rapped his fingers against the coffee table, impatient.
“Nora, say something.”
“Mom and Dad are just trying to do what’s best for the family. It’s not like they want to hurt you.”
I kept my eyes lowered. Something seemed lodged in my throat.
After a long moment, I murmured, “Okay.”
Everyone exhaled. Almost in unison, they each produced a gift bag from behind them.
“There. Don’t look so miserable.”
“We got you graduation presents.”
“Whatever Annie got, you got too. So don’t accuse us of playing favorites.”
I looked at the four packages in front of me, my eyes burning.
What was this supposed to be?
A slap across the face followed by a piece of candy?
Besides, I had seen everything clearly when I walked in.
Annie had received the latest phone, a brand-new laptop, a limited-edition designer handbag, and tickets to a concert she had been talking about for months.
They gave me a pen, a book, a plain canvas tote, and an old dress with the tag cut off.
I took the gifts and stood to leave.
“Nora.”
Mom called after me. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “Do you want to stay for dinner?”
I lowered my head and gave a bitter laugh.
This was supposed to be my home too.
Yet even eating dinner here had to be described as “staying.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and shook my head.
“No.”
Once outside, I dropped all four gifts into the trash bin beside the building.
On the bus back, I saw Annie’s latest post.
[The annoying one’s finally gone. Now we can enjoy dinner.]
The photo showed Mom, Dad, my brother, and Adrian gathered around the dining table.
Lobster, shrimp, oysters.
There were eight dishes in all, and every one of them was seafood, which could trigger a severe allergic reaction in me.
For a moment, I was almost grateful that I had not stayed.
If I had, I would only have humiliated myself.
At that entire table, the only thing I could safely eat was a bowl of plain rice.
When I returned to the studio, I began to pack.
In the living room, I turned the four dolls to face the wall so they could not watch me.
A postcard sat in the most prominent spot on my desk.
Adrian had given it to me before he ever met Annie.
It showed the bell tower and campus lake at his university. His bold, untidy handwriting filled one corner.
[Nora, I’ll be waiting for you here.]
I studied it for two seconds. Then I pulled it free and tore it in half.