Father's Birthday Cake

"Yvonne, are you crazy? My grades were better than yours, but Mom and Dad made me drop out of school to work so that you could study! They did it because they loved you! Without them, would you have this kind of achievement? Most poor families favor boys over girls, but our family is the opposite. All these years, we paid for all the food you ate, all the clothes you wore, and all the school supplies you used! How dare you!"

After he said that, my classmate also stepped forward, her face flushed with anger.

"I can testify! Yvonne's family comes to school every year on her birthday, rain or shine, to celebrate her birthday with her! I know because we were in the same middle school too!"

My best friend also shouted, "That's right, I can testify too! Mr. and Mrs. Wesley don't dress well themselves, but they always buy Yvonne new clothes. When she needed a laptop for online classes, they bought her an expensive one without batting an eye."

"Yvonne is such an ungrateful brat!"

Turning away, I smiled slightly, "Sally Gray, if you like them so much, why don't you cut ties with your parents and be their daughter instead?"

"You're impossible to reason with!" My best friend huffed and turned away, refusing to talk to me.

Dad, hunched, overstepped forward and handed out candies to my classmates.

"I'm sorry, my precious daughter didn't mean what she said. Please don't be mad at her…"

I rolled my eyes and kicked the candies from his hand. "Enough! How much longer are you going to keep up the act? You make me sick! Get lost!"

Dad stood helplessly, tears welling up in his eyes.

Mom walked over to take his arm and nodded at me. "Okay, we'll leave. Sorry for troubling you, Yvonne. I know the cake and the gift are too shabby; they're not good enough for you. We won't come to your school again. Please don't be mad, okay? Mom will send you money. Is $10,000 enough? It's all I have…"

Mom lowered her head and quietly wiped away her tears.

That made everyone around tear up too.

Steven gritted his teeth and slapped me hard.

My cheek burning, I stared at him in disbelief.

He looked at me with bloodshot eyes, his tears dripping to the floor.

"You're worse than an animal! Do you know how hard Mom works? Every morning, she goes to the park to scavenge before the sun comes up. It took her years to save that money. If you think we're dirty and shameful, fine, we won't come to your school anymore!"

Dad suddenly grabbed Steven's collar and slapped him.

His face instantly swelled and turned red.

Dad, shaking with anger, pointed at him and yelled, "You piece of trash! How dare you speak to your sister like that! No matter what she does, you must respect her!"

"Why? She's not worthy of my respect!"

My brother pulled his sleeves up and gripped Dad's hand.

His hands, white from the cold, were covered in blisters and sores, some oozing pus in the cold weather.

Dad became even angrier. He kicked my brother away and yelled, "You little brat! What are you doing? Haven't you embarrassed your sister enough?"

People around me shot me scornful looks.

"I thought Yvonne was nice, but she's actually so heartless."

"I heard her dad works as a dishwasher and makes only $400 a month. Our tuition and boarding fees cost over $8,000 a year! She's so ungrateful."

"Her brother dropped out of school to work as an attendant in a hospital. It's a tough job. Meanwhile, she gets everything but acts like a spoiled brat."

Everyone got angrier and angrier. Some people even threw erasers and rulers at me.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I grabbed the compass in my bag and threw it at my father's head.

It hit him in the forehead, cutting a gash, and blood gushed out. He winced in pain and covered his forehead but didn't scream.