Go Ahead and Jump, Mom

Mom opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"I scored a 1550 on my SATs, and I'm in the top 1% of scorers in the state. I could go to the best university in Brayton and study the major that I wanted to study the most.

"And yet, you insisted that I stay here to go to a low-tier local college that I don't even want. That's not for my own good, Mom. You're just ruining my future. I think you are the one who's trying to push me to my death instead."

The moment those words left my mouth, Mom's expression went blank. It was as if she truly saw me for the very first time.

She realized for once that her daughter, who used to be extremely obedient toward her, harbored such deep resentment against her.

Then, she exploded.

"Me? Pushing you to your death? Do you even have a conscience, Suzanne Gibson? I am the one who fed you, clothed you, and sacrificed everything for you!

"And now, you're telling me that I'm the one pushing you instead? Fine! Then I'll just kill myself right now! You'll be happier when I'm dead anyway, won't you?"

She wailed and screamed loudly as she rushed toward the balcony in an exaggerated frenzy.

But I knew that she wouldn't actually jump. This was just her most effective tactic to force me to give in.

When she saw that I didn't move a muscle, she screamed and cried even louder than before.

Soon, there was a loud knock on the door from our next-door neighbor, and another neighbor opposite our unit also opened their windows and yelled angrily at us.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, yelling and screaming in the middle of the night? Are you going to let us sleep in peace or not? I'm going to call the police on you!"

Mom's cries then died in her throat. She froze on the balcony, not knowing whether to go out or return. Her face turned red, then pale, then red again.

Finally, she glared fiercely at me and rushed back into her own room, slamming the door heavily behind her.

The apartment was finally peaceful again. But I knew that the fight was far from over.

The next morning, Mom was already gone by the time I woke up. I didn't care and washed up before leaving the apartment to find myself a part-time job.

I would need money to go to college. Although I got a scholarship to cover my tuition fees, I still didn't want to have to rely on Mom for my living expenses.

Most importantly, I needed to have a backup plan.

By the time I got back home, it was already 5:30 pm. I went to my bedroom and pushed the door open.

My laptop was missing.

"Where's my laptop?"

"Oh, that?" Mom casually continued prepping the ingredients for dinner as she said, "I accidentally spilled some water on it today, so I brought it to the repair shop. The technician said that the laptop had to be checked out, and it would take a couple of days."

I felt my heart drop to the bottom of my stomach. I had a bad feeling about this.

I didn't bother arguing with her and immediately went back into my bedroom, taking out my phone and trying to log into the college application system.

I keyed in my password, and a line of bright red text appeared on the screen.

"Password incorrect. Try again."

I keyed the password in three times in a row, but they were all incorrect.

My hands were trembling.

I tried my best to remain calm and went back out of the bedroom.

I walked up to her with my phone, held the screen in front of her eyes, and suppressed my anger as I asked, "What's going on? What have you been doing with my laptop?"

Mom turned off the tap and flicked the water off her hands. Then, she turned around, wiped her hands on her apron, and looked at me with an air of self-righteousness.

"Since choosing a college is such a huge deal, of course I had to help you with it.

"You're still young and don't know anything about colleges. What's the point of enrolling in a college just for its reputation? You have to look at the majors that they're offering and the job prospects instead!

"Well, I used one of my connections today and spent 10,000 dollars to hire an experienced teacher to help you look at colleges and choose your major for you. And they're all local teacher training colleges too, with all graduates guaranteed to be teachers afterward. Isn't that just great?

"I've already withdrawn all of your other applications for you, so you don't even need to worry about it anymore."

10,000 dollars? She really was willing to go that far to stop me from leaving her.

My voice was trembling with anger. "Who gave you the right to withdraw my applications? Did I even ask you for any help with it? Cancel those applications and change them back! Tell me the password now!"

Upon hearing this, she immediately put on that dramatic, exaggerated act again, like she was about to kill herself, and screamed at me.