Chapter 2 I checked my pencil case . ] ] All my important documents were there , pl plus a few h hundred bucks Mom had stuffed in there this morning for " brain food . " My suitcase was stuffed with a random jumble of clothes - clearly she'd been too eager to get rid of me to pack properly . [ ] I took a quick look , snapped it shut , and headed straight for the bus station . If I wasn't welcome at home , then fine - I wouldn't go back ! [ ] I bought a ticket on the next available bus and started my working life . Before this , the farthest I'd ever traveled was from home to downtown for shopping . Running on pure spite , I bought a train ticket heading south . The whole trip was over 1,200 miles - the regular train would take 15 20 hours and cost about $ 15 , while the high - speed rail was 9 hours but over $ 85 . ] After weighing my options , I went with the regular train - coach seating . [ ] Lugging my suitcase , I didn't dare close my eyes the entire trip . Every person who walked by made me nervous . ] The train car was packed with students going on post - graduation trips , chattering away so loudly my head was pounding . Even after we reached the station , my ears were still ringing . During the entire journey , I had zero contact with either parent . ] There were tons of places hiring summer workers , so I picked one with decent pay and filled out the application . When my SAT scores came out , I took time off to hit an internet café , filled out my college applications , and changed my acceptance letter mailing address. ] After getting all that sorted , I logged into my WhatsApp account for the first time in forever. Le The second I came online , messages started flooding in . I'd done pretty well - top 10 in my class , top 100 in my grade . I'd applied to a southern university . [ ] My teacher had sent tons of messages asking when I'd be back for graduation ceremony . [ ] That's when I remembered - I'd changed my phone number ages ago , so they couldn't reach me and had to leave WhatsApp messages instead . But … I checked the date . Graduation ceremony was long over . ] The class group was full of ceremony photos and videos - classmates grinning like idiots , all youthful energy and excitement . ] I looked down at my wrinkled work uniform and closed the group messages without expression . ] Felt like my youth had ended early . [ ] Buried in all those messages , I spotted one from an unfamiliar WhatsApp number . " Delia , it's Dad . Are you okay ? " ] " Where are you now ? Why'd you change your phone number ? " " Your mom's sick . Aren't you coming home to take care of her ? " ] Could these two come up with something more original ? Like Dad had no clue Mom kicked me out ? He was calling me back because their housekeeper was probably sick , and nobody was there to wait on him hand and foot . He needed his little servant - me - to come back and fill in . || I didn't respond to any of it - just blocked the account . ] If Mom was like a stick of dynamite ready to explode , Dad was the guy holding the lighter . For as long as I could remember , I'd never seen a penny of his paycheck Every month , the second his salary hit his account , he'd send two - thirds back to his hometown family . What was left barely covered his own expenses . ] His whole heart belonged to his nephew . ] ] Me , his actual daughter , felt like I'd been picked up from a dumpster somewhere . I quietly logged off WhatsApp and sat in the internet café for a long time , trying to pull myself together . ] My family was like a saw blade - every back - and - forth motion left my heart raw and bleeding . Before I could wallow much longer , my supervisor called . [ ] " Overtime tonight . Get hack here now . " [ ] I wiped my face and rushed out of the café Maybe Mom was right - after 18 , I needed to make my own way in the world . ] I still didn't have college tuition and living expenses figured out . [ ]