Father's Birthday Cake

My dad worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant, earning a measly $400 a month. My mom had bad legs, so she could only scrape by collecting trash.

When my academically-gifted younger brother was in middle school, they pulled him out of school and made him work to earn extra money so that they could afford to send me to the best school in the state.

I didn't let them down and aced my high school, becoming the top student in my state.

The day I got my SAT scores was also my birthday.

Dad, all hunched over, came to my school with a pink cake, followed by Mom in her tattered clothes and my brother with his face covered in grime.

But instead of being grateful, I grabbed a sharp compass and threw it at Dad, drawing blood. "You think you can buy me off with a cake? Get lost! Don't let me see you again!"

The principal stared in disbelief. "Yvonne, what are you doing? If it weren't for your family working hard to support you, you wouldn't be this successful!"

I held my head high, unperturbed. "So what if I'm the top student in the state? It's no big deal! If they really loved me, they would give me a million dollars so I could live a life of luxury!"

Dad's tears hit the ground as he called me an ungrateful brat.

Mom wanted to slap me but was held back.

Meanwhile, I silently opened the cake box and cut the cake.

The next second, everyone was shocked.

When I walked out of the classroom, I saw Dad waiting for me outside with a kind smile on his face, holding a pink cake.

Behind him, Mom, in ragged and patched clothes, was holding a brand new doll.

My younger brother's eyes sparkled as he shouted "Yvonne" and ran toward me excitedly.

However, I pushed him hard to the floor. "What are you doing here?! You shouldn't be here!"

It was recess, so the hallway was packed.

The principal and teachers that happened to be passing by were drawn over by the commotion.

Dad smiled apologetically and took my hand. "What's wrong, Yvonne? Did something upset you? Here, I bought you a strawberry cake, it's your favorite..."

I grabbed the cake and threw it on the floor. The pretty cake immediately turned into a mess.

"Get lost! You think you can buy me off with a cake? In your dreams! Nobody wants your lousy cake!"

The students around me pointed and whispered.

Even the principal couldn't help but frown. "Yvonne, you can only become the state's top student because your parents and brother work hard to support you. How can you treat them like this? You're so ungrateful!"

My homeroom teacher, Ms. Langford, also sighed. "That's right, Yvonne. You're not usually like this. Why are you acting so strange today?"

I held my head high and yelled at them, "So what if I'm the top student in the state? If they really loved me, they would give me a million dollars so I could live a life of luxury! I don't think they really care about me that much!"

Mom, seeing that I was getting emotional, quickly shielded me behind her and explained to the teachers, "I'm sorry, Yvonne is just in a bad mood. Please don't take it to heart. It's my fault, I didn't raise her well."

As she spoke, she stuffed the brand new doll into my hands.

"Didn't you say you liked this doll? I bought it for you. Happy birthday!"

I snorted, took out a pair of scissors from my bag, and cut the doll to shreds in front of everyone.

Suddenly, my brother, Steven, lunged at me and said something that shocked everyone.