Locked Out of Warmth
I ranked first across the entire district on our first statewide college entrance practice exam, but no one in my family was happy.
All because I accidentally laughed once at the dinner table.
My father, who had always favored my cousin, exploded.
"Trevor had a bad practice exam, and you're sitting there laughing?"
"If it weren't for you, Trevor's parents wouldn't have died so young! How dare you use your score to humiliate him?"
Without listening to a word I said, Dad shoved me into the home sauna and locked the door from the outside.
But I had a congenital heart condition. I couldn't survive extreme heat, so I pounded on the door and begged for help.
My parents ignored me. They moved into the condo they had bought near Trevor's prep school, cleared their work schedules, and devoted themselves to helping him prepare for the final exam.
They completely forgot about me until exam day, when my homeroom teacher called.
"Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt, where is Micah? Why hasn't he arrived for the statewide college entrance exam?"
They froze, then raced back to the family estate in a panic.
When they saw what remained inside the sauna, they completely broke down.