It was midday when I emerged the next day.
Olivia, putting on a show for my parents,
insisted I try her cooking as a peace offering.
This had happened before. At my birthday
dinner in my past life, she’d insisted on
making dumplings by herself. The dumplings
contained shrimp, and I’m allergic to shellfish.
<
But because I’d given her a hard time in the
past, everyone assumed I was faking it to
make her look bad. Nathan had even yelled at
me, “You’re allergic, can’t you smell it? Olivia
didn’t know! You did it on purpose just to get
her in trouble!” This time, looking at the
shrimp shells in the kitchen trash, I smiled.
Just like before, Olivia brought a plate of
dumplings over, her voice meek. “Lizzie, I’m
so sorry about yesterday. These are for you,
as an apology. You haven’t tried my dumplings before, have you? Mom and Dad
say they’re delicious.” Mom chimed in, “Yes,
Lizzie, try some. Don’t be rude; she made
them especially for you.” They seemed to
think that if I ate these dumplings, everything
would go back to normal, and I would
magically transform into the obedient
daughter they wanted. They were in for a
disappointment. Seeing that I hadn’t touched
<
the dumplings, tears welled up in Olivia’s
eyes. “Lizzie Knowles, don’t be ungrateful!” I
ignored Nathan’s outburst, looking directly at
Mom. “Mom, do you smell that? It’s really
strong. Smells like shrimp.” Mom looked
confused. I picked up a chopstick, pierced a
dumpling, and a whole shrimp tumbled out.
“I’m allergic to shellfish. Remember?” Silence
descended over the room. Even Nathan,
Olivia’s most fervent defender, was unusually
quiet. When I was six, we visited my uncle’s
seafood farm. The dinner table was piled high
with shrimp and crab. Back then, I was still
their precious little girl, and Mom had asked
my aunt to make me something else. But my
aunt scoffed, saying an allergy wouldn’t kill
me, and forced me to eat. I was young and
shy, so I obeyed. I ended up vomiting at the
table, breaking out in hives, and being rushed
to the hospital. Nathan, thinking I was dying
く
ப
because of my aunt, had pushed her angrily.
And Olivia had been there, sitting at the same
table. But now, they’d all forgotten. They only
saw Olivia. They wouldn’t even have shellfish
in the house before, but now, they were
oblivious to the overpowering smell. Faced
with my question, shame flickered across my
parents‘ faces. Olivia burst into tears. “I’m
sorry, Lizzie, I didn’t know! I’m so sorry… I
just don’t belong here…” She stumbled
towards the door, and my family, forgetting
all about me, rushed to comfort her. “It’s
okay, Olivia, it was an accident.” “Yeah,
Olivia, she didn’t even eat any, it’s fine.”
“Lizzie, come on, apologize to Olivia.” I, the
victim, was expected to apologize to the
perpetrator? The absurdity of it all was
overwhelming. I turned and walked away,
leaving them to their drama.
<
Graduation arrived quickly. I scored a perfect
1600 on the SATs, earning a full scholarship
to Harvard and becoming valedictorian. My
parents seemed proud, finally off my back, even throwing me a graduation party, bragging about me to everyone, and, consequently, neglecting Olivia. During the party, as my parents were happily entertaining guests, Nathan suddenly rushed in, carrying a limp Olivia. She appeared unconscious. My parents panicked, abandoning their guests and rushing out with Nathan, leaving everyone bewildered. Having lived this twice, I knew Olivia’s tactics. Fortunately, I wasn’t the naive girl I once was. I calmly took over, hosting the party on my own. The most enthusiastic guest was Mrs. Carter, my mom’s best friend. She’d had Josh, her son, out of wedlock and had arranged a sort of engagement between us as children. Josh and I grew up togeth
