I woke up at noon. The sun was shining through the window of my bedroom, right into my eyes.
I rolled over and grabbed my phone off the floor. I had three new notifications.
The first one was from my landlord. Final Warning: Rent is due in 48 hours.
I swiped the message away. I wasn't worried. Losing my job at the gas station was annoying, but I wasn't actually going to end up on the street. I had a safety net.
My parents are rich. Really rich.
They set up an emergency trust fund for me when I was a kid. I promised myself I would only use it if I really needed it. Paying rent so I could keep sleeping in a warm bed definitely counted as an emergency.
I opened my banking app, typed in my password and went to the transfer page. I typed in one thousand dollars and hit send.
A red box popped up on the screen.
Access Denied. Account Frozen.
I tapped the button again.
Access Denied. Account Frozen.
I sat up in bed. My heart started beating a little faster. That money was mine. Why was it frozen?
I opened my email. There was a new message at the very top. It was from a woman named Sarah. She was my mother’s personal assistant.
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I opened the message and read it.
Dear Shay,
Per your parents' instructions, your emergency trust fund has been permanently frozen. You were given every advantage in life. You were accepted into Metropolitan Academy, the best hero school in the country. Instead of training, you failed your classes and got expelled.
You refuse to level up. You refuse to take your S-Tier Blessing seriously. You are an embarrassment to the Fawn family name.
Your parents have decided to cut you off financially to teach you a lesson. You will not get another cent from them until you prove you can be a useful member of society.
Good luck,
Sarah (Assistant to Jasmine Fawn)
I stared at the screen and read the email twice.
They actually did it.
My parents are Pro Heroes. My dad is Rank 101. He goes by the name Lavaman. My mom is Rank 186, called Nitrogenic. Together, they are a brand. They treat heroism like a business. They only care about their public image, corporate sponsors, and Levels.
To them, a child with an S-Tier Blessing was just an asset. I was supposed to be their retirement plan by becoming a top ten Hero and make them even richer.
But I didn't want to fight or grind. So, I failed out of Academy on purpose.
My parents hated me for it. They loved my younger sister, Chloe. She is sixteen years old and already Level 75. She is a star student at Metropolitan Academy. She is arrogant, mean, and their favorite.
I threw my phone onto the mattress and rubbed my face with both hands.
I never thought they would actually cut off my money.
I looked around my apartment. There were empty takeout boxes on the floor. The paint was peeling off the walls. I walked into the tiny kitchen and opened the fridge. There was half a bottle of water and a slice of old cheese.
I checked my normal checking account. I had fourteen dollars and twelve cents.
Fourteen dollars. No job. No trust fund.
If I didn't pay my rent in two days, my landlord would throw my stuff on the street and I would be homeless.
I had to figure out how to make a lot of money and I had to do it right now.