Shadowing Practice: He Was Dating The 3 Of Us - Learn English Speaking with Video
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1
Hello folks, I'm Pearl and I grew up in Westport, Washington, a small town where everyone seemed to be obsessed with fishing.
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If you ever find a pearl worth a fortune at the bottom of the ocean, congratulations.
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Also, maybe leave it there.
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Okay guys, put your phones on do not disturb because I need all your attention for this.
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Dad married mom when they were young, but then he left her for a richer woman.
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He had twin daughters with her, Mabel and Ruth, and a few months later, he came crawling back to Mom,
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crying and begging her to forgive him.
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Somehow, she did, they got back together, and then they had me.
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I was two years younger than Mabel and Ruth, and those two absolutely hated me.
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They bullied me every chance they got, and since Mom was sick most of the time, I basically had to grow up way too fast.
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I'd go fishing with Dad, then come home to cook, clean, and take care of Mom while my two useless sisters did absolutely nothing.
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But everything changed one day when Dad and I went fishing.
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I just hooked this massive fish, and while I was struggling to reel it in,
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it suddenly yanked so hard that I lost my balance and went straight overboard.
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Oh my god!
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Dad jumped in after me, but somehow I kept sinking deeper and deeper, like I'd suddenly forgotten how to swim.
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I was exhausted and starving, and for a few terrifying seconds, I just didn't have the strength to fight my way back up.
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Then I thought of Mom.
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Home alone with Mabel and Ruth, and the idea of her needing me while I was gone suddenly gave me all the strength I needed.
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The second my feet touched the seafloor, I pushed myself back up.
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But as I pushed off the seafloor, something huge and shiny caught my eye.
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It was this enormous pink shell, way bigger than any shell I'd ever seen.
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I didn't have the strength to grab it, so I swam to the surface and told
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Dad what I'd seen.
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His eyes went wide, and a second later, we both dove back down.
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Together, we managed to pull the massive shell free and drag it back up to the boat.
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Once I finally stopped coughing, Dad took out his knife and carefully pried it open.
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And, oh my god, inside was this gigantic, incredibly rare pearl.
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Pearl?
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Oh, Lord.
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This could make us the richest people in this entire town.
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Heck, maybe even richer than that.
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I puffed out my chest and strutted home like some kind of queen.
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The second I opened the door, I saw Ruth sitting beside
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Mom with a spoon in her hand.
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Every time Mom opened her mouth for a bite, Ruth would yank the spoon away at the last second and laugh like a maniac.
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I marched over, grabbed
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Ruth by the hair from behind, and yanked her back.
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She froze, completely confused.
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Listen, you little psycho, if you ever treat
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Mom like that again, I'll drag you through town by your hair
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and toss your big fat butt into the ocean for the sharks to fight over.
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You got that?
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Everyone stared at me in shock.
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Ruth tried to shove me away, but Dad stepped between us and stopped her.
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Listen up, everybody, and listen good.
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Before anyone in town hears about this pearl and tries to steal it, we need to leave.
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We're going to New York.
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I heard they have some of the best hospitals in the country, and there's one hospital mom's always talking about.
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We could get a place near it and finally get her some real help.
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New York City?
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Are you insane?
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We have a life here.
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Right, Mabel?
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No, we don't.
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Shut up, Ruth.
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Pearl, honey, I think
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New York is a fantastic idea.
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No, a genius idea.
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We could go to some fancy high school instead of that miserable dump we're stuck in now.
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And just like that, Mabel started smiling at me, complimenting me, and sucking up to me like I was suddenly her favorite person on Earth.
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Which only made
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Ruth even angrier.
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Within days, Dad had sold the pearl for a fortune.
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And before anyone in town could make our lives complicated, we packed up and moved to New York City.
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Our new place was this huge mansion, and we gave
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Mom the biggest bedroom with her own live -in nurse to take care of her.
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Here you go, Mama.
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You always talked about New York City like it was your favorite place in the world.
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Dad started a fancy seafood restaurant chain that became successful pretty fast, but that also meant we barely saw him anymore.
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And once he enrolled us in one of the most elite private schools in the city,
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Mom spent most of her days at home with only her nurse for company.
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Of course, Ruth and Mabel completely changed their style overnight.
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Suddenly, they dressed like they came from old money, joined the cheerleading team, and acted like they'd been rich their whole lives.
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But me, I didn't care.
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I still wore the same clothes I'd worn back at home because
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why would I change just to impress a bunch of strangers?
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Apparently, that made me even weirder because everyone at school kept staring at me like I was some kind of alien.
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Even this really hot guy wouldn't stop looking at me.
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I already knew who he was.
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His name was Chase, and he was the captain of the basketball team.
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What?
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Nothing.
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Then do nothing with your eyes somewhere else.
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Chase wasn't actually too bad.
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He came from real old money, but his older sister
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Blake was a total witch and captain of the cheerleading team.
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So naturally, Ruth and Mabel kissed up to her just like everyone else did.
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One day, I was drinking water from the water fountain when I saw
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Blake Corner Chase in the hallway.
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What did I tell you about yesterday's party?
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I specifically told you not to invite your chess friends.
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It was literally my birthday party.
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I'll invite whoever I want.
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Not when I had people from a modeling agency there.
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You and your little friends started giving speeches about mental strategy
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Strategy and psychologically haunting your opponent and reading their next move.
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What does that even mean?
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Basic psychology that your tiny brain couldn't possibly fathom.
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Fathom?
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So now we speak Irish.
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Wonderful.
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Get lost.
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She shoved past him and stormed off.
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Is she your ex?
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My sister.
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Oh, that's worse.
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Yeah, especially after last night.
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You see, what happened was...
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Stop talking.
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I turned around and walked away.
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But I barely made it down the hall before
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Blake stopped me.
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Hey, weirdo.
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I saw how you shut down my idiot brother.
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I think I like you.
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Okay.
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What am I supposed to do with that?
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Give a thank you speech?
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No one ever talks to me like that.
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I respect it.
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And this is where I bow to you or something?
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Man, just back off.
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You rich people in your stupid, superficial little world.
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Later that day, the second I got home and opened the door, Ruth jumped in front of me and cornered me.
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You had a chance to get close to Blake Edwards and you rejected her?
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Why are you freaking out?
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Is she some kind of goddess?
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Literally.
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She was about to smack me when Mabel stepped between us.
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Enough.
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Pearl, hon, Blake was talking about you earlier, and obviously we didn't tell her you were our sister at first because dumb
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Ruth threatened me not to.
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But then Blake started going on about how brave and cool you were, And Ruth immediately told her we were sisters because she thought
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Blake would like us even more.
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But instead, Blake looked down her nose at us and went, If you guys can't even see how iconic your own sister is,
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you're no friends of mine.
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And I actually see your point, if you get what I mean.
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God, just spit it out already.
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What do you want?
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I need to go check on Mom.
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All we want is to throw you a little party to celebrate your birthday in advance, show you how much we love you, and maybe invite
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Blake and all the cool popular kids.
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My birthday is six months away.
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Even better, that gives us plenty of time to celebrate.
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Please, Pearl, please.
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Come on, Ruth, get over here and beg.
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They both started begging and offering me every stupid thing they could think of to tempt me.
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I really needed to go check on Mom, so eventually I gave in.
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Fine, fine.
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Just knock it off, okay?
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And I'm not wearing one of those stupid half -naked dresses you two wear.
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I'm wearing my own clothes.
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Exactly!
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I dressed Mom in one of the fanciest dresses we owned.
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Then sat her in this huge chair so she could enjoy the party with everyone else.
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Ruth and Mabel hated the idea, of course, but I ignored them.
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The party started, and pretty much half the school showed up.
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After a while, I went out on the balcony to get some fresh air.
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That whole feeling like you don't belong thing?
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I get it.
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Excuse me?
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I'm Sean, Chase's friend.
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Basketball team and...
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And Blake's boyfriend.
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Wow.
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What an impressive resume.
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What do you want?
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Oh, I was just trying to have a normal conversation with you.
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Look, I just think it's cool that you got all this money and still didn't turn into somebody else.
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You're pretty.
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You're real.
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And honestly, that's rare around here.
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He stepped closer and brushed a strand of hair away from my face.
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I froze as he leaned in like he was about to kiss me.
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But then I glanced past him and saw
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Mom looking scared, trying to get out of her chair.
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I shoved Sean away and rushed inside, only to find
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Blake leaning over Mom with a drink in her hand.
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What are you doing, idiot?
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Relax, I'm helping her.
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Alcohol warms up your blood or whatever and gets it moving faster.
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It's probably good for her heart.
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Or it could kill her.
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Are you stupid?
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Okay, fishing girl.
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I like that you're brave and all, but there's a line you don't cross with me.
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Oh yeah?
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What happens if I do?
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I crossed my arms.
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Mabel came over and stood beside me, while that idiot
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Ruth immediately moved next to Blake.
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Then Blake threw her drink straight at me.
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This, for example.
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I was about to lunge at her, but Ruth stepped in front of Blake like she was daring me to try something.
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So I looked to the side and saw Sean.
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And before I could think better of it, I grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him right there in front of everyone.
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For a second.
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Sean didn't even pull away.
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Then Blake smacked the back of his head, and he jumped away from me.
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She slapped him across the face, then turned to me with absolute murder in her eyes.
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Fine!
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You want to play dirty, Pearl?
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Let's play dirty.
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She grabbed Sean and stormed out, with Ruth and the rest of her little followers trailing behind her.
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I stood there smiling while Mabel gave me a high five.
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Then my eyes met
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Chase's across the room.
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He gave me this disappointed, seriously look, and I just shrugged back like she started it.
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Because seriously, who did
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Blake think she was?
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She could mess with me all she wanted, but Mom was off limits.
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If Blake wanted a war, she had one.
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The very next day, I went to the mall and blew a ridiculous amount of money on Gucci, Prada, and whatever else looked expensive.
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Then I went home and put on a whole fashion show for Mom.
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She watched me with this warm little smile.
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Pearl, sweetie, I'm happy you're adjusting to this new life.
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But that Blake girl, she gives me the chills.
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What do you mean, Mom?
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Did she do something?
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Do you know her from somewhere?
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I think I do.
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I just can't place her.
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Please, honey, try to stay away from her.
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She's not worth it.
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What she did to you was worth it.
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I'm gonna make her regret it so bad, she'll be begging you for forgiveness.
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Pearl, don't let one awful person decide who you become.
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You don't have to sink to her level just because she hurt you.
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I looked down at my ridiculously expensive new outfit.
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Well, I look amazing, so I'd say I sank pretty gracefully.
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Mom laughed, but then her face turned serious again.
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Be careful what you call a victory, Pearl.
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Heck, some wins cost more than losing ever could.
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It's okay, Mama.
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I've got this.
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Don't worry about me.
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The next day, there was a big game for our basketball team.
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And I showed up on the court wearing a cheerleader uniform with Mabel.
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The second Blake saw me, her jaw practically hit the floor.
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What do you think you're doing?
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We have a whole routine we've been practicing forever!
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I screamed right in her face.
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Then I did a little dance and threw my pom -poms at her.
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Just then, the referee blew his whistle and the game started.
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That's when I noticed Sean was actually a better player than Chase.
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Like, noticeably better.
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So why was Chase captain instead?
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With one second left on the clock, Sean scored the winning basket and the whole gym erupted.
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But somehow, everyone ran over and lifted
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Chase into the air, while Sean just stood off to the side.
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I walked over to him.
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Hey, Sean, it's not like I like you or anything.
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You're still a jerk.
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But I believe in giving credit where it's due.
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And you're one hell of a player.
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I don't know why everyone's cheering for the spoiled rich guy instead.
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He was about to say something.
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When Blake appeared out of nowhere, grabbed him, and pulled him into this huge kiss.
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Ugh.
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Just then, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
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I turned around and saw Chase.
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Oh, look.
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The spoiled prince himself.
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How does it feel stealing someone else's spot just because you can?
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Hey, I didn't ask for any of this.
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My dad keeps pushing me into basketball because he wants me to live out his dream.
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Trust me.
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All I want to do right now is play chess with my buddies and drink tea.
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Ooh, tea you say, mate.
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Why are you wearing this?
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Well, I guess you're not the only one living a life you didn't exactly choose.
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Then tell me your story.
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Why are you doing this?
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Oh, my life story is fascinating.
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It's called None of Your Business, Blake's Brother.
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Huh, that's a new one.
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By the way, I liked your cheer.
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My buddy was live on TikTok, so I'm pretty sure the entire country saw it.
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Maybe even Canada.
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Good.
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They needed the entertainment.
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And from that day on, Blake came at me every chance she got.
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During cheer practice, she'd purposely bump into me or knock me down, then swear it was part of the routine.
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I'd shove her right back.
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Back off, bratwoman.
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You first, aqua woman.
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One night, she even came speeding at me in the parking lot and slammed on the brakes just inches away.
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Then she rolled down the window and smiled like a psycho.
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Oops, didn't see you there.
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I grabbed a rock off the ground and hurled it straight at her windshield, cracking the glass.
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And Ruth was getting worse, too.
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One day, she held my arms while Blake tried to shove my head into a toilet.
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And if Mabel hadn't run off to call a teacher, one of them probably would have ended up in that toilet instead.
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Okay, enough was enough.
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At this point, the whole school had basically picked a side.
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Team Blake or Team Pearl.
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And somehow, my own freaking sister had picked Blake's.
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Later, when I got home, I went straight to Ruth's room because I seriously needed to know what the heck was wrong with her.
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I knocked on her bedroom door, but she wouldn't open it even though I knew she was in there.
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Mabel came over and started pounding on the door like a maniac, but still nothing.
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My balcony is right next to hers.
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Maybe we can climb across and get in through her balcony door.
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And that's exactly what we did.
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Only to find freaking Sean stretched out on Ruth's bed, scrolling through his phone while she stood in front of the mirror fixing her hair.
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Babe, can you hand me my phone?
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It's right next to you.
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Yeah, sure.
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Here you...
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Everybody shut up!
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Sean, what are you doing here?
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He jumped to his feet.
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Well, isn't it obvious?
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I don't even like Blake.
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And you thought
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Ruth was an upgrade?
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I couldn't get you, so I went with the closest thing.
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Hey!
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What?
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She's funnier.
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Ruth grabbed a pillow and threw it at his head.
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Sean tried to make a run for it, but I blocked the door.
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Not so fast.
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If you hate
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Blake that much, then why are you still with her?
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And why do you keep letting
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Chase take all the credit?
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My dad borrowed a lot of money from the Edwards years ago and never managed to pay it all back.
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Ever since then, Blake's family has treated us like we owe them our lives.
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So yeah, dumping
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Blake would cause a whole mess.
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And if I started showing
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Chase up too much on the court, his dad would probably make my life miserable.
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So that's why
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Chase is captain.
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Partly.
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And trust me, Blake is worse than you think.
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You've known her for five minutes.
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I've been dealing with her for years.
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Then why are you playing behind her back?
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Because I'm a guy.
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And I like variety.
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And because you're an idiot.
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Yeah, that too.
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Whatever get out. And you?
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Did you seriously forget why we're even living like this, Ruth?
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This house, your clothes, that ridiculous gold necklace around your neck?
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All of it happened because of me.
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So maybe stop acting like
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Blake Edwards is your queen.
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Especially when she's gonna rip your head off if she finds out you've been messing around with her boyfriend.
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Ruth's face went pale, which means you're working with us now.
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Stay friends with Blake, act completely normal, but anything important she says, we hear about it.
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Ooh, double agent.
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Nice.
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Why are you still here?
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Wait, maybe he could be useful.
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I have a plan.
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Everybody sit down.
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I told him my plan, and for the next week, we got everything ready.
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Then the day finally came.
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That morning, I was looking for some cables we needed for our little show
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when I wandered into the music room in the basement and found
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Chase and his nerdy friends quietly playing chess like they were in some peaceful little world of their own.
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Chase noticed me and came over.
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Can you please just stop this whole thing with Blake?
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Nobody's gonna win.
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Why do you care?
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Go back to your little chess club and keep living someone else's dream while stealing someone else's spot.
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I guess that counts as winning in your pathetic little rich kid world.
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Chase looked genuinely hurt.
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Then he stepped closer and lowered his voice.
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And what exactly are you doing?
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You were so proud of where you came from and now you've changed everything about yourself.
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Just to beat some spoiled rich brat at her own stupid games.
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Pearl, you seriously don't know Blake.
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Well, she's a witch who humiliated me and mom, and that's enough to make her my enemy.
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I turned to leave, but Chase grabbed my wrist.
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When I looked back, he lifted his shirt.
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Okay, first of all, a ridiculously unfair six -pack.
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But then I saw them.
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Two long, faded scars slashed diagonally across his chest, almost like claw marks.
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What happened to you?
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Did you get attacked by a wolf?
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Yeah.
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Her name's Blake.
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I stared at him for a moment, and there was something so hurt in his eyes that I felt bad for what I'd said earlier.
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Before I could ask another question, my phone buzzed.
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Mabel was texting me to hurry up.
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I shoved my phone back into my pocket and left.
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It was Teacher Appreciation Day at our school, and I had a little activity planned on stage for the entire school to see.
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Testing, testing.
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Y 'all can hear me okay?
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So, Teacher Appreciation Day.
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Don't these walking angels deserve some love and appreciation?
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They teach more than just school subjects.
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They teach us about life, too.
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Boo!
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Boring!
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Well, speaking of life lessons, let me introduce you to my amazing boyfriend, Sean Livingston, everyone!
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Sean came out from backstage holding a huge bouquet of flowers and kissed me on the cheek.
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For you, babe.
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Aw, aren't you just the love of my life? and then
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Maple came out from backstage, too.
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What the hell, Sean?
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We've been together for weeks.
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Oh, no!
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You just broke my heart, Sean.
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Then Ruth came out, too.
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What?
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Sean and I have been together for months.
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My heart is shattered into pieces now.
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Each one bigger than the last.
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What do you clowns think you're doing?
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She jumped to her feet, marched over to us, and pulled Sean toward her.
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Uh -uh -uh.
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He's not your boyfriend anymore.
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You're a rich, powerful girl.
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You could have anyone you want.
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So why him?
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Because he's the most handsome guy I've ever seen.
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He's strong, he's talented, and I've known him since we were kids.
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I love you, Sean.
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Okay, I definitely hadn't expected her to give up this quickly.
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Then her face hardened.
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But Sean, did you forget that you owe us your life?
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Your pathetic loser father couldn't pay us back if he worked three lifetimes.
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Oh, about that.
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I pulled out the bag of money I'd hidden under the podium and opened it.
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Dad had put a huge chunk of the pearl money into an account for me, which I barely touched.
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Here, $300 ,000.
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Every cent Sean's family owes you.
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Now take it and get lost, Blake.
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Blake dropped to her knees, sobbing, and I turned the bag upside down, sending bills raining down all over her.
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Sean smiled victoriously and looked at me.
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Hey, cutie.
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So, what's your favorite color?
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I was about to elbow him when Blake suddenly stopped crying.
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She slowly looked up at me with the most sinister smile I'd ever seen.
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Then Ruth walked over and stood beside her.
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What the hell?
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Oh, Pearl.
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You're such a stupid little fishing girl.
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She pulled a remote from her pocket and turned on the projector behind us.
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At first, it was just pictures of me back in Westport.
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I looked dirty and exhausted, carrying buckets of fish, selling them at the market, cleaning the house, and cooking like some kind of Cinderella.
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It was hard to watch with the entire school staring, but I kept my head up.
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You think I'm ashamed of my past?
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That's your amazing plan?
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Blake scoffed and clicked her stupid little remote again.
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And this time, my heart sank.
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The screen filled with videos from our old house.
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Mabel and Ruth bullying Mom.
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Ruth holding out a spoonful of food, then yanking it away whenever
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Mom tried to take a bite.
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Mabel making faces behind
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Mom's back while she slept.
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I looked at Mabel.
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Her eyes were already filling with tears.
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I'm sorry, she mouthed.
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Then the next video started, and this one was different.
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Ruth grabbed Mom by the shoulders and shoved her back onto the bed.
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You always get the best mattress in the house.
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What's even the point?
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You're just a useless burden and a waste of oxygen.
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I wish you were dead.
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You and your little goody -two -shoes, everyone's favorite daughter.
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Mom tried to sit back up, but Ruth pushed her down again, then smacked her across the head and yanked the blanket away from her.
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Mom just curled up a little, bit her lip, and cried silently.
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I slowly turned toward
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Ruth, and when I saw the smirk on her face, something inside me snapped.
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My whole body started shaking.
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I could feel my lips trembling.
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The next thing I knew, I lunged at her.
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I knocked her down, climbed on top of her, and started swinging.
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I didn't even realize what I was doing until people grabbed me and dragged me off her.
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I stood there breathing hard while Blake watched me with a satisfied little smirk.
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Oh, and by the way, it's one and a half million now.
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There's a penalty for paying late, babe.
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And with that, she stormed out.
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20 minutes later, we were all sitting in the principal's office, Mr. Adams.
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Apparently, watching my sick, helpless mom get abused wasn't enough of an excuse for me to lose
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it you started this entire mess pearl do you think life
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is some kind of movie yeah especially the part where mom got beaten up what was
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that to you a cliffhanger enough you three hijacked a school event
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and started a fight pearl heart i've made my decision You're suspended.
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You and your sisters.
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Except they aren't.
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And with that, I stormed out.
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After that, I barely left my room for days.
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Mabel kept coming by to apologize, crying and begging me to forgive her.
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But I ignored her.
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I didn't even have the heart to ask
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Mom about everything I'd seen or why she'd never told me what...
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Ruth had done to her.
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And to make matters worse, Dad texted me saying he'd fallen in love with another woman and moved in with her.
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He still supported us financially, but that didn't make it hurt any less.
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One night, I went outside and sat on the swing in our backyard to get some fresh air.
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Need some company?
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Last thing I need.
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Chase gave me a small smile and sat down beside me anyway.
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I talked to my parents and they spoke to Mr. Adams.
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He lifted your suspension.
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Ruth and Mabel are still suspended, though.
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What they did was awful, and honestly, they deserve it.
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I didn't ask you to do that.
507
You didn't, but I thought it was the right thing to do.
508
By the way, I don't know why, but you totally seem like the kind of girl who watches MSA.
509
What's that supposed to mean?
510
I don't know.
511
You're weirdly good at telling stories.
512
Feels like you'd be into MSA.
513
Okay.
514
Weirdly accurate.
515
I actually am.
516
Hey, I'm sorry I was so hard on you before.
517
Wow, should I record this?
518
Shut up.
519
I'm serious.
520
I guess I was so busy thinking all you rich kids had perfect lives that I forgot everyone is dealing with something.
521
Apology accepted.
522
Still, how the heck are you related to Blake?
523
I'm not.
524
Not by blood, anyway.
525
Blake's adopted.
526
My parents weren't planning on having biological kids, so they adopted her when she was almost two.
527
Then, not long after that, Mom found out she was pregnant with me.
528
We talked for a while, and Chase told me
529
Blake had always been angry.
530
Especially because she grew up knowing someone had abandoned her when she was little.
531
Someone left her outside a hospital with a letter that had her name on it, and asked whoever found her to take care of her.
532
Security found her crying and starving.
533
She spent a few months in foster care before my parents adopted her.
534
Well, that doesn't justify her being a total witch.
535
I know.
536
I missed you, by the way.
537
The old you.
538
I wish I had your guts to just live the life
539
I actually want without being scared of my dad all the time I've entered a bunch of chess tournaments behind his back,
540
but I've never won first place
541
Maybe part of me doesn't even want to
542
because then it becomes a big deal and dad might find out I smiled a little because weirdly enough.
543
I understood exactly what he meant
544
We stayed out there talking until his dad called and he had to leave.
545
All right, then see you tomorrow mermaid
546
Don't call me Mermaid.
547
See you tomorrow, Mermaid.
548
I looked at him for a moment.
549
Hey, maybe you can ask your parents if they can talk to Mr. Adams about Mabel too.
550
She changed.
551
Chase nodded and walked away.
552
The next day, Mabel and I went back to school, while Ruth stayed home suspended like the little idiot loser she was.
553
I was ready to pull
554
Blake's hair out if she even dared talk to me.
555
But weirdly enough, she didn't come to school that day.
556
And for once, everything was peaceful.
557
I was back in my old clothes too.
558
And some of the kids started staring at me all over again.
559
But this time, I couldn't care less.
560
When I spotted
561
Chase in the hallway, I walked over to him.
562
By the way, I talked to my dad about the chess thing.
563
He said I can totally compete in tournaments as long as I don't quit basketball.
564
So, I guess I'm stuck with basketball forever, but at least I can play chess in public now.
565
Can't complain.
566
Thanks, Mermaid.
567
Good for you, chess boy.
568
But where's Blake?
569
Isn't the regional cheer competition today?
570
She'd rather die than miss that.
571
Something feels off, and I couldn't shake that feeling.
572
Then, during lunch, Mabel came running toward me with her phone in her hand.
573
Did you see
574
Blake's Instagram story?
575
She shoved the phone in front of me.
576
It was a selfie of Blake and Ruth leaning over Mom while she slept, both of them smiling at the camera.
577
And across the picture, Blake had written, Every witch gets what's coming to her.
578
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
579
My stomach dropped.
580
Blake was in my house with Ruth, and Mom was alone with them.
581
Chase took one look at my face, grabbed his keys, and drove us home immediately.
582
When we got there, we found the nurse outside, banging on the door.
583
They've been in there for half an hour.
584
They locked me out.
585
Open the freaking door, you jerks.
586
Pearl, the balcony.
587
We rushed to the balcony, climbed across, and with Chase's help, broke the glass and got inside.
588
Mom was sitting in her wheelchair, her face pale with fear, while Blake knelt in front of her, sobbing into her lap.
589
What on earth is going on?
590
Pearl, honey.
591
No, you shut up.
592
Just shut up and don't talk.
593
I don't want to hear your voice.
594
Shut up.
595
Shut up.
596
Shut the hell up.
597
She was still clutching mom's hands and pressing them against her cheeks.
598
The whole thing looked like some scene out of a psycho horror movie.
599
So I rushed over and pulled her away from mom.
600
Blake didn't even resist.
601
She just dropped to the floor and kept crying.
602
Start talking, you psycho.
603
She's the woman who left me at that stupid hospital all those years ago.
604
And when you people suddenly got rich, she chose this city, this neighborhood, just so she could stay close to me.
605
So she could watch me suffer every day and see what she turned me into.
606
I looked at mom, waiting for an explanation.
607
But she just lowered her head.
608
Oh, now?
609
You have nothing to say, stepmother?
610
The what now?
611
We all stared at her, trying to process what she just said, until Ruth opened her dirty mouth.
612
Well, our dearest daddy had plenty of women after he left your mama for our mom.
613
Turns out he was messing around on the side too, and got a third woman pregnant.
614
She eventually gave birth to Blake, but your mom thought
615
Blake was a burden, so she decided to get rid of her.
616
Honestly, I wish she'd gotten rid of Mabel and me too, instead of making us grow up poor and hungry.
617
My stomach turned, but Ruth kept going.
618
Blake did a DNA test years ago and found out who her dad was.
619
She recognized us the second she saw us at school.
620
That's why she pretended to think you were so cool.
621
She wanted to get close to you, mess with your whole family, and eventually get to your mom, the heartless woman.
622
Suddenly, mom screamed through her tears.
623
I'd never seen her like that before.
624
I was sick and tired, and we were dirt poor.
625
Blake's mother had left town and wanted nothing to do with her.
626
So your dad brought
627
Blake home, and I took care of her along with Mabel and Ruth.
628
Then I found out I was pregnant with you, Pearl.
629
I already had three little girls depending on me, another baby coming, and barely enough food to feed any of us.
630
I panicked.
631
Blake was a difficult child, and it all became too much.
632
So I left her at that hospital.
633
No. What I did was awful, and I haven't forgiven myself for a single day since.
634
Good.
635
You shouldn't.
636
Looks like karma finally got you anyway.
637
Look at you now.
638
Sick and helpless, just like the rotten person you are inside.
639
I know.
640
I deserve this.
641
I even put up with everything
642
Ruth and Mabel did to me because I thought I deserved that too.
643
I thought God was punishing me, so I accepted it.
644
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
645
So all those years
646
Mom spent talking about New York City and that specific hospital weren't random.
647
She'd secretly kept track of Blake over the years.
648
She knew she was here and had wanted to stay close to her,
649
maybe hoping that one day she'd find the courage to tell her the truth.
650
I knew Mom was drowning in guilt, but I still couldn't wrap my head around it.
651
My sweet, loving mom had abandoned an innocent little girl.
652
She saw the way I was looking at her, and she started crying even harder.
653
Pearl, honey, what I did was wrong.
654
I recognized Blake the moment I saw her.
655
She looks exactly like her mother.
656
Please, Pearl, I'm sorry.
657
Please forgive me.
658
Suddenly, Blake shot to her feet and lunged at mom.
659
And you're apologizing to her?
660
You evil witch!
661
I grabbed her just in time and pulled her back.
662
Cut it out already.
663
What she did to you was horrible.
664
But look at your life now.
665
You got adopted by a family that loves you.
666
You have everything you could ever need.
667
And somehow you're still determined to make everyone else around you miserable?
668
She hurt you, Blake.
669
That doesn't mean you get to hurt everyone else.
670
You were lucky.
671
Things could have turned out way worse.
672
Blake stared at me, then let out this bitter little laugh.
673
Worse, huh?
674
Like you?
675
Yeah, look how lucky you are.
676
You spent years scrubbing floors
677
and frying under the sun catching fish for a father who practically forgot you existed the second your luck made him rich.
678
Then out of nowhere, she grabbed a syringe off the cabinet and lunged at me.
679
If you'd never been born, none of this would have happened!
680
No!
681
I dropped to the floor and squeezed my eyes shut, expecting the worst.
682
But I didn't feel anything.
683
I opened my eyes and found
684
Chase on top of me, shielding me with his body.
685
The syringe had gone into him instead.
686
What did you do, you psycho?
687
Mabel called 911 while the maids grabbed
688
Blake and tied her to a chair.
689
Ten minutes later, the paramedics arrived.
690
Chase's parents rushed over and climbed into the ambulance with him.
691
After Mabel and I told them everything, they stood back while the officers took Blake away.
692
It wasn't the first time she'd seriously hurt Chase either.
693
Those.. two long scars across his chest had come from one of her rages too.
694
And this was finally the last straw.
695
Yeah, that girl was gonna need a lot of therapy.
696
And probably Ruth too.
697
As for me, I was more than ready to testify in court about every insane thing they'd done.
698
Right before the ambulance doors closed, Chase looked at me.
699
Hey mermaid, you owe me a date.
700
Well, I owe you my life chest boy.
701
Luckily, the paramedic told me the syringe contained one of mom's sedatives.
702
It was a pretty heavy dose, but they'd gotten to chase in time.
703
The ambulance drove off, and just then, I heard kissing noises behind me.
704
I turned around and saw Mabel making out with Sean.
705
Mabel!
706
She jumped away from him like he'd caught fire.
707
That's not what it looks like.
708
It's exactly what it looks like.
709
Sean, I swear, is there one girl in this family you haven't kissed yet?
710
The nurse?
711
Don't even think about it, sweetheart.
712
That's when I noticed a phone pointed at us from across the street.
713
Chase's buddy.
714
Live on TikTok.
715
Again.
716
Great.
717
Now Canada knows about the nurse, too.
718
And I lost it.
719
For the first time in weeks, I laughed until my stomach hurt.
720
And Maple laughed right along with me.
721
Oh, and one more twist.
722
I finally understood why
723
Ruth chose Blake over her own sisters.
724
Because Blake was her sister too, and Ruth had known it from the very beginning.
725
Blake told her everything the moment she recognized us, and Ruth kept it to herself for months, smiling in our faces the whole time.
726
She wasn't choosing a queen over her family, she was choosing the one sister who hated us as much as she did.
727
here's the thing guys i sank to the bottom of the ocean once
728
and came back up with a pearl then i sank to blake's level
729
and almost came back up as her mom was right some wins cost more than losing the moment
730
you start acting like the person who hurt you they've already won
731
because now there are two of them so sink for the pearl
732
if you have to just make sure you come back up as yourself.
733
Later, folks.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “He Was Dating The 3 Of Us”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Blake, Ruth, mom, Mabel, pearl. This video has 733 sentences and 6441 words to shadow. The speech runs for 37:28. The speaker talks at a natural 172 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pearl noun | /pɝl/ | A shelly concretion, usually rounded, and having a brilliant luster, with varying tints, found in the mantle, or between the mantle and shell, of certain… |
| chase verb | /t͡ʃeɪs/ | To follow at speed. |
| chess noun | /t͡ʃɛs/ | A board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the… |
| stare verb | /stɛɚ/ | To look fixedly (at something). |
| sink verb | /ˈsɪŋk/ | To descend or submerge (or to cause to do so) into a liquid or similar substance. |
| nurse noun | /nɝs/ | Anyone performing this role, regardless of training or profession. |
| balcony noun | /ˈbælkəni/ | An accessible structure extending from a building, especially outside a window. |
| shove verb | /ʃʌv/ | To push, especially roughly or with force. |
| rush verb | /ɹʌʃ/ | To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully. |
| honey noun | /ˈhʌni/ | A sweet, viscous, gold-colored fluid produced from plant nectar by bees, and often consumed by humans. |
| knock verb | /nɑk/ | To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood. |
| climb verb | /ˈklaɪ̯m/ | To traverse a slope or contour, either upwards (ascending) or downwards (descending). |
| beside | /bɪˈsaɪd/ | Next to; at the side of. |
| heck | /hɛk/ | Hell. |
| awful adjective | /ˈɔːfʊl/ | Very bad. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| shut up | /ʃʌt ʌp/ | Stop talking (usually in the form of making annoying, irrelevant, or false comments, during a period of peace and quiet, or when one is not allowed to talk)… |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| come over verb | To affect in a sudden, unprecedented or surprising manner; to overwhelm a person's ordinarily contrary impulse. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| turn around verb | To physically rotate (usually around a vertical axis) for a half turn (180 degrees), a whole turn (360 degrees), or an indefinite amount. | |
| back off verb | To move backwards away from something. | |
| back up verb | To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so. | |
| storm out verb | To leave or depart angrily. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What did I tell you about yesterday's party?
- That whole feeling like you don't belong thing?
- What do you think you're doing?
- Aw, aren't you just the love of my life?
- What do you clowns think you're doing?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | we've been practicing · I've been dealing · you've been messing |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has treated · You've known · you've changed |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be obsessed · is shattered · are still suspended |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | pale, which means · woman who left · person who hurt |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 149 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, didn't, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: pathetic /pəˈθɛtɪk/, breathe /bɹiːð/, threaten /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/, fathom /ˈfæðəm/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shove /ʃʌv/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, shell /ʃɛl/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, shave /ˈʃeɪ̯v/
- Long words — get the stress right: appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, miserable /ˈmɪz(ə)ɹəbəl/, ridiculous /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/, practically /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.k(ə.)li/, ridiculously /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs.li/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like pearl, chase, chess.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.