The Unseen Genius: A Family\'s Ruin

me, confused. I just shrugged. In physics, I turned in an essay on a completely

cious, deliberate act of self-sabotage, a pe

the hiss of the espresso machine became my new reality. The pay was minimum wage, but it was my own. At night, I took on freelance coding gigs, bu

eb's began to improve. He wasn't a genius, but without my "A+" papers to

nto the top 20% of his class. Our house was filled with their friends, all of

en ghost at the feast. My fathe

llen, failing your classes. What happened to

her hand. "You could at least try to look h

ng, raised his glass. "To Caleb! For his superior achie

turned his eyes to me. "Ethan. Yo

he family screw-up, the black sheep. I was supposed to mumble a few words

eb, who was preening under the attention. I l

e carrying across the silent room. "To my family, for their hospi

room. My father's face turned to

to me, her face contorted with rage. She grabbed

the backpack out the front door, where it landed on the wet lawn. "If

stared, frozen in

d slung it over my shoulder. I didn't look back. I just walked away into the nigh