Chapter 3: The Supporting Role

After I’d washed up and gotten into bed, Santiago sent me a message.

His first question was:

“Did you finalize your college decision? It’s UCLA, right?”

Santiago had always been set on the Ivy League.

His dream school was Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania.

He’d even sworn it was the only place he’d go.

But a month before the application deadline.

He suddenly changed his mind.

He said he was staying in California and made UCLA his first choice.

I never understood why.

Now, I finally asked him.

Santiago stammered.

“Well, Isabela’s SAT scores were…kind of low.”

“She has a better shot if she applies in-state.”

For a moment, I wondered if I’d heard him correctly.

“So you gave up on your dream school just to go to college with her?”

Santiago’s tone was casual.

“It’s just a school. It’s not more important than Isabela.”

I almost laughed.

When I first found out his goal was Wharton, I’d been riddled with anxiety.

At the time, my grades were only good enough for a state school, at best.

I didn’t dare even dream of a place like Penn.

But for the chance to be on the same campus as Santiago, I studied like my life depended on it.

I drilled practice questions, memorized vocabulary, and fought for every single point.

The day the scores were released, I saw the 1580 on the screen and just cried, I was so relieved.

But now, for Isabela, he could toss it all aside.

And just like that, he’d thrown away the promise he’d made to me.

I swallowed the ache in my chest and asked him one more thing.

“Then why did you ask me to apply to UCLA with you?”

Before he answered, I let myself imagine the possibilities.

Maybe he couldn’t bear to be without me.

Maybe he was afraid of me going out of state alone.

But Santiago just laughed.

“Every star needs a supporting actor.”

“Isabela’s the star. You’re her supporting role.”

“How else is she supposed to look so special if you’re not standing next to her?”

The words hit me like a physical blow. My hands went numb.

Ever since I was born, everyone around me had compared me to Isabela.

They said she was the main character, and I was just the backdrop.

Only Santiago had ever told me, “You’re just…you.”

He’d said that no matter what anyone else thought, in his eyes, I was one of a kind.

I believed him.

I even thought I would always be his exception.

Until he met my sister.

Then, his eyes never left her.

I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing the hurt down.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m going to sleep.”

Without waiting for his reply, I hung up.

I was about to turn off the light when I looked up.

I saw my sister standing in the doorway.

She was holding a glass of milk.

“Sis, can I come in?”

I nodded.

She handed me the milk with a smile.

“Oh, right. We’re taking a family portrait tomorrow.”

“Don’t oversleep again.”

With that, she winked and turned to leave.

I almost told her I wasn’t going, but the words caught in my throat.

When we were little, my sister’s health was fragile.

To devote more time to her, my parents sent me away.

I went to live with my grandmother in a small town out of state.

They rarely visited, but every Christmas, they mailed me a family holiday card.

In the photo, my sister always stood in the center.

She was surrounded by my smiling parents and brother.

Every time I saw it, I was sick with envy.

Taking a real family portrait with them became my one, secret wish.

Later, after I moved back home, there should have been plenty of chances.

But strangely, every time picture day rolled around, I would oversleep.

I was a person of rigid routine, yet somehow it kept happening.

And I’d sleep so deeply that no amount of knocking could wake me.

After a few times, they just stopped waiting for me.

Even though I’d already decided to leave, I didn’t want to leave with that one regret.

To make sure I wouldn’t miss it again, I set three alarms.

I cranked the volume all the way up.

I usually went to sleep around ten. That night, I turned off the lights before nine.

But what happened the next morning was exactly the same as before.