I guess I kind of wanted to write one of those "messed-up family" stories without the cliche sappy ending where everyone makes amends and the characters' lives become perfect, so this is pretty much what I came up with. It's a big of a mix between "grass is always greener on the other side" and "no one's pure evil or pure good".  I wanted to show that while her parents didn't treat her right, Eloise was also at fault, but at the same time, both Eloise in her parents were trying to do the "right thing". At first, it's easy to think the parents are awful, then in the end, you'd think Eloise is a selfish, spoiled brat.

But how would you feel in their shoes?

"Mom!"

My mother doesn't look up from her laptop as I stride into her study, phone in hand. "Yes?" she asks, only half paying attention.

"The school's holding a mother-daughter event and I need new clothes," I spit out as fast as I can, hoping my increased speed will help my mother register everything. Instead, she just pulls her credit card out of her card stand and passes it to me.

"A thousand dollars max."

I sigh and pluck the card out of my mother's hand, slouching out the door. I know I should be grateful, and don't get me wrong, I really am. I know there are people who consider themselves lucky to get just a bowl of rice, and I know I'm incredibly fortunate to live in a mansion with piles of cash to spare. But if giving all of life's luxuries up meant getting just one moment where my parents actually paid attention to me, I would give everything up in a heartbeat.

My phone buzzes in my hand and I hold it back up to my face to read the new text. It's from my closest friend, Brittany.

Brittany: How'd the talk with your mom go? Are we going shopping?

Not so well. Only got $1000 and no mother-daughter event, I thumb back, knowing Brittany won't call me out for using the words "only" and "$1000" in the same sentence. Her parents are both rather successful surgeons and she knows what it's like to live in a world with hoards of money but no parents around. An instant reply comes from Brittany.

Brittany: Mall in ten?

I respond with a thumbs up emoji, then tuck my phone into the nearest purse and hook the purse over my shoulder on my way to the garage. Greeting our family driver with a smile, I slide into the backseat of our smallest car, a white Mercedes, and direct him to go to the mall. Five minutes later, I'm slipping out the back and running towards Brittany in the mall parking lot.

"I haven't seen you in forever!" I shout, and it's true. Since she goes to school on the other side of town, the last time we saw each other was a week and a half ago.

"Neither have I! I'm so sorry your mom didn't agree," she adds quietly. I cough, feeling the stinging already in my eyes.

"No time to worry about that. Let's go shopping already!" I cheer, changing the topic almost instantly. I love Brittany, but there are some things that even close friends don't talk about. Like how their parents constantly ignore them or bail on them, or like how one family is richer than another. We may be close, but we barely skim the surface with each other. We're the only ones each other has, and too many secrets will collapse our entire friendship.

X X X

"Mom, I'm home!"

No response.

"Dad, I'm home!"

"Great, perfect...yup, we'll just need you to sign there..."

"Mom?"

I wander into my mom's office, a large amount of shopping bags in hand. My mom's flipping through a ridiculously long contract, not pausing as I drop my bags by her feet.

"Do you want to see what I got?" I ask.

"That's great sweetie," my mom replies. I roll my eyes.

"Mo-om, come onnnnnnnn!" I know I'm whining, but I can't help it. Can't she pay attention to me for just one minute?

"Hold on, honey. If I don't work on this this, you wouldn't be able to live in this mansion or go to your fancy private school."

I bite my lip to keep from yelling that I don't really care and instead pull the contract out of my mom's hands and hide it behind my back. There. Now she'll have to talk to me. But instead, my mom looks up and glares at me.

"ELOISE! GIVE THAT BACK TO ME THIS INSTANT!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" I reply, tossing the contract back at my mom. I didn't realize she'd get so mad at me. "I just want to talk to you," I add.

"We'll talk at dinner. Go play with your Barbies or something. Or you know what, go shopping with Brittany again. You can spend another thousand dollars. Happy?"

"No, Mom, I just really want--"

"Good. Now leave me alone. Please."

I sigh, then back out of my mom's office and head up to my room. My phone dings as I plop down onto my king-sized bed and I pull it out to see another message from Brittany.

Brittany: What'd your mom think?

Eloise: She was...neutral. Well, she didn't bother looking.

Brittany: I'm sorry...I know how awful that is.

Eloise: Nope! I love the privacy I get! It's totally fine.

Brittany: If you say so...are you up for shopping again tomorrow?

Eloise: Yeah. My parents are so great! They gave me another thousand dollars :)

Brittany: Great, see you then!

I turn off my phone, stare at it for a second, then chuck it across the room. It flies out my door and I hear it shatter on the downstairs floor.

"ELOISE!" I hear my mom and dad holler at the same time. My dad tears out of his office and stops in the foyer, looking at my now-broken phone, then up at me.

"Sorry," I mutter.

"You need to learn to be careful," my dad snaps, then calls over our housekeeper to clean it up. He turns to head into his office, then pauses, takes a few hundred dollars out of his pocket, and leaves them on the stairs before he vanishes again. I eye the bills, annoyed. Really? The only time my parents pay any attention to me at all is when I break my phone? And what about the punishment? Where's my grounding, my "get a new one yourself", my "look at how you wasted our money!"? Where's my...hold on.

That's it!

XXX

"Hi Brittany," I say with real excitement as I spot her by the mall parking lot the next day.

"Hi Eloise! You look...happy?"

"Yup! So excited to go shopping!" I give her a huge grin. Brittany looks suspiciously at me for a second, then shrugs and heads towards the mall.

"Where should we head first?" she wants to know.

"Hmm...how about Leni's? It's the most expensive place here, and I'm so looking forward to spending more than my parents agreed to. Oh, and...I need to get a new phone. Can we stop by the Peach store on our way?"

"Sounds good," Brittany agrees, and we head off.

At Peach, I pay for the newest ePhone on the market, then tuck a few pairs of ePods and a second phone in my pocket as we leave. Brittany walks ahead of me, and I pause as she steps over the threshold, then follow. The second I pass through the door, a loud beeping sounds throughout the store, echoing around the mall. Brittany freezes, then turns to look at me with a look that says, Please don't tell me you did what I think you just did. I give her a quick nod, then sprint off.

I manage to make it to Leni's before security catches up with me, since it's only a few doors down, and as soon as I'm inside, I run straight towards the perfume section. With one sweep of my arm, five expensive bottles of fragrances are shattered on the ground. With another, ten total. Another, fifteen. I go around the store, doing pretty much the same thing, not worrying about how much I'm breaking--my parents can easily pay for everything.

After leaving the perfume area, I grab a few pieces of jewelry with security tags and head out. Unsurprisingly, I'm stopped by security no more than five steps outside the store. The managers of Leni's and the Peach store show up two, one on either side of me, looking in. Brittany stands at the very back of the crowd, and at first I think she's left, but then I see her shaking her head at me like a disappointed parent. Or a friend who really cares.However, my mind's torn away from her actions when the two managers say in unison, "You're the Hart's daughter!"

XXX

Turns out, my parents were working so hard because they were knee-deep in debt but too embarrassed to tell anyone, even their own daughter. My dad was working on some top-secret project for Peach with the new manager and my mom was applying for a behind-the-scenes position at Leni's. Neither store was impressed when their employee's (or future employee's, in my mom's case) daughter robbed and destroyed their stores. Which is why I'm now on the witness stand in the district court, looking out at my very disappointed mom, dad, and...friend.

Since the incident, my parents have sold their precious mansion and we've moved into a tiny, run-down apartment in a shady area of the city. My mom's now serving up burgers at the town cafe, where I was banned from as soon as my mom was accepted. My dad's been spending his days talking with pro bono lawyers. Both are ignoring me, just like before. If only I'd just left things alone.