“Hey squirt!” his father called as he walked by the kitchen, “how was school?”

“Horrible. As usual.” Was Rays disgruntled response as he turned to look at his father.

Jameson frowned, looking up from the newspaper. “I’m sorry to hear that son. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, it’s fine.” Sighed Ray.

He continued towards his room.

“Don’t forget!” Called his father, “report cards came in today. We’ll be discussing them at dinner tonight.”

Back in his room Ray collapsed on his bed. How could he have forgotten? He had been dreading it all week. It was just another chance for him to be compared to his perfect brother and his perfect sister. The two of them were constantly making the honor roll, a list of students who had achieved either a B+ average or better. Something that never happened for Raymond. Inevitably he would be lectured by the whole family tonight.

He knew exactly how the conversation would go. Depending on how poorly he did he may even be grounded for a few weeks. All of his inhibitions and self-loathing came bubbling to the surface. The tears he seemed to have been holding back all day finally overwhelmed him. He laid in bed crying quietly, feeling more trapped then usual.

“Why was I ever even born?”