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Hello, besties! I'm Layla, and I'm

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from India. Please like and subscribe

0:04

to SDA. I was born into a family

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of accountants. And when I was just two years old,

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Dad gave me my first calculator. This

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is a calculator, Layla. If you want

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to be a great accountant one day, you need

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to start now. Of course I had no idea

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what he was talking about. I was just two. Right

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after he left the room, I threw the calculator

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like a flying saucer. And when I was nine,

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I finally realized what I wanted to be after

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watching a space channel on Mom!

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Dad!

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I know what I want to be when I grow up! I

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want to be an astronaut! Layla,

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have you been watching nonsense again on your mother's

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phone? Not nonsense, Dad. YouTube.

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Enough! From now on, you will watch

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educational programs with us. I wanted

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to talk back, but back-chatting in my family

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meant you were grounded for life. I sat

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down and watched their boring accounting channel.

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And then all of a sudden, my eyes started burning,

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and everything became blurry. Mom!

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My eyes are burning! Stop being dramatic,

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Layla, and watch!

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I'm not! I can't see! Mom!

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Dad! Help!

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I think she's telling the truth. We have to take her to

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the hospital. Mom and Dad rushed me to the hospital.

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I was diagnosed with radiation cataracts.

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This was caused by too much light from a screen,

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like a TV, phone, or computer. I

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guess you can forget about being an astronaut now. Because

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up there, you would have to see lots of light every day.

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Why do you have to be so horrible, Dad? I'm

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your child, and I have a sickness! Calm

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down, Layla. Dad

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was just joking. Well,

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no one is laughing.

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I was devastated about what was happening to

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me. The doctor even said that in a few years,

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I would need to have an operation, or else I would

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be blind. But then my hope flourished again

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when I saw a shooting star. I was

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not going to give up. I continued to frustrate

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my parents about my passion. When I was 15, I

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made my own astronaut costume and wore it

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for career day at school. As I walked in

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confidence, some kids laughed, but that

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didn't bother me. Until a douchebag with a huge

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camera flashed the thing in my face, causing

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me to lose my sight. And I walked into a locker.

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Hey, are you

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alright? I... I am... I was so sorry.

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I was just admiring your costume and since

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I'm a future photographer I- Quiet!

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My eyes are still burning from your camera flash!

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Oh no, I am so sorry. Please,

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let me help you to class. My name is Shane. I'm

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actually in your science class. I hate science,

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but you're so brilliant and- Shane, I know who

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you are, so please go. I'll be fine.

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Are you sure? Your eyes are turning red and- Shane

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was the class chatterbox. Everyone ran away

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from him because he could never shut up. And now

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because of this little incident, I seemed stuck

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with him. He even followed me home after school.

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Shane, what are you doing? I'm making sure you

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get home safe. I'm a real gentleman. My

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mother always told me to be polite, but my father,

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well, he's never around. Always busy,

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it is big accounting for him. I don't like accounting

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and I- Okay, okay. I'm home now so

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you can go. Before Shane could cycle off,

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Dad's car pulled over and he got out looking

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so mad.

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Dad, why do you look so angry? I

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just got fired! So yes, I am mad.

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I'm sorry to hear that, sir. My dad owns a

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company. Maybe I can talk to him for you? Layla,

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who is this? Is he your boyfriend? Are

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you bringing boyfriends home while we're at work? No.

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Dad, how can you think that? No,

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no, sir. I was just making sure your daughter is safe.

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Which company does your father own? The biggest

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accounting firm in the country, B&G, sir.

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Your father is a crook! He just fired me

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for a mistake he made! And he's been stealing

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a lot of money from many people!

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Oh, that's not true. I can- Get

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out of here, you child of a thief! Shane

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drove away and Dad warned me never to speak

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to him again. I agreed, but things at home

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after Dad lost his job were never the same. Mom

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would come home from work and still clean, while

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Dad just sat around all day watching TV. And

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he was so grumpy, we couldn't even laugh

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when he was around. And then one day, during

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the early hours of the morning, I got up to drink a glass

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of water and found Mom crying in the

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kitchen as she looked at the bills. Mom,

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are you okay? Layla, what

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are you doing up?

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I was thirsty. You're crying. I'm

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just so tired. You might have to use

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the money we saved up for your cataract operation

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to pay these bills. It's okay, Mom.

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I'm sure I won't go blind just-

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Days later, I had to eat my words up because

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my eyes were not doing so well, since I struggled

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to see a single thing on the class board. When

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I excused myself to the bathroom, I could hardly find my way. And

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when I got to the bathroom, I got the shock of

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my life when Shane suddenly screamed. Oh! Why

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are you here? I'm here to use

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the bathroom. Why are you here? Using

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the bathroom? Wait, are the boys and girls

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sharing the same bathroom now? I know you ladies

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always fight for equal rights, but this would

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be a little over the top.

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I looked closer at the door sign, and my face

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turned red with embarrassment. Oh my gosh,

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Shane. I am so sorry. I didn't

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read the sign right. It's OK. It happens.

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I made a mistake like that twice before. My

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excuse was my eye problem. I wondered what

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his was. Let me go

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before anyone else sees me. After my little

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incident with Shane, he somehow assumed we

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were friends and followed right behind me during

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lunch break. I think the universe is trying

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to say something to us. What do you think it's saying?

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That we're meant to be friends. My dad specifically

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told me to stay away from you, so

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I don't think so. Wow. I should

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try that too. Chocolate syrup and hot dog. Huh?

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You put chocolate syrup all over your hot dog. I think I

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should try that. Here, you can have

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mine. Mm, this is so delicious.

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Wow, what a discovery. Shane

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was definitely a special kind of species, but

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what troubled me the most was how bad my eyes were becoming,

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because the next thing I did was walk into a wall. And

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of course, Shane was there to catch me when I almost

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fell backwards. You see, I told you the

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universe was trying to bring us together.

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No, leave me alone, Shane. When

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I tried to get away from him, I walked

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into another wall. But this time, I blacked

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out. After some time, I opened

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my eyes and everything was black. It was like

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I was in a dark hole and couldn't get out, so I

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started panicking.

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Ah! Where am I? I can't

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see! Layla,

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calm down. You're in my car.

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I can't see. It's

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over. Oh. Oh. Oh.

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I'm blind. What are you talking about? How

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is this possible? I told Shane everything,

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and he cradled me in his eye. arms as I cried my

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eyes out. I'm here for you, and I'm going

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to drive you to the hospital now. When I got to

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the hospital, I was rushed to the emergency ward,

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and I was so scared that Shane

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was right by my side. Shane, what's

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going on? The doctors are gonna make your

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eyes better. But my parents don't have the money for

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this. Don't worry, I got you.

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After he said that, I dozed off, and I don't know

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how long I was blacked out. When I woke up, I

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still saw darkness, but after some seconds,

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I saw Mom and Dad. Lyla! Oh

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my baby, how do you feel? I can see!

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I can see, Mom! Thank

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God! Dad just looked at me sternly. Dad,

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what's wrong? You disobeyed me. I

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told you to stay away from that boy. But when we

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got here, he was here. I had to chase

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him away. You chased him away? He

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saved my life! He saved your eyes,

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not your life, and you will pay him every cent

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back. We are not a charity case! Dad

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walked away, and Mom never said anything

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back as usual. Mom, why don't

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you ever say anything back to him? Why do you always

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leave to be so mean? I didn't want to start

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a problem.

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The most important thing right now is that

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you are fine. When I was well enough to go back

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to school, Shane was the first person I couldn't

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wait to see. I didn't care what Dad said. I

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was going to be his friend, and he loved

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taking pictures of me. Oh, Lyla, you're

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a natural. You should be a model or an actress.

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I could, but I love space science. I

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know it's a strange career choice, but it gets

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me excited. Follow your dreams

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no matter what. If it wasn't for your help,

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Shane, my dreams would have been shattered.

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Thank you so much. It was

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good to have a friend like Shane who encouraged me, but

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back home when I was in grade 12, I came home

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and found Dad smiling for the first time

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in ages. What happened? Did

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you get a job? No, even better! This

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is your acceptance letter to study accounting

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at the best college in the country. You applied

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for me? Yes, it's what we plan

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for your future. But that's not what I want! You

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know how passionate I am about space. Why

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do you always ignore what I love? Lyla,

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you are going to study accounting. This is what we

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are good at. No, Dad, it's what you

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are good at.

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I applied to study space science and

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that's what I'm good at then you will not live

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under my roof You might as well start searching

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for a new home in space fine I'll

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definitely do that dad when

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mom came home from work I cried on her shoulder

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and asked her to speak to dad, but she was

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being the typical submissive wife again Oh

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Layla my baby just listen

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to your father and all will be well What

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are you not even gonna speak to him and tell

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him that there is nothing wrong with being an incredible

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scientist? We can't take risks like

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that

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on accounting is much safer

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than that career. Please think about it I

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was so mad But I had to calm down and

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play nice at least until I completed my

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grade 12 and when I eventually did graduate

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I was so excited that I even forgot that my parents

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were present and hugged Shane dad

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wasted no time to attack Lila,

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what are you doing with this boy? Come on

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dad? It's our graduation. Everyone

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is happy I told you I don't like

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this boy, but I did nothing wrong to you,

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sir And my father told me what really happened

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you were stealing enough Layla. Let's

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go. No, what is he talking about? You

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told us that Shane's father was the crook dad

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looked at me like I wasn't even his daughter at that

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moment So I drew back but him he was

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cold as a monster Layla, let's

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just go. No, she's done with school

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now. She can find her only in life I

9:18

couldn't believe how my parents walked away from me

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like that I was hurt but I

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had to stay strong Layla. I'm

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so sorry. I didn't expect them just to leave

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you That was a bit too

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harsh. I looked at Shane and

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I couldn't hold back my tears I had no

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idea what I was going to do Oh Shane

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What have I done? I have no money.

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No job. No place to stay. My father

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will never take me back I'll speak to my

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dad for you to stay in the guest house your family

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already helped with my eye operation I don't

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want to be a burden. Hey, you could never

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be a burden You're like my best friend in

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the whole wide world hearing Shane say

9:53

that help ease my shattered heart from my parents

9:55

Shane's family offered me a nice space in their guest

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house. It even had a balcony Shane

9:59

me a telescope to look at the stars as a motivation

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for my career. And one evening, while

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I was out gazing into the telescope, I accidentally

10:07

gazed into Shane's room. He was at his window,

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with his shirt off, and oh boy was

10:11

I amazed! I had no idea how much

10:14

muscles he had. I was literally drooling.

10:17

To get my mind off this sudden attraction

10:19

I had for Shane, I decided to search for part-time

10:21

jobs. And then Shane entered, and I almost

10:24

spilled coffee all over the laptop.

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Hey, what are you up to? Shane, you startled

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me! I was just looking for a job. Why?

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We have everything here. What about your

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studies? I know, I should be happy that

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I even have a scholarship, but I need to make

10:37

my own money. I don't feel right eating off

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you and your parents. I told you, you don't

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have to feel bad. I've got you. I

10:43

know Shane meant well, but I had a very big conscience

10:46

and got a job at a big toy store. I

10:48

had to dress up like different Disney characters every

10:51

day, and kids were always surrounding me. The

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job was fun, until one day, this

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one kid accidentally

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blew a bubble into my eyes. AHHH!

10:59

My eyes! It burns! The

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store owner quickly took me to the back room where

11:04

I managed to wash my eyes and cool down. It

11:06

brought back memories of when I went blind. That

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was the most scariest time of my life. The

11:11

store owner allowed me to leave early, so I

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called Shane. When he came to pick

11:15

me up, I felt so emotional and hugged him.

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Hey, what happened? Nothing

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big. I'm so grateful for you, Shane. He

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kissed me on my forehead. My feelings for him

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grew stronger, but I kept it to myself.

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Every day after work, I had to get down to studies.

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It wasn't easy studying during the evenings. Sleep

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was always over me, but Shane would

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come in with a nice cup of coffee, reminding

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me to stay focused. Thank you so much.

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How are your studies going? It's going okay,

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but there are so many other photographers who

11:43

are better than me. Hey, look at me! You

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are the best. Forget about what others can

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do and always tell yourself that you are

11:50

the best. Thank you. I needed to hear

11:52

that. I was glad to be there to motivate him,

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and I was even stunned at myself. My parents

11:56

letting me go actually made me stronger. I

11:59

scored the highest.

11:59

Just in my grades at university, I helped the

12:02

toy store make the most sales than ever before,

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and a year later, I could finally afford

12:06

my own place plus continue with my studies.

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I was so proud of myself, and so was Shane.

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You inspire me, Layla. You are such a

12:13

strong person. I could have never

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done it without you. I felt like we had a moment,

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so I did the unthinkable. I kissed Shane,

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and he pulled back. Layla, I can't.

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Oh, I feel so embarrassed. I

12:25

thought- It's

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not you. I'm gay. Oh,

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wow. How come you never told me? I

12:31

never tell anyone, just scared of not being

12:33

accepted. I hugged Shane, showing him

12:35

that I love him just the way he is. After

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Shane's big reveal, we would spend even more

12:40

time together, and then one day, I was surprised

12:42

with a new visitor. Dad? Your

12:44

mom is in hospital. Dad said mom fainted

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at work. I wasn't surprised to see mom this

12:49

way. What surprised me was dad. He

12:51

actually looked so weak.

12:52

This is all my fault. I

12:54

put so much pressure on her. You're right,

12:57

Dad. You took mom for granted. She could

12:59

never be free around you, but yet you are supposed

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to love her. Dad looked at me shocked, because

13:04

no one ever stood up to him. How can you

13:06

be so disrespectful? I'm being factual.

13:08

Change your ways, or else you'll be alone on this earth

13:11

with no one to love you. I left dad to think

13:13

about his actions. As for me, I still

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continued in my independent journey, and

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you know what? I made it. I started

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living my dream, all because I never stopped

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believing in me.