The "Fair" Lottery Chapter 1

My parents always claimed to treat all their children exactly the same.

Whenever there was a chance to get something new for the house, they’d make the three of us kids draw lots via a group text app to decide who would buy it.

And I always seemed to draw the big-ticket items—like a dishwasher, an AC unit, or a massage chair.

Meanwhile, my younger brother and older sister would only ever draw cheap, insignificant things, like a $30 blender or a basic grocery care package.

It wasn't until the day I helped my dad fix his phone that a text message popped up: "Hey man, the lottery bot app updated. You can rig the results and run multiple draws now. You said the client is getting suspicious? Just set the same result three times in a row."

That’s when I realized I was the "client."

That evening, the family group chat lit up again. My dad texted: "We need to upgrade to a minivan for family road trips. Let's see which sweet child gets the lucky draw today!"

But what my dad didn't know was that I had already installed an anti-cheat lottery app on my phone.

In the end, the person who drew the short straw to buy the car was my little brother. My parents were absolutely stunned.

* * *

When the draw results popped up, the group chat went a bit quiet.

My brother, Tyler, was in disbelief: "Me???"

I chimed in: "Wow! Tyler, you're the lucky winner!"

My dad was probably a little confused. He sent a voice memo to the group: "Alright! Just to be fair, let's do best out of three!"

The results disappointed my dad. The next draw picked my older sister, Chloe, and the final draw picked Tyler again. I was completely left out.

Chloe sent a speechless emoji: "Lost my chance to treat mom and dad."

Tyler got angry: "What the heck! Why is my luck so bad today!"

Me: [?????]

My mom came out to smooth things over: "What do you mean 'bad luck'? Spending money on your parents is called giving back. Your sister was so happy when she drew the central AC before! When she got her $12,000 year-end bonus, she spent it on us—that's what we call a blessing!"

Tyler grumbled: "What blessing? Let Chloe have this blessing then!"

I suppressed the cold laugh in my heart and replied: "I've drawn a $5,000 massage chair, a $2,000 fridge, and a $12,000 central AC system before. What did you guys say back then? Didn't you say that God favors those who honor their parents? Why are you unhappy now that you won?"

Tyler lost his temper: "Harper Vance! Stop being so sarcastic! This car is $25,000! Why don't you buy it for Mom and Dad!"

As soon as Tyler said that, the group chat suddenly went dead silent.

Nobody had called me by that name in a long time.