Crazy Family Stories

We were sitting in science class, bored out of our minds, when we all heard it. It was so loud we thought it was an earthquake. One guy in our class dived under his desk. The windows were shaking. Then we saw it. A helicopter was landing right on the soccer pitch. The girls ran to the window squealing, thinking it was a celebrity. I knew exactly who it was, and my heart sank. I had to get out before he found me. The door opened and my dad stepped out. He was wearing a purple velvet Gucci suit, crocodile skin shoes, and gold crusted sunglasses. He looked ridiculous. Suddenly the girls weren't interested anymore. My old best friend Sally started laughing and pointing at him. I was burning with shame. I asked the teacher if I could use the bathroom, but it was too late. He was already waving outside the door. He didn't even wait. He burst into our lesson and shouted, "Say bye to everyone because you are off to a new school! But don't worry, your friends can come flying with us anytime!" I wanted to die. Ever since my dad became a billionaire, he turned into a complete psycho. And this was only the beginning. He was standing there humiliating me after I had done such a good job hiding how rich we were. For months I wore old clothes and never talked about our mansion. I just wanted to be normal. I grabbed my bag and pushed him out. As we left, I heard Sally say loudly, "If her dad's so rich, how come she still dresses like she lives on the streets?" My dad heard her too and apologized for not buying me new clothes yet. He even offered to get me a matching purple suit. I couldn't think of anything worse. He told me to wait until we got home because he had a big surprise. I looked back and every single student was staring at us from the windows. I knew I'd be all over i********: in five minutes. At first being rich was fun. When he first sold his company, we took cool vacations and he bought a massive boat, which I loved because I love the water. That was amazing. But then he changed. He started wearing ridiculous designer outfits that cost more than our old house. And suddenly he had more friends than ever before. Old friends he hadn't seen in years crawled out of the woodwork. Cousins we never knew started calling. That's why I didn't want anyone at school to know how rich we were. I knew they would only like me for the money. In the helicopter, my dad was so excited, but I just sat with my head in my hands. My phone kept beeping non-stop. People were posting videos of us. My boyfriend texted, "You told me your dad was rich, but I didn't know he was THIS rich." I was getting friend requests from strangers. This was exactly what I didn't want. When we got home, I went straight to my room. But my dad ran after me and asked if I wanted to see the surprise. He dragged me to the pool. You will not believe what was in it. An actual car sitting at the bottom. He was laughing and said he bought it especially for me - a submarine sports car. Because I love the ocean, he thought it would be perfect. My own submarine I could drive in water. He waited for me to scream with happiness, so I forced a smile. But I couldn't even legally drive yet. I was only fifteen. This was ridiculous. As I walked away muttering "Thanks," he chased me and said it was just an early birthday present. My real present was the epic party he had planned. "What party?" I asked. He winked and said he already invited the whole school. It would be the biggest party anyone had ever seen. I didn't even like half the people at my school. I was a bit of a loner and I liked it that way. I just wanted a quiet day with my boyfriend. Then he told me he hired someone to send gifts to everyone to invite them. He had sent everyone in my year a brand new personalized cell phone with the invite inside the box. They would get them that evening. I almost screamed. I went to find my mom, but she wasn't bothered. She was loving the luxury life, lying by the pool having a hot stone massage, and told me to leave her alone. So I was the only one who didn't love being this rich. I woke up the next day dreading school. Everyone was flashing their new phones in my face, being fake nice to me. At lunch, Sally came to sit next to me. She said maybe we should be best friends again. After all, we were best friends as little kids. How about the fact she had turned into a brat and bullied me for two years? I said no, but she wouldn't leave. She even snapped a picture of us together to post online. My boyfriend saved me. He walked over and Sally finally left. The whole day everyone talked about my party. People I never spoke to came up to act like my best friend. If this was celebrity life, I was fine being normal. I got home and saw my dad sitting by the pool alone. He looked sad and miserable. I ran over to check, but when he saw me he quickly smiled and hugged me. I asked if he was okay and he said, "Of course I am, princess." Then he ran inside and I heard barking. Oh no, he didn't. But he had. He bought me a tiny handbag dog. He said he ordered it from Japan and all rich girls need a handbag dog. Then I walked into the kitchen and there was a stranger sitting at our table eating our food. I was used to butlers and cleaners, but this guy didn't look like staff. He jumped up and said, "You must be Cara. Hi, I'm Frank, your new personal assistant. Whatever you need, just let me know." My dad was behind him smiling proudly and I said, "Dad, I'm 15. I don't need a personal assistant." Then I left them there. Frank wouldn't give up. He followed me everywhere. He brought me water I didn't ask for and offered to show me how the submarine car worked. But he was only nice when my dad was watching. I even caught him lounging in our private cinema eating popcorn when my dad wasn't home. It was like he only took the job to hang out at our mansion. And his dad was around a lot too. Suddenly he was my dad's new best friend. One night I warned my dad to be careful. I said I didn't trust Frank or his dad. He got defensive and said Frank's dad was the best and he had even lent him the helicopter for the weekend. I thought, wow, this guy was clearly using my dad. It was obvious to everyone except him. My birthday finally arrived, and I was woken up at 7 a.m. by my dad riding a white horse with a plastic horn glued on - like a unicorn - right into my bedroom. I actually tried to escape before the party. I packed a small bag and tried to sneak out the back gate, but Frank caught me and called security to block me. I felt like a prisoner in my own home. My dad bought a cake the size of a small house. And there were ten ponies with horns glued on prancing around pretending to be unicorns. Then the worst part, my dad came out in a leopard print onesie and said it was a fancy dress party. He gave me and my mom matching outfits. My mom put hers on excitedly, but I refused. Pretty soon people started arriving. It wasn't just people from school. There were strangers who claimed to be old friends with my dad, and they headed straight for the table where my dad had put free gifts for all guests. It was my birthday, not theirs. Then Sally arrived. I went to my dad and asked why she was here. He ignored me and ran over to her saying, "Look how grown up you are!" She hugged me and whispered, "Let's just play nicely for your daddy's money, okay?" Then laughed. I saw Frank eyeing her up. He asked me if she was single. That was the exact moment my boyfriend arrived. I was so happy to see him. He handed me a gift - my all-time favorite book I had wanted for months. I thanked him, but Frank was right there. Then Frank interrupted and gave me a velvet box. It was a diamond necklace worth thousands. My boyfriend asked who he was and Frank winked and said he was my new best friend. When my boyfriend introduced himself, Frank said, "Oh, I've never even heard of you before, mate. Cara never mentioned you." You could have cut the tension with a knife. My boyfriend looked upset and embarrassed. My dad appeared to meet him, but it was too late. My boyfriend was walking away. I ran after him and he said he didn't recognize me anymore and maybe I should just date Frank since he had more money. I almost burst into tears. Frank put his arm around me and said, "Aw, don't cry. Come on, babe. Let's get back to your party." This was a disaster. Everyone was here not because they liked me, but because my dad was rich. And now I lost the one person I wanted here. I went to find my dad and exploded when I saw him chatting with Sally like she was his daughter. She was showing him our photo, lying that we were best friends again. I asked to talk privately and told him he was destroying my life. I said, "I wish you'd never become a billionaire. I miss the old you." For a moment, my dad looked really hurt. But then he saw everyone looking and went to join them to pretend everything was fine. I saw Sally's parents there too, and they turned their backs on him when he wasn't looking. He tried to smile, but he looked lonely. I went to my room and locked the door. I wanted everything to go back to how it was before we were rich. Eventually people left, but I still heard Sally by the pool with Frank. Then I saw my dad with Sally's parents near the bar. They were pitching a new business idea to get his money. He got up to get them a drink, and as soon as he walked away, they started laughing at him and whispering about how dumb he was. It made me sick. I told my dad they needed to leave now, but he said he was about to sign a contract to give them a million dollars. I couldn't let it happen. He looked exhausted and wasn't thinking straight. I walked straight to them and told them it was late and time to leave. They laughed at me. I lost it and said if they didn't leave in two minutes I would call security. They called me a spoiled brat. So I really did call security. The guards asked them to leave. They made a fuss and grabbed more gift bags on the way out. Sally shouted that I couldn't even buy friends and I was destined to be a loser forever. My dad heard everything. He collapsed onto a sun lounger and I shouted at him. I told him you can't buy happiness and Sally's parents just wanted his money. Same with Frank's dad. They were laughing behind our backs. I said I knew he wasn't happy because I had caught him looking miserable alone by the pool for weeks. Suddenly, he started crying. I had never seen my dad cry before in my whole life. He said he was sorry. He only hired Frank because he thought he might be a good match for me and he wanted Frank's dad to be friends because he was lonely. But now Frank liked Sally and everything messed up. He hired Frank to date me? How could he? I wanted to scream again, but seeing him crying alone, I just felt sorry for him. He was desperate for people to like him. He said he missed work and regretted selling his company because now all he did was buy ridiculous clothes and eat expensive caviar and ride in a helicopter he didn't even like. He knew people were laughing at him, but he didn't know what else to do with all this money. That night was a turning point. Dad told Sally's parents the deal was off, and he fired Frank and got his helicopter back from Frank's dad. Then he said he had one last surprise. I wasn't interested, but he dragged me to the garden. And believe it or not, he nailed this one. He had convinced my boyfriend to get back together with me, and arranged a sunset helicopter ride over town for just us three. When we passed over Sally's house, I asked if we could land in their garden to rub our money in their faces. But my dad laughed and said he didn't want to land on their tainted land. So it all worked out. My boyfriend took me back. Sally never spoke to me again, which was perfect. And my dad went back to dressing normally in jeans and a t-shirt. He donated the helicopter and the submarine car and all the other crazy stuff to charity. And now he has real friends again. Not because he is a billionaire, but because he is actually a super nice guy. We're thinking of starting a small business together now doing party planning. Because let's be honest, my dad knows how to throw one heck of a crazy party.