School Bullies, Meet My 109 Big Sisters Chapter 13
The exam hall was so quiet that I could hear my own heartbeat.
My pen flew across the page as I answered question after question.
The final essay question was titled “My Biggest Supporters”.
A hundred and nine faces flashed through my mind-some gentle, some cold, and some untamed.
I wrote about the mutual redemption between an abandoned baby and a group of fugitives-a decade- long struggle of darkness reaching toward the light. They gave up their violent ways for me, and I fought like hell to build a life worthy of them.
As the pen tip raced across the paper, my tears fell onto the exam sheet.
The proctor, Bruno Lombardi, walked over and placed two tissues at the corner of my desk without saying anything.
The night the SATs ended, my sisters threw me a huge celebration party.
I pulled out my college application form and placed it in front of all my sisters.
“I want to apply to the National Defense College of Science and Technology.”
Elena was so overcome that she dropped her wine glass, her eyes rimmed red.
“Dante, you want to join the military?”
I nodded and continued, “And pursue a double degree in law.”
Alessia’s glasses instantly fogged up.
“And a third major in financial management,” I added.
Giulia covered her face with her hands, tears streaming through her fingers.
I looked at them all and smiled. “I also want to establish an anti-bullying foundation and use the clean money we’ve earned to help kids who were bullied just like me.”
In the living room, 109 beautiful women wept openly.
“Dante, you’ve made us so proud.”
On the day my acceptance letter arrived, I also received a letter from the specialized correction school.
Giovanni had written to me, saying that after studying psychology there, he’d realized just how twisted and pathetic his past behavior had been.
He’d joined the school’s volunteer teaching program in a remote mountain village. When he saw the shabbily dressed, truly impoverished kids pouring everything into their studies, he was so ashamed that
he could barely live with himself.
“Dante, I don’t expect you to forgive me. But thank you for giving me a second chance. Three years from now, if I’ve earned back even a shred of worth, I’d like to volunteer at your foundation.”
I picked up my pen and wrote on the back of the letter, “I’ll be waiting.”
That summer, I officially began taking over parts of the family business.
That was when I discovered that, over the years, my sisters had anonymously built over 30 schools in
underserved communities and funded more than a thousand underprivileged college students. They had also established the country’s largest re-employment assistance fund for retired military personnel.
As I looked through those thick stacks of charity project reports, I felt tears prick at my eyes.
Standing behind me, Sofia said hoarsely, “Every single cent we earn has to be worthy of our conscience.
You taught us that.”
The realization dawned on me then. All those years, I’d been pinching every penny, believing they were still risking their lives in the underworld, dreaming of the day I could support them in their old age. But they-moved by nothing more than my naive, foolish kindness-had been fighting desperately to scrub away their pasts, just so they could give me a future I could be proud of.
The night before I left for college, all 109 of my sisters stood solemnly before me and gave me a gift each.
Sofia handed me a heavy key. “This is to the family vault. Spend it all if you want. If it’s not enough, we’ll
just print more.”
Elena unpinned a military insignia from her own shoulder and fastened it to my chest. “If you ever run into trouble you can’t solve, show this. The entire armed forces have your back.”
Alessia gave me a small badge. “This badge makes you a Special Supervisor for the Supreme Court’s
Juvenile Division. You get to go after school bullies now.”
With arms full of gifts, I looked at their faces-each of them struggling to hold it together-and said softly, “I hope I get to be your younger brother in the next life too.”
All of their eyes reddened at once. Summoning every ounce of strength, they roared in unison, “We’re
going to find you and bring you home in the next life too.”
