On the last day of the Lantern Festival, my sister was catching up on her winter vacation homework, crazily. She rushed it from morning till evening, but she still had a lot left undone by dinner time.

That evening I took a shower earlier than usual. Then I played a game on the phone on the sofa. Around 11 pm I was going to bed. I had to go to my study to pack up for school. Around 11.20, Father came in and said, “Ivy, your sister’s homework is too much. She cannot finish it. Can you help her out?” I would have refused it, but Father simply put my sister’s homework down and left. I had no choice but to do it, for my dear sister.

As I was busily writing my sis’s homework, which was no big deal for a high schooler like me, I heard Mother hollering in the living room.

“Every time I asked you to do your homework in the holiday,” Mother bawled, “you said you had a headache. Now your sis is doing it for you, your headache should be gone!”

As tired as I was, I went on with the drudgery. Then my sis came in and asked, “Sis, how soon will you finish it? I’m going to bed.” Feeling a little resentment, I shot an angry glance at her before I said, “Since you are headache-free, you can get it done yourself.” Hearing that, my cheeky sis scampered away, yelling, “Oh no, I have a stomach-ache now.”

At 11.40, my parents and my sis went to bed, leaving me sorting out the homework in my room. When I finally reached the last page of the workbook, I could hardly open my eyes. I checked the time. OMG, it was 1 am. I would have to be up early in the morning for school.

I keep wondering why even a first grader like my sis has so much homework these days.