I Don't Trust Anyone OR Anything!

Master Mixer

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00:00Hi, I'm Mia from LA. Please like and subscribe. Growing up, it was just me and my mom, who was a

00:05famous photographer working for big brands and celebrities. So you'd think, with a photographer

00:10parent, I'd have a beautifully documented childhood. Well, you'd be wrong. I hardly had

00:15any pictures because mom was always too busy, and I was raised by nannies. Sure, mom gave me

00:21everything, but she couldn't make much time for me. She did try by setting up her studio at home,

00:26but once when she was in a meeting, I slipped into her darkroom and switched on the lights,

00:30and all her photos were destroyed. That nanny was fired, and mom relocated her studio,

00:35and then she hired a lady named Susan, who was the coolest. Susan could play hide-and-seek with me

00:40for hours. She'd always let me do her makeup, and she even taught me how to slide down our main

00:45staircase. She'd pitch up a tent in our backyard, and then tell me stories around a fire. And what

00:50a storyteller she was, she'd just make up magical tales in the moment, and I was hooked. What are

00:56you thinking, you lily-livered, yellow-bellied skellywag? I was thinking, you should be my mom.

01:02Susan laughed it off, but I was kinda serious. She even gifted me my first notebook when I turned

01:07eight, because she knew I loved writing stories, and that meant more to me than any of the presents

01:12mom had sent. Yeah, she couldn't make it to my birthday. Once when I was nine, Susan had taken the

01:17day off, and I ended up being stuck with mom at a photo shoot at some historical building.

01:22Mom, I'm bored. Read your book, Mia. But I'm also hungry and sleepy. Think of something fun to do

01:29for a little longer, okay? Okay. But you better come find me soon. Yeah, soon. So I skipped off to

01:35find an amazing hiding place. I thought it was clear to mom that we were playing hide-and-seek. As I

01:40waited for her in my spot, I dozed off, and when I woke up, it was kinda dark. I tried to find my way

01:45back to mom's shoot, but I was totally lost. Luckily, a security guard found me and took me

01:50to the nearest police station, and the only number I knew by heart was Susan's. Sometime later, both

01:55mom and Susan came running in, and I jumped straight into Susan's arms. Sweetie, you really

02:01scared your mom. Give her a hug. But I was so mad at her because she didn't come looking for me.

02:06Susan would have never let that happen. Soon after, in fifth grade, I came home from school

02:11one day to find a girl my age in the kitchen eating my cereal. Who are you, and why are

02:15you here? And who eats cereal for lunch? I eat what I want when I want. You're not my

02:19boss. Now shoo. I was about to smack that thief in the face when Susan walked in, and

02:23she introduced the girl as Harper, her daughter. I didn't even know Susan had one, and I felt

02:28a pang of jealousy. Your mom has to travel out of town more often, so she's requested

02:33that I live here now. And I'm moving in with Harper. Isn't that great? I'm sure you two

02:37will get along wonderfully. I was certain that we would not. She was a nuisance. She

02:41threw away all my markers caps so they dried out, spilled juice all over my bed to make

02:46it look like pee, and gave my favorite shoes to a stray dog. But I only had to scream, and

02:51Susan would tell her off. Harper would tag along with us everywhere, and she'd glare at me

02:55and make comments under her breath when Susan was out of earshot. If you don't stop annoying

02:59me, I'll tell Susan to make you leave. She's my mom. If I leave, she leaves with me. Well,

03:05she likes me better. As if your mom pays her to spend time with you. You're just a job

03:10to her. I'd never really thought about it that way, but it was true. That didn't mean

03:14she loved me any less, did it? Soon enough, mom got Harper into my school. I was the top

03:19student in class, but she replaced me quickly. Her mental math was faster, her science projects

03:24were more inventive, and her creativity had the English teacher gushing. Usually, the person

03:29with the best story would be selected to read theirs out loud every week, and now it was

03:33always her. And one day, when I walked into the living room, I saw Harper on the sofa with

03:38her feet up, watching TV, and the sight boiled my blood. I just didn't want her here. It's

03:43time for my show. Please leave. There's a TV in your mom's room. Watch it there. It's

03:47not your place to tell me what to do. What's that supposed to mean? I thought my mom was

03:51like family. That makes me family too, so deal with it. I snapped and dumped her bowl of popcorn

03:56on her head. She pounced on me, and as I was pushing her off, I sent her crashing into a

04:01table, knocking off a huge vase. Susan came running in at the noise, and she went bonkers

04:06on Harper. How could you do this? You know better. But mom... No, Harper, I told you.

04:11You had to be perfect. Do you want to go back to the way things were? You get to go to a great

04:16school and live in a nice place, but if you can't appreciate that, then we leave today. I'd never

04:21seen Susan so mad, and I didn't want her to quit. Also, I felt a little bad for Harper.

04:26Wait, it was an accident. I tripped, and she was just helping me up. Susan calmed down, and

04:32after that day, things started getting better between me and Harper. Once we both backed

04:36off from annoying each other, we realized that we actually had a lot in common, especially

04:40our love for writing. And over time, we became like siblings who were constantly competing

04:44and arguing over dumb things. But we certainly didn't hate each other anymore. By the time

04:49we reached high school, mom had expanded her studios to several locations. She wanted me

04:54to take an interest in the business, and even though I pretended I didn't like tagging along,

04:58I actually loved the glamorous shoots and meeting celebrities. I even started hanging out with

05:03celebrity kids my age, and they were something else. They shopped in private malls and had front

05:09row tickets to every concert. And once, I went to a party with a giant indoor wave pool, which

05:14was awesome. I'd often invite Harper to join us, but she never seemed comfortable around them.

05:19One night, we were at a burger joint when they decided it would be fun to break into an

05:23amusement park at night and operate the rides.

05:25Oh, that sounds fun. Right, Harper? Um, no, it doesn't. It sounds illegal. Don't be such a buzzkill.

05:31You only live once, girl. Unclench your butt cheeks. Mia, this is a bad idea, and mom would

05:36never approve. Yeah, so we're not telling her. I'll just text Susan and say we're staying at a

05:40friend's tonight. No, I'm going home. What a loser. Let's go, Mia. We had a blast at the amusement

05:46park, and even narrowly escaped when a security guard turned up. We almost peed our pants laughing as we

05:52drove away, and it was such a thrill. But Harper had a sour face the next day. Just spit it out.

05:58What's your problem with my friends? They're fun and perfectly nice people. They're not nice.

06:03Haven't you noticed their comments on my appearance? They're just giving you some

06:06friendly fashion advice. They're being condescending, Mia, and they're reckless, spoiled brats who are

06:12just used to their parents getting them whatever they want. Okay, so my mom also gets me anything I

06:18want, Harper. Is that what you think of me, too? No, of course not. It's different with you. But I

06:23caught Harper rolling her eyes when mom got me a sports car for my 17th birthday. Also, when I got

06:28into a college business program without taking the entry test because mom knew the dean. And she got

06:33really pissed when my friends were over one day, and one of them knocked their drink over on Mia's

06:38laptop and fried it. Things were tense between us, but when I found out about a national story contest,

06:44I went straight to Harper with it, trying to get into her good books. Won't you be entering it

06:48yourself? Or maybe you can just win it anyway because your mom probably knows someone. Stop

06:53being so snarky. I haven't written something in ages, so no, I'm not entering. But you should,

06:58Harper. The winner even gets a scholarship to a great writing program. She finally agreed,

07:03and some weeks later, she sent off her story. And then one day, she burst into my room excitedly.

07:08Mia, I won. Holy marbles, I actually won. What? The contest. Not only am I getting the

07:14scholarship, Mia, they want to turn my short story into a novel, and it's going to be published.

07:20Can you imagine? Oh, thank you for convincing me to enter. Harper, that's amazing. I gotta tell mom,

07:26she's going to be so happy. I couldn't help feeling a little jealous, though. I'd always wanted to have

07:31a story published, and Harper was actually getting to do it. I pushed the thought away. I could do it

07:36someday, too, and I was happy for her. That is, till her book came out. It was my first time reading

07:41her script, and my heart started racing. I couldn't believe my eyes as I frantically skimmed

07:46through the pages. These were my stories. Not exactly word for word, but the main themes and so

07:52many ideas, they were mine. I stormed downstairs and shoved the book in Harper's face. You cheat.

07:58What? These are my ideas, Harper. You stole them from my notebooks. How could you stoop so low?

08:03Are you crazy? Why would I even look through your notebooks? Then how did my ideas magically appear

08:09in your story? Because they're my ideas. But of course, you found a way to make it about yourself.

08:14You've always thought you're better than me, because I'm just the help's daughter. Don't

08:19change the subject, witch. And I've loved Susan like my own mom. Yeah, and never thought about how

08:24you took all her time away from me. I was at home with my rotten grandma while mom looked after

08:29your highness. Well, we were gonna leave after high school anyway, but now with my book deal,

08:34I'm sure I can take mom away even faster. I always knew you were jealous of me, and I was right.

08:40Jealous? Of you? Oh, please. Why would I be jealous of someone whose mother can't be bothered to talk

08:45to her more than twice a month? Shut up, Harper. I never want to speak to you again. Fine by me.

08:51Susan was really upset when she found out about our fight, and she tried to make us talk,

08:56but I refused. I couldn't even look at Harper. And then one night, some reporters came to interview

09:01her at the house and asked her where she got her inspiration. Oh, my mom's always been a great

09:06storyteller. I wouldn't be here without her. You wouldn't be here without me, Harper. Hey,

09:11everyone. Here's something you should... Harper attacked me, and suddenly we were fighting like

09:15wild cats till our mom pulled us apart. Mom asked the reporters to leave, and when I told her

09:20everything, she was livid. After everything I've done for you two, and this is how you repay me?

09:26Stealing ideas from my daughter and attacking her too? I want you both gone. Now. It broke my heart

09:31to see Susan leave like this, but it was all her evil daughter's fault. It didn't make me feel better,

09:36though. I didn't even want to meet any of my friends. Then one night, mom knocked on my door.

09:41Hey, sweetie. Want to go out for dinner? I don't really feel like it, mom. Do it for me anyway.

09:45I reluctantly agreed, and she took me to a small Italian restaurant. This is where your father and I

09:50came on our first date. You don't ever talk about him, mom. You really don't talk to me at all.

09:55Your father was a photographer too. He got sick soon after I got pregnant with you. It was really

10:00hard for me to deal with his loss, and I just threw myself into work. Also, I always wanted to make

10:05sure I had enough to take care of you on my own, but I think I've let you down. What do you mean?

10:11I can see how much you miss Susan, and she's made you into the kind of person you are today,

10:15not me. It used to hurt my feelings when you preferred her as a kid, but I can't blame you.

10:19Is there anything I can do to make up for me not being there? Mom, I've always appreciated

10:25everything you've given me, but I think I just want your time now. Over the years,

10:29mom and I grew closer, and I got more involved with her business. I'd see Harper on the news.

10:34She'd turned her novel into a trilogy and gained worldwide success. I tried to get over my bitterness,

10:39but I just couldn't forget the betrayal. Then one day, my assistant let in a visitor,

10:43and I was shocked to see Harper. What are you doing here? I don't want to see you.

10:47Please, Mia, just hear me out. She told me that Susan had fallen sick and had been in

10:51the hospital for months. My heart sank at the news. She's recovering now, but she keeps asking

10:57to see you. Please, you should hear what she has to say. I put all my differences aside and ran to

11:02see her, and hugging her made me feel like a kid again. Susan, I've missed you so much.

11:07I've missed you too, Mia. But what's happened? Are you okay? Yes, yes, I'm much better,

11:13but there's something I have to tell you now. Okay? What is it? Harper didn't steal your stories,

11:19Mia. I did. I felt like someone had punched me. It wasn't intentional. Believe me. You remember how

11:24you always shared your stories with me over the years? When Harper was writing for that contest,

11:29she had writer's block, and I gave her some ideas. I didn't realize those were all yours or that it

11:34would be such a big deal. But after you two fought, I realized what I'd done. But I just couldn't

11:39come clean. I didn't want to take away this amazing thing from my daughter, but I felt so

11:43awful for the pain I caused you, Mia. I am so sorry. Do you think you can ever forgive me?

11:49Please don't cry, Susan. I just need some time to process this, okay? I sat outside her hospital

11:55room, still trying to wrap my head around everything. Just then, Harper joined me. Mom just told me a week

12:01ago, Mia. I really had no idea. But we can fix this. I can announce publicly that some ideas were yours,

12:07and you can be given due credit. No, Harper, slow down. It's okay. You know what? Your mom inspired

12:13me to write stories, too. I'm sure so many of my ideas came from her. It kind of feels right that

12:18they came back to you. And I'm enjoying being part of mom's business, and I'm glad you've done so well

12:23for yourself. I'm glad you're happy, too, Mia. And about all those things I said, I didn't really mean

12:29them. Me neither. Forget about it. Can we be friends again? As long as you bring your mom along.

12:33I only tolerated you because of her. Right back at ya.

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