When the school gave the coveted Ivy League Endorsement to the girl who bullied me, I completely stopped caring. State Physics Olympiad? Hard pass. Valedictorian speech? Nope. Statewide Honors Assessments? I handed in blank Scantrons! When the Chairman of the School Board came to inspect and specifically requested an audience with me? Oh, I definitely showed up for that. I walked right onto the stage and snitched: "Dad, the school is rigging the system." 01 After the mock exam results came out, I proudly took the number one spot in the junior class with a near-perfect score. But what awaited me wasn't congratulations, but the mocking gazes of my classmates. My homeroom teacher, Mr. Harris, called me to his office based on my transcript. Going in with me was Chloe Miller, the Vice Principal's daughter. Seeing me, she shot me a provocative glare. The AC in the office was blasting warm air. Mr. Harris waited for us to sit down before cutting straight to the chase: "The Ivy League Endorsement has been decided." His eyes drifted between the two of us, then he smiled and extended a hand toward Chloe: "Congratulations." I waited expressionlessly for him to finish, then asked, "What about me?" Mr. Harris's smile froze. "Taylor, I called you here to help you process this. I know you study incredibly hard, and you've won plenty of honors over the last three years. But your academic foundation is already rock solid, whereas Chloe..." I finished his sentence for him: "Whereas Chloe has average grades, bullies her classmates, and preys on the weak." Mr. Harris: "..." Chloe flared up: "Taylor, what kind of bullshit are you spewing? Did I not teach you enough of a lesson last time?!" I shot her a cold glance. Her so-called "lesson" involved having her clique lock me in the bathroom, putting bugs and dead mice in my desk, and stealing my textbooks and throwing them in the dumpster. It wasn’t like Mr. Harris didn’t know about this. I pointed at her arrogant, entitled face. "Even with her like this, the Endorsement still goes to her?" 02 Looking embarrassed, Mr. Harris shot Chloe a warning look, then turned back to pacify me: "With your grades, you can get into any top-tier university in the country. But..." I interrupted him: "Didn't the school bulletin state that the Endorsement prioritizes the number one student in the mocks?" Mr. Harris furrowed his brows. "That's what it says, but you don't really need the extra boost from the Endorsement, do you?" No, I did need it. Before high school started, I made a bet with my dad. If I secured the Ivy League Endorsement on my own merits, I wouldn't have to study finance and could major in music instead. I refocused my gaze on Mr. Harris. "Over the last three years, I've won five national awards, sixteen state-level awards, and countless school honors. I consistently rank first in every single exam. Even with all that, the Endorsement still goes to her?" Mr. Harris instantly began sweating bullets, his lips moving but no words coming out. Chloe glared at me, raising her voice: "Are you annoying or what? He spelled it out for you! It's just one recommendation. If you piss me off, I can make sure you never hold your head up in this town again!" I ignored her, staring fixedly at Mr. Harris. Until he finally snapped impatiently: "Rules are dead, but people are alive. The spot is finalized and can't be changed. You should just focus on scoring a few extra points on the SATs. It makes no real difference." I nodded, pulled my gaze away, and turned to leave. As I walked out, Chloe chased after me and called out: "Taylor! Some people are born on third base, and some strike out. If you want to blame someone, blame your dad for being a nobody!" 03 Walking out of the office, I pulled out my phone and called my "nobody" father. He didn't pick up. A moment later, my dad texted me: "Just arrived at the embassy in DC. What's up, my precious daughter?" I chuckled dryly and typed back: "Nothing." I guess we were just mules to some people. My dad immediately transferred $5,000 into my account, adding: "Studying is hard work. Take this and treat yourself to some good food. Daddy has to go into a meeting. I'll bring you souvenirs when I get back!" The warning bell rang. The moment I stepped into the classroom, I heard Chloe's exaggerated laughter ringing out: "Ugh, it's just an Ivy Endorsement, it's not even a big deal." The sycophants hovering around her looked at me with their noses in the air. "Of course it's a big deal! It's the spot certain people would kill for." "Right? So what if she gets good grades? She still couldn't beat our Chloe." I sat down and prepped for class, acting as if I hadn't heard a thing. After class, when Mr. Harris called me over to his desk, I walked right past him, deaf to his voice. He grabbed my arm, leaned in close, and said displeased: "Next Friday is the State Physics Olympiad. You're going to represent the school. This is a state-level competition, and it concerns the school's prestige. Prepare well this week. If you have questions, go see the physics teacher..." His voice wasn't loud, but it was just enough for the whole classroom to hear. I gave him a passing glance and casually pulled my arm out of his grip. Then, using a much louder voice, I said: "I'm not going." 04 The rest of Mr. Harris's words caught in his throat. His small eyes behind his glasses widened in utter shock, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. It wasn't just him; the rest of the class was stunned, too. "Is Taylor off her meds?" "Didn't she use to love these competitions? Wherever there was a spotlight, she was there. What's wrong with her now?" "Oh—I get it. She didn't get the Endorsement, so she's deliberately rebelling against the teacher." "Tch, who does she think she is? Does she really think she can threaten him?" Mr. Harris snapped back to reality, his frown deepening. "Our school only gets one spot for this Olympiad. If you don't go, who will?" I leaned against the wall. "Whoever wants it can take it." "Taylor, this isn't just about you! It's about bringing glory to the school!" I rolled my eyes. "Who cares?" Mr. Harris: "..." His fingers were shaking with rage. "Taylor! Have I not prioritized you for every single competition? I gave you so many opportunities, and this is how you repay me?!" I almost wanted to applaud his thick skin. Just then, Chloe strutted over arrogantly. "Mr. Harris, if she doesn't want to go, let me. I only dropped five points in the physics section of the mocks. I practice AP problems all the time. I can handle it." Mr. Harris nodded. "Chloe is always so dependable. I knew I wasn't wrong about you." He then shot me a dirty look. "An ungrateful brat who bites the hand that feeds her." 05 Once Mr. Harris left, Chloe glared at me viciously. I looked back at her, my expression blank and breezy. She frowned. "What's with that look? You looking down on me?" Before I could answer, she sneered, "Don't think you're all that. It's just a little physics competition. I'll definitely place higher than you ever could." Since I didn't have a competition to prep for, my weekend freed up, and I finally went home for a visit. Only my sister-in-law, Jenna, was in the living room playing with my nephew. Seeing me, she asked in surprise: "Taylor? Aren't you prepping for the Olympiad?" I shook my head, confused. "Jenna, how did you know about the competition?" "The State Physics Olympiad is tomorrow. I was invited by the Board to proctor the exam." Jenna explained, then paused as if struck by an idea. "Since you're home, why don't you come with me?" "What would I do there?" "Don't you want to try your hand at the paper? I heard they introduced two new problem types this year. It's supposed to be brutally hard." I was instantly intrigued. Besides music, my biggest passion was cracking impossible logic puzzles. That feeling of clearing the fog fascinated me. So the next day, I went to the testing center with Jenna. After the exam officially started, she cleared out a spare office for me to take the test. Right as the clock neared the end, Jenna pushed the door open, fuming, and slammed her keys onto the desk. My train of thought broke. I looked up. "What happened?" Jenna ran a hand through her hair. "Nothing major. Just a girl caught cheating." I frowned. "Did you disqualify her?" "Not yet. It's a tricky situation, and I didn't want to disrupt the other students. I just took down her candidate number and I'll report it later." Jenna said casually, then picked up my fully answered test booklet. "Done?" "Pretty much." Jenna took my paper. "Great. I have a meeting later, so I'll drop this off with the grading committee while I'm at it. If you're bored, just call an Uber and head home first." 06 I walked out of the testing center and ran straight into Chloe and Mr. Harris. Mr. Harris took this Olympiad very seriously. He had personally escorted her to the exam, accompanied by several of her lackeys. They were laughing and chatting by the entrance, practically blocking half the doors. I had barely stepped out before they spotted me. Seeing me, they swarmed over like stray dogs spotting a bone. "Taylor, what are you doing here?" "I knew it. Talked a big game about not competing, but you're actually dying of regret inside." "Of course she is! First prize is ten thousand bucks. That's enough to feed a broke bitch like Taylor for a whole year." Mr. Harris didn't stop their mocking. Instead, he reprimanded me: "I gave you a chance and you didn't take it. What are you doing stalking us now?" I frowned. "Stalking?" Chloe demanded, "Yeah! Otherwise, how did you know the testing center was here?" I replied, "None of your damn business." Chloe flared up. "I'm trying to be nice, don't push it!" "Get lost," I said. Her lackeys quickly jumped in to smooth things over. "Chloe, don't sink to her level! She's just jealous of you!" I glanced at the lackey and said flatly, "You get lost, too." "..." Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Mr. Harris finally intervened. "Alright, enough of this. Chloe, how do you think you did?" Chloe's furious expression instantly flipped into smug triumph. "I think I nailed it. The questions were super easy, and I finished way early. Getting first place shouldn't be a problem!" 07 Her lackeys put on exaggerated looks of awe. "Wow, I knew you were the smartest, Chloe!" Mr. Harris's eyebrows practically flew off his forehead. He patted Chloe's shoulder excitedly. "I heard they added new problem types this year. Even Taylor wouldn't have been guaranteed first place. Having this much confidence—you really make me proud!" Chloe smiled. "Mr. Harris, how could Taylor even compare to me?" She paused, then added in a dramatic, mocking tone: "After all, she's just a sore loser." I took a deep breath, turned around, and prepared to leave. Chloe's mocking voice grew louder: "Taylor, running away already? Weren't you acting tough just a second ago?" I let out an "Oh," and said expressionlessly, "I don't compare myself to livestock. It's bad for my health." Chloe: "..." I don't know what she told her Vice Principal daddy when she got home. During the morning assembly the following week, Vice Principal Miller gripped the microphone and passionately praised Chloe: "Chloe Miller from the Senior AP class achieved absolutely outstanding results in the State Physics Olympiad! Let's give her an early round of applause!" Thunderous applause erupted across the school. Her dad took the opportunity to drag my name through the mud: "Furthermore, I want to criticize a certain student who thinks she is above it all. She put her personal ego above the school's honor, completely disregarding..." Before he could finish, a black SUV abruptly pulled up outside the gates behind the football field. Three men in sharp suits stepped out and strode onto the field. 08 Mr. Harris recognized them instantly. His eyes gleaming, he whispered to Vice Principal Miller: "They're from the Olympiad Ethics Committee!" Hearing this, Vice Principal Miller immediately dropped the microphone, plastered on a desperate smile, and rushed forward. "Ah, you must be the officials from the State Board! Welcome to our campus." The three men shook his hand with cool detachment. The lead investigator spoke up: "We are members of the Olympiad Ethics and Grading Committee. We came to your school today to find someone." Because the microphone was still on, their conversation faintly reached the ears of the student body. Miller, perhaps intentionally, flushed red with excitement. "Who are you looking for?" "Chloe Miller." Miller put on a 'just as I thought' expression and roared into the microphone: "Chloe! Come up here, quick!" Chloe puffed out her chest and proudly marched over to Miller's side under the gaze of the entire school. As she walked past me, she let out a cold snort. The three men confirmed her identity, then announced: "The results of yesterday's Physics Olympiad have been finalized. Regarding the student Chloe Miller, we..." Before they could finish, Miller interrupted them, unable to hide his excitement: "I know, I know! You must be here to personally congratulate Chloe! It's so much trouble for you to make the trip. Chloe has always been an exceptional kid, so taking first place was entirely within our expectations..." The more the three investigators listened, the more bewildered they looked. Finally, unable to take it anymore, they cut Miller off: "Please let us finish!" "Yes, yes, go ahead." The lead investigator pulled out a formal document: "Following a review by the Ethics Committee, Chloe Miller was found cheating during yesterday's Physics Olympiad. We are canceling her score, issuing formal disciplinary action, and delivering a state-wide notice of censure." "..." 09 Miller's eyes went wide in disbelief. "Impossible! How could my daughter possibly cheat?!" The investigator frowned impatiently and shoved the disciplinary notice into his hands. "This is the official ruling. If you wish to dispute it, you can file an appeal with the State Board of Education." That was what they said, but delivering a major disciplinary notice in person meant there was a zero percent chance of an error. As they turned to leave, Miller's face cycled through shades of red, white, and green. He reached out to block them. "What exactly happened? There were two proctors in that room and four security cameras. If she was really cheating, why wasn't she disqualified on the spot? Why wait until now to issue a ruling?" The investigator glanced at Chloe and said meaningfully: "You'll have to ask your daughter about that. She's young but full of ideas. Hiding a micro-receiver inside a hair clip? If she used that cleverness for good, she'd be brilliant." Miller whipped around to look at Chloe. "A receiver?!" Over two thousand pairs of eyes across the school zeroed in on Chloe simultaneously. What was supposed to be a commendation ceremony had turned into a public execution. Chloe's face was as white as a sheet. She stammered, "I... I don't know anything about a receiver!" "Save the excuses. All the evidence has been handed over to the police for the record. Young lady, do we need to take you down to the precinct?" Hearing the word "precinct," Chloe couldn't utter another word of defense. She dropped to her knees in front of her father. "Dad! It wasn't me! It was my friends' idea!" Miller gritted his teeth. He wanted to scream at her, but with the entire school watching, he could only manage: "Get back to your class!" Chloe hung her head in shame and slinked back to the line. A teacher from the neighboring class, who had always hated Mr. Harris, laughed sarcastically: "I thought that Chloe girl from your class was going to make headlines! Well, she certainly made headlines." Mr. Harris: "..." At that moment, I had to try my hardest to think about my dead grandmother just to keep myself from bursting out laughing. 10 After the morning assembly, Chloe was taken away by her father and never returned to the classroom. By noon, the fallout from Chloe's disciplinary action was announced. She was suspended pending investigation and barred from returning to campus for the foreseeable future. As her escorting teacher, Mr. Harris had his entire semester bonus docked. Infuriated, Mr. Harris threw a massive tantrum during the afternoon class, making passive-aggressive remarks and pinning the blame entirely on me: "Running into this mess out of nowhere—what horrible luck! If we hadn't swapped candidates, I wouldn't have suffered this injustice!" The students in the front row were too terrified to breathe. I, however, lazily propped up my blazer to make a comfortable pillow, resting my head on it, and nodded in profound agreement: "You're totally right, Mr. Harris! If we hadn't swapped candidates, everything would have been perfect!" When he said "swap candidates," he meant the Physics Olympiad. When I said it, I meant the Ivy League Endorsement. Realizing what I meant, his face grew even uglier. He pointed a finger at me and exploded: "Who asked you to interrupt when I'm speaking?! Taylor, I used to think you were a good student, but your attitude is atrocious! Get out into the hallway!" I grabbed my jacket, stood up, and walked out. The door slammed heavily behind me. Three minutes later, I knocked and opened it again. Mr. Harris's face was dark. "What do you want now?!" I stepped aside, revealing a handsome, clean-cut boy standing in the doorway. "Someone's looking for you." 11 Mr. Harris's fierce glare instantly morphed into fawning flattery the second he saw the boy. "Liam! What brings you here?" The moment he said that, a commotion rippled through the classroom: "Holy shit, it's Liam Vance from Oakridge Prep! Are you serious?!" "Ahhh! It's him! My crush! He's rich, smart, and gorgeous! He was literally on national TV last year!" Liam stood in the doorway, his expression cool but polite. "Hello, sir. I'm looking for a student in your class." Mr. Harris's smile widened, practically beaming like a spring breeze. "Who are you looking for?" Who in their class could possibly be worth a personal visit from this elite young master? I leaned against the wall, casually listening as Liam enunciated every syllable: "Taylor Sterling." Mr. Harris's smile froze. I looked at Liam in confusion. The silence stretched for about five seconds before Liam politely added: "I heard she's in your class. Could you ask her to step out?" Instantly, Mr. Harris's eyes darted between Liam and the empty air, filled with disbelief and awkwardness. After a long pause, he retracted his gaze, his eyelid twitching violently. "Why are you looking for Taylor? Did she cause some kind of trouble?" "No." Liam denied it with a strange look on his face. He thought for a few seconds, then pulled a folded test paper from his backpack. "I just wanted to ask her about her thought process for the final question on this physics exam." Mr. Harris: "..." 12 Mr. Harris snatched the paper from Liam's hand and inspected it closely. "What test is this?" Liam answered, "The State Physics Olympiad." Mr. Harris's eyes widened in shock. "You must be mistaken. Taylor didn't even participate in the Olympiad. How could she possibly solve a question like this!" Liam frowned, looking slightly displeased. "It's impossible that I'm mistaken. I got a copy of this directly from my uncle on the grading committee. The difficulty of this year's exam was insanely high. Only Taylor managed to solve the final section of the last problem. I definitely didn't remember the name wrong." He finished, then looked at Mr. Harris suspiciously. "Are you sure Taylor isn't in your class?" The sheer volume of information in Liam's words was too much for Mr. Harris's pig brain to process. He couldn't fathom how I had managed to take the exam. Hearing Liam's questioning tone, he instinctively argued back, "Of course Taylor is in my class." "Then where is she?" Mr. Harris shifted his gaze back to me, his lips moving soundlessly. The next second, I tapped Liam on the shoulder from behind. "Hey, looking for me?" Liam's calm demeanor cracked for a split second. He looked at me, scanned me up and down, and asked, "You're Taylor?" "Yep." "What are you doing out in the hallway?" I flashed a light smile. "Oh, getting punished. Couldn't you tell?" "..." 13 Liam and I crouched together in the corner of the hallway outside the classroom as I explained my thought process for the problem. No matter how much Mr. Harris beckoned him to come inside and sit down, Liam rejected him with a deadpan, "No thanks." He even threw in a veiled insult: "If Taylor has to squat out here, I can too." It turned Mr. Harris's face the color of liver. Near the end of the period, I finally finished explaining the solution. Before leaving, Liam asked for my number: "The Statewide Honors AP Assessments are coming up soon. We can discuss practice problems." I gave him my number. Liam carefully saved it in his phone, then gave me a meaningful look. "Your homeroom teacher really doesn't like you, huh?" I let out an "Huh?" "Is it that obvious?" He didn't answer, but a faint smile touched his lips. "I think I get the picture." "Hmm?" "Nothing. See you around." I didn't understand what Liam meant at the time. It wasn't until two weeks later, when I saw Liam in our grand auditorium, that I finally understood what his "See you around" meant. The seven elite prep schools in the state held a joint academic assessment every year. Before the exams, to boost morale, they organized a seminar featuring the top 100 students from each school. This year, our school was hosting. Each school was expected to send an outstanding student representative to give a speech. Oakridge Prep sent Liam. As for our school... I stared at the pot-bellied Dean of Students, who was desperately trying to comb his combover over his bald spot, and said blankly: "A representative speech? You could have asked me earlier."
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