First Place Fraud

The call from the State Testing Board came while I was at home. I was opening a package I had ordered for myself. It was a graduation gift, a custom Kassian-style accordion.

"Ms. Kincaid, your college entrance exam scores have been temporarily frozen. Your status as the top scorer in the state is under review."

I froze for a moment. A notification had already popped up on my phone. The number one trending topic was about me.

[Harper Kincaid commits college entrance exam fraud. Underprivileged student demands justice.]

I tapped on it. The pinned post at the top was a video, a formal accusation filed under the boy's real name. He wore a school uniform faded from too many washes. His eyes were red-rimmed, and his voice shook when he spoke.

"My name's Drew Halston. I placed second in the state on this year's college entrance exam, and I'm in Harper Kincaid's class. Harper's family is loaded. Her dad's a big-time CEO. She's never once passed Brevian, but somehow she pulled a 145 on the college entrance exam.

"I don't believe that's her real ability. I'm asking the State Testing Board to launch a full investigation. This isn't about jealousy. I have to speak up. If even the college entrance exam can be bought, what chance do the rest of us have, the ones grinding practice tests until two in the morning?"

The video also included my Brevian mock exam scores, a 310 out of 800. I had placed dead last in the class every single time.

The comments section exploded.

[She gets a 310 in Brevian on practice tests, then a 145 on the college entrance exam? You'd have to be brain-dead not to see the problem.]

[Kids without money really can't catch a break. Doesn't matter how hard you study when someone else has a rich daddy.]

[Drew's got guts. That's what a real hero looks like.]

[Top scorer in the state? More like the state's biggest embarrassment.]

Someone dug up Dad's company, and someone else posted our home address online. The house phone would not stop ringing, rocks were tossed at our windows, and the company had no choice but to suspend operations.

Dad was running himself ragged trying to manage the fallout, while Mom was busy fending off relatives who had called just to gloat.

I watched the trending topics keep climbing, and I laughed.

I pulled up my account and typed out a post.

[Tomorrow at 10:00 am, I'll be doing a public live stream to prove whether my scores are real. Drew, some things need to be said in front of everyone. @StateTestingBoard @StateDeptOfEducation @StateOversightBoard All officials are welcome to supervise.]

In less than five minutes, the post had been shared over 10,000 times. The comments were still overwhelmingly hostile, but not everyone had jumped on the bandwagon.

[I'm dying. The cheater's actually gonna go live? She's not afraid of getting exposed on the spot?]

[Go get her, Drew! Bring all your evidence and destroy her!]

[Why's she so confident, though? There's not actually a twist here, is there?]

Drew reposted within seconds. [Some people's masks need to come off. Let's see what the truth looks like tomorrow.]

Below his post was a photo of a stack of 'evidence' he had compiled.

I rolled my eyes and turned off my phone.

The State Testing Board did not respond directly, but an hour later, they issued an official statement.

[In response to the public request by examinee Harper Kincaid, the Board will provide a venue and send representatives to participate in tomorrow's live stream to verify all relevant details in accordance with established regulations.]

That single announcement pushed the frenzy to its peak.