Chapter 1

As I stared at the number "1590" glaring back at me in the score column, I couldn't make sense of it.

I'd spent years studying harder than anyone just for a shot at an elite university, and I couldn't even count how much I'd sacrificed along the way.

I finally pulled off a score that guaranteed me a spot at Wexford or Danforth University. But when it came time to apply, no matter what I chose, my application always defaulted to Fernbrook Vocational School, a trade school that accepted scores around 800.

Why was this happening? It was a nationwide application system, so there was no reason it would glitch.

As my mind raced, Mom patted my shoulder, looking thrilled. "Callie, what are you just sitting there for? Hurry up and fill out your applications! We've already looked into it for you. With your score, you can pick any program you want at Wexford or Danforth!"

Dad couldn't stop grinning either. "That's right. Artificial intelligence has a bright future right now. If you ask me, Wexford is the way to go!"

Watching my parents go back and forth so excitedly, I felt a bitter ache inside.

What was the point of talking about the best universities and programs if my application turned into Fernbrook Vocational School the second I submitted it? It would all be for nothing.

I had to come up with something!

But when I told my parents I wanted to think it over before applying, they both got anxious.

"Callie, what's there to think about? Your dad and I both graduated from elite universities. Do you really think we'd steer you wrong?"

Dad jumped in. "Exactly. And from what I know, spots in Wexford's AI program go fast, so you have to grab one early. Once they fill up, it won't matter how high your score is. You can't let an opportunity like this slip away!"

I was suddenly torn. I'd done my research ahead of time, so I knew they were right, and I really did love this program. But the moment I thought about the strange things that happened when I applied in my past life, I lost all my confidence again.

Just then, my uncle, Wade Prentiss, called out of the blue. He asked us to help my cousin, Toby Prentiss, with his college applications. That gave me an idea.

Things went wrong when I applied both at home and through the consulting firm in my past life, so why not try somewhere else this time? After all, in my past life, Toby had taken our advice and applied from home without any problems.

I didn't waste any time. Using the excuse that I wanted to talk to Toby about school, I dragged my parents over to Uncle Wade's house.

With their years of experience, my parents quickly came up with recommendations for him. Toby's family was thrilled and pulled up the computer right away to submit.

I took the chance to suggest that we both apply at the same time. Toby happily agreed, and since my parents couldn't wait for me to submit my applications, they nodded right away too.

So we opened the application system on the same computer and entered our information one after the other. To be completely safe, once we'd double-checked that everything was correct, I had Toby submit first.

Without a second thought, he hit submit, and a screen saying his application had gone through popped up the next second.

Only then did I relax a little. I took a deep breath and clicked submit too.