Chapter 2

I smiled. “We’ll see about that.”

The second practice SAT came as scheduled. I scored 1550, and, just as expected, Vivian scored 1560, a little higher than me.

It was the first time since entering our senior year that I hadn’t taken the top spot in the grade.

The students swarming around the bulletin board went wild.

“Oh my god, Vivian really wasn’t lying. She’s a genius! She passed Natalie without even trying!”

Vivian stood in the center of the crowd, basking in their admiration, and envy.

“I’ve said it before,” she announced proudly. “I held back before, but with the SAT coming up, of course I had to give it my all!”

Meanwhile, I sat at my desk, calmly analyzing the situation.

The system she was bound to always pushed her score a little higher than mine.

Then an idea hit me: what if I didn’t take the exam?

To test it, during the third practice, I pretended to be sick and went to the infirmary, skipping the test entirely.

Sure enough, when the results came out, Vivian’s score stayed in the 800s.

My theory was confirmed. As long as I skipped the exam, her true ability would be fully exposed.

After figuring everything out, I returned to class. A circle of students had gathered around Vivian.

Ethan was comforting her after her poor performance. “You’ve already been too considerate. Natalie was selfish. She threatened you and refused to let you surpass her.”

“She’s wicked. She deserves punishment!”

The students whispered and sneered at me.

“To be jealous of your own sister, threatening her if she scored well… that’s just cruel!”

“Vivian, you’ve been far too nice. Forget about Natalie. Let her do whatever she wants!”

As I walked in, I could hear them gossiping and plotting against me.

I stared at their faces. “What are you all talking about?”

Vivian immediately put on a pitiful expression, acting as if I had bullied her.

“It’s nothing, Natalie. We were just chatting… don’t take it to heart. It’s my fault. I just like to show off too much.”

Ethan stood beside her, looking stern.

“Natalie, you went too far this time! Knowing Vivian is better than you and still acting jealous? You couldn’t stand her outscoring you?”

Watching them perform in perfect sync, I almost laughed.

They knew her scores were purely the result of the system, yet they were acting like I was jealous of her talent.

I said calmly, “Jealous of someone who couldn’t even get into high school on her own? Someone bought in with money? An idiot who can’t even copy homework correctly?”

Vivian shot back. “Natalie, I know you look down on me, but you don’t need to slander me in front of our classmates!

“I showed my real ability a few times, and you skipped the third practice test to threaten me… what else could I do to satisfy you?”

I had no patience for her act.

I turned back to my desk and practiced problems. I had already found a way to break the cycle.

Tomorrow, the State would hold a math competition. The top three would receive guaranteed admission to Yale University. If I won, I wouldn’t have to take the SAT, and I wouldn’t have to be Vivian’s stepping stone.

At dawn, I grabbed my backpack and headed out.

I was scanning a shared bike at my doorstep when a motorcycle suddenly barreled toward me.

I was thrown through the air in an instant. My vision went black, and I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I was lying in a rundown junkyard.

Ethan was perched on a motorcycle, and beside him, Vivian had dumped the contents of my backpack onto the ground.

She held up the math competition admission ticket and slapped it against my face.