Rejected to Redeemed

The day scores came out, my phone nearly melted from all the calls.

It wasn't for any other reason. Pete McGee and I had tied for first place.

I was the family's true heir, raised in some backwater town since childhood.

Pete was the adopted son who'd spent over a decade in the McGee family living in luxury and eating from silver.

Our homeroom teacher called three separate times, his voice equal parts thrilled and dazed, kept asking if the system had glitched.

When the calls finally stopped, the living room went eerily quiet.

Dad cleared his throat and looked between Pete and me, smiling.

"Blake, Pete, you're both top scorers. Your mother and I are treating you the same, so we've booked a private room for each of you.

"The Gilded Room and the Laurel Room. You can pick whichever one you want."

That was the first time I'd ever learned that doing well could be something worth celebrating, instead of something to be resented for costing money.

I nodded, fighting to keep the tears from spilling over.

One room promised wealth, the other promised glory.

I looked at Pete, gesturing for him to choose first.

He smiled, gentle and gracious. "I'll take the Laurel Room, then. Here's to a bright future for both of us, Blake."

As it happened, I'd grown up poor enough that the fear of it had settled into my bones.

So I didn't hesitate.

"Then I'll take the Gilded Room."

Dad nodded. "All right, that settles it."

But just as we were about to head out, Pete, head lowered, suddenly grabbed our mother's sleeve. His eyes had gone red, and his voice cracked with an obvious sob.

"Mom, I really think the Gilded Room is better."

The air in the living room seemed to freeze solid.

My sister, Alexis McGee, was the first to frown. She stepped over to him. "Pete, what's wrong? Didn't we already agree on this?"

Tears spilled straight down Pete's face, and his words came out in a jumbled rush.

"I just feel awful about it. The Gilded Room sounds like it's for a family all together, and I'm scared that later on..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood anyway.

He was afraid that once I, the true heir, came back into the picture, he'd end up the odd one out in this family.

For a moment, every pair of eyes in the room landed on me.

I didn't say anything. I just looked at Pete.

There wasn't a trace of fragility in his eyes, only a naked, unmistakable challenge.

In the end, it was Dad who broke the silence.

He walked over to me, his expression pleading for cooperation even though his tone left no room to refuse.

"Blake, I know you didn't have it easy growing up, but now that you're back with us, you don't need to worry about material things. Just let Pete have this one."

My mother, Lisa Dawkins, took my hand as well. "That's right, Blake. Pete just doesn't feel secure."

My sister, Alexis, was even more blunt. "It's just a room, isn't it? Pete grew up in this family from the time he was little. What's the harm in giving way, just this once?"

The whole family, all lined up, every one of them urging me to back down.

I looked at the three of them, then at Pete hiding behind them, and I almost wanted to laugh.

I pulled my hand out of Mom's and nodded.