The Class Dunce? No, I'm the Valedictorian

My homeroom teacher, Ellie Carter, continued speaking through the phone. "Jason Yard, you really had everyone fooled. A total of 1590!

"You got the highest SAT score in the state this year!"

Ms. Carter's voice trembled with excitement.

A muscle in my aunt Karen Reed's face twitched. She snatched my phone from me.

"Ms. Carter, have you been drinking?" she asked. "Jason could barely score 400 on a practice SAT, yet you're saying he got the highest score in the state? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

There was a brief silence on the other end. Then Ms. Carter's voice turned serious. "You're Jason's aunt, right? Why would I joke about something this important?"

Karen's face darkened, and she hung up.

"Give me a break!" she snapped. "Jason, you've gotten pretty bold. Did you really hire someone to put on this whole act just to look good in front of everyone?"

My cousin, Wilbert Yard, finally snapped out of it. He pointed at me and laughed. "I knew there was no way! He must've paid someone to make that call."

The relatives around the table all chimed in.

"Exactly. We all know how Jason does in school."

"He's always near the bottom of the school. How could he suddenly get the highest SAT score in the state?"

"He's so desperate for attention. I can't believe he would make up a lie like this."

My uncle, George Yard, scoffed. "Jason, your parents work themselves to the bone on construction sites just to put you through school. And this is how you repay them? You're terrible at school, but you sure are good at lying."

I sat in my chair without saying a word. I simply pulled out a napkin and wiped the grease from my hands.

I had listened to insults like these for three years.

Three years ago, Mom and Dad left town for work and sent me to live with George's family.

Every month, Mom and Dad sent them 500 dollars for my living expenses.

But on my very first day at George's house, Karen pointed at the storage room and said, "We don't have enough bedrooms, so you'll sleep in here."

The storage room had no windows. It was like an oven in the summer and an icebox in the winter.

Wilbert had the master bedroom with a balcony.

Karen made him elaborate meals every day, including braised short ribs and homemade chicken soup. When it came to me, I got nothing but scraps poured over some pasta.

On my first big test of freshman year, I came in first in my class and placed in the top ten in the entire school.

Wilbert came in dead last in our class.

That night, Wilbert locked himself in his room and cried.

Karen stayed in the living room, making pointed remarks. "Some people should remember they're living under someone else's roof. Who are they trying to impress with those high scores?

"Are they trying to show off how smart they are? How can someone be so calculating?"

The next morning, every textbook I had left on my desk was torn to pieces, and my backpack had been thrown in the toilet.

Wilbert stood in the doorway, sneering at me.

I went to George and told him what had happened.

He raised his hand and slapped me across the face. "Wilbert is your cousin! You did so well on your exam to make him feel bad, didn't you?"

That slap made me come to my senses.

Mom and Dad worked grueling jobs on construction sites.

Mom had a herniated disk in her lower back, and Dad's hands were covered in calluses.

They scraped by every month, sending me the money they had worked so hard to earn. All they wanted was for me to be able to stay in school and focus on my studies.

If I got kicked out of the house, Mom and Dad would have no choice but to swallow their pride and beg George to take me back.

I couldn't put them through that.

So from that day on, I learned to hide how capable I really was.