Chapter 1

My face was blank when I saw my practice test score. I still got a perfect score in math, but my other subjects combined didn't even add up to that much.

Mocking laughter came from all around me.

"She scored high in one subject again? Does she only have half a brain?"

"Being bad at one subject is a weakness, but being bad at every other subjects is an intelligence issue."

"So what if she got a perfect score in math? Her overall score isn't even good enough to get her into an average college."

When class finally started, our math teacher, Dan Hoffman, walked in, and the classroom fell silent.

"Tanya Wagner is the only one in our class who got a perfect score on this practice test." He looked at me admiringly. "She did well, especially on the last problem. The approach was so original that even we teachers spent ages in the teachers' office trying to figure it out."

Then, he sighed. "But Tanya, even though I really am impressed by your math skills, colleges look at your overall academic performance. You've got to work harder on your other subjects!"

I nodded.

Mr. Hoffman turned to Tammy White. "Tammy, I heard you're still ranked first in our grade. Well done."

Tammy flashed a confident and gracious smile. "Thank you, Mr. Hoffman."

Mr. Hoffman added, "But I looked over your math test, and it's a shame you lost points on that geometry problem. You should take a look at how Tanya added the auxiliary lines and learn from her."

Tammy's smile stiffened for a moment before she nodded. "Okay."

As soon as the bell rang, she walked over to my desk, her chin slightly raised. "Let me see your math test."

I frowned but still obediently handed my papers over to her. She flipped through them briefly, frowning, then she snorted.

"Oh, God! Your steps are all messed up and illogical. No wonder you suck at other subjects. You don't even know how all this stuff fits together!"

She tossed my papers back onto the desk, looking disgusted. "Forget it. I don't want to look anymore. I'm afraid I'll pick up your messy way of solving problems if I look at it too long."

Anger bubbled within me. "No matter how messy my steps are, I still got a perfect score. Yes, your work may be perfectly formatted, but if your answer is wrong, you get no points."

"Tanya, what are you so smug about?" Patrick Wilde immediately stepped in front of Tammy, looking down at me. "Others might not know you well, but I do. You spent all your time on math, so what's so impressive about getting a perfect score in it?

"Tammy managed to stay at the top of our grade by keeping up with so many subjects. That's what's truly impressive."

I shut my eyes, not wanting to argue with them. After all, no matter what I said, they weren't going to listen to me. I stopped engaging with them and lowered my head to keep solving math problems.

I wasn't the least bit affected because I knew any math test had a maximum score.

But that wasn't my limit.

Our next class was English. Our English teacher, Alicia Walker, who was also our homeroom teacher, walked into the classroom, her expression dark.

"Tanya, F!" She slammed an answer sheet onto the table. "I just want to know how on earth this is possible. Your reading comprehension is a complete disaster, and your essay is way off topic!"

Everyone started whispering among themselves.

"Does she seriously have a problem understanding things?"

"Does that mean she can't even understand us when we talk to her?"

I clenched my hands tight without saying a word.

Ms. Walker sneered. "You're going to copy this entire test, including the reading passages, 100 times! They say repetition helps you learn. I refuse to believe you still won't get it after copying it 100 times!"

I looked up, stunned. "Ms. Walker, that's way too much. 100 times…"

She slammed her hand on the desk, her voice suddenly rising. "If you can't finish, you can forget about staying in the honors class! You're already stupid, and you can't even learn anything.

"On top of that, you have such a terrible attitude toward studying! Someone like you will only drag down the class's college placement rate!"

I decided to keep my mouth shut. I couldn't risk being transferred to a normal class because the school had a rule stating that only students in the honors class could participate in the math olympiad.

I swallowed my indignation and replied, "Okay…"

Ms. Walker glanced at me. "Go outside and copy the test! A dumbass like you shouldn't stay inside the classroom and bring others down to your level!"

Mocking laughter came from around me.

I walked out of the classroom, my head lowered.

It was okay.

The official math olympiad website had already announced that registration would open soon. All that mattered was that I could compete.