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Where My Road Begins

Where My Road Begins

โดย:  Peach Iced Teaจบแล้ว
ภาษา: English
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คำโปรย

Familial Bond

Plot Twists

Bias

Independence

Regret

Family Emotions

My twin sister was diagnosed with something called Sibling Competition Disorder. Whenever my grades beat hers, she stopped sleeping and took a razor to her arms. Dr. Prescott's treatment plan was absurd. Make me worse. My family threw themselves into it. Mom set my alarm back, watched me sprint out the door, and turned to Molly. "Your sister won't make it in time now." My brother offered me a ride, then swore the car had died five minutes in. When I got out and ran for it, he was grinning at me in the mirror. My childhood friend held me like he was calming a toddler. "So bomb one test. You're smart. What's a gap year?" Molly's scores climbed, and everyone agreed the plan was working. On the morning of the Kestrel Collegiate Assessment, someone handed me a bottle of water. I hesitated. I drank it anyway. Ten minutes in, I ran out of the exam room with both hands on my stomach. They all turned to look at me, faces arranged into concern, eyes saying the plan had worked. That was the moment the last thing I still hoped for died. I only wondered what they'd do when they found out the one they'd destroyed was Molly.

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บทที่ 1

Chapter 1

I came out of that bathroom wrung out.

My legs shook. I braced a hand against the wall and dragged myself into the hallway.

They closed in around me, all of them wearing the same borrowed concern.

Mom looked guilty. "Audrey, don't blame us.

"If Molly can't get into Northstar or Eastborough because of you, she'll have another episode tonight.

"Be good. Let your sister have this."

My brother didn't even bother pretending.

"Audrey, if you don't get into a good school, I'll take care of you."

Colin Barrett, who'd lived next door since we were five, tried to sound gentle. "Exactly. Your grades are great. Sit out a year and retest."

Eighteen years of work, and all of it came down to Molly Sutton's so-called illness.

They'd tried every trick they could invent to make me fail.

I had nothing left to say to any of them. I turned to go.

Mom caught my arm.

"Molly isn't out yet. Wait for her with us."

They didn't see my white lips, or my hands pressed flat against the cramps tearing through my stomach.

There was only ever room in them for Molly.

The bell rang.

Molly came out with her face crumpled.

"Audrey, you finished so early. You must've handed yours in ahead of time.

"I knew I could never beat you."

Her eyes drifted to the big oak at the edge of the lot. "Maybe I should just run into that tree and be done with it.

"At least then I won't humiliate myself when the scores come out."

Mom pulled her in immediately.

"Sweetheart, what are you saying?"

Dylan laughed. "Come on. Your sister isn't in your league.

"Who knows what Audrey ate this morning. She bolted ten minutes after the test started.

"She was in there a solid hour."

Molly studied their faces and asked carefully,

"You're not lying to me?"

Colin threw up a hand.

"I swear we're not.

"You can't hand in a paper until the last thirty minutes, and she walked out after ten.

"That's a rules violation. They wouldn't even let her back in."

I watched them hand Molly the wreckage of my future like a party favor.

I thought that part of me had died a long time ago. It still hurt.

It took a long time for any of them to remember I was standing there.

"Molly, ask your sister yourself. Isn't that what happened?"

Under all those hopeful stares, I answered.

"Yes. I didn't write a single word."

Something bright moved across Molly's face.

"I'll get a zero in language arts," I said. "The rest won't matter now.

"So I'm not taking them."

"Audrey, are you serious?"

I nodded, slow and deliberate.

"I am."

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Chapter 1
I came out of that bathroom wrung out.My legs shook. I braced a hand against the wall and dragged myself into the hallway.They closed in around me, all of them wearing the same borrowed concern.Mom looked guilty. "Audrey, don't blame us."If Molly can't get into Northstar or Eastborough because of you, she'll have another episode tonight."Be good. Let your sister have this."My brother didn't even bother pretending."Audrey, if you don't get into a good school, I'll take care of you."Colin Barrett, who'd lived next door since we were five, tried to sound gentle. "Exactly. Your grades are great. Sit out a year and retest."Eighteen years of work, and all of it came down to Molly Sutton's so-called illness.They'd tried every trick they could invent to make me fail.I had nothing left to say to any of them. I turned to go.Mom caught my arm."Molly isn't out yet. Wait for her with us."They didn't see my white lips, or my hands pressed flat against the cramps tearing t
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Chapter 2
After the assessment ended, Molly hung off Mom's arm, delighted. "Mom, Audrey skipped the rest of the tests, and I felt amazing in there."I might've gotten all 1200. I might be the top scorer in the country."Mom stroked her hair."Of course you are. Molly's the best."Audrey was never going to keep up with you. Tell me what you want as a present."Molly tilted her head and suddenly looked at me."If I did that well, you shouldn't get me anything. Give it to Audrey instead."Call it an early consolation prize."Molly always did this.Every sentence sounded generous, and every one of them was a foot on my neck.Dylan smiled and opened his banking app."Molly, you crushed it and you're still thinking about your sister. That deserves something."Audrey didn't even sit the exam, but Molly asked us to include her."So I'll send you both a little cash. How's that?"Both our phones chimed at once."Dylan, a hundred and twenty thousand dollars?"I love you so much."Molly shr
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Chapter 3
"Yes, absolutely. Molly did so well we have to celebrate."They crowded around her, all talking over each other about the party.Colin shoved me aside without thinking about it.He just wanted the spot closest to her.I lost my footing and cracked my forehead on the corner of the coffee table.The sound it made was dull, and nobody heard it.A knot came up over my eyebrow right away. I didn't say anything.I got up quietly and let myself out.Telling them would have changed nothing.Besides, I still had tuition to earn.At the Silverline Karaoke Lounge, I changed into my uniform and started working the floor, selling bottle service room to room.Then I heard voices I knew.I opened the door, and Molly stared at me."Audrey?"I stopped.Mom, Dylan, and Colin all turned at once.Mom took one look at the uniform, and her face went hard."Audrey, are you trying to ruin your life?"I know you scored a zero this year, but we agreed you were taking a gap year and retesting.
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Chapter 4
At the sound of my name, Mom and the others exchanged a stunned look."You've made a mistake. Molly's the top scorer in the country."Dylan jumped in behind her."You've definitely got the wrong student. Audrey didn't even finish the exam. Why would you want her?"Pull the scores. Check them right here and you'll see Molly came out first.""Wouldn't that be cruel to her, though? She barely tested, and once the numbers come up..."Mine will be so much higher. She'll be crushed."Molly glanced at me while she said it, wearing her concern like a costume.Mom saw nothing cruel in it at all. "It's fine. Your sister's tougher than she looks."We'll check right here in front of everyone, so they can all see how remarkable you are."I'd gone numb a long time ago.I'd lost count of how many times they'd made an example of me.It started the day they launched their campaign to make Audrey worse.They reset my alarm. They left me on the side of the road. They found a way to interfere
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Chapter 5
"Zero?""Is this a joke?""Didn't they just say Molly Sutton was the top scorer in the country?"The room came apart into whispers.Mom stared at the screen, her voice shaking."No. That can't be right."How can Molly have a zero too?"Dylan started to panic with her."Right, exactly, two zeros is impossible. The portal's broken."Three admissions directors flew out here. They came for a top scorer."Molly, don't be scared. That number's wrong. It has to be wrong."He pulled her against him and patted her back.I stayed against the wall in my corner and watched.Then I smiled.They didn't know that the day Molly got her manufactured diagnosis, something attached itself to me.It called itself the Score Exchange System.From that day on, every formal exam result of ours got swapped.Every time Mom and the others found a new way to keep me from doing well, I gritted my teeth and finished the paper anyway.What they never realized was that I was getting better with every
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Chapter 6
Mom jabbed a finger at the zero beside my name."Audrey Sutton scored zero. How can you possibly want her?"And if a blank sheet gets her in, then why not Molly?"The directors looked back at her, no longer bothering to hide what they thought.By then they'd worked out the shape of this family.Molly was the treasure. Audrey Sutton was furniture.The Northstar director's jaw tightened. "Mrs. Sutton, the instruction was very clear. We came for Audrey Sutton."Is she here? We need to speak with her directly."We'd like to speak with her now."I let one corner of my mouth go up and stepped out of the corner."That's me. I'm Audrey Sutton."I walked toward the three of them.The moment they saw me, the tension went out of their faces.They were across the floor before I finished saying it.The Northstar director got to me first and took my hand."You're Audrey. Thank God."Our president confirmed it just now. You took the gold medal at this year's National Mathematics Olymp
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Chapter 7
"No."I didn't take a second to think about it."What did you say?""Say that again.""I said no."Mom's eyes were red when she turned on me."Are you determined to push your sister off a roof?"Audrey Rose Sutton, do you have a heart at all?"She's talking about jumping and you're still saying no."Do you want her dead?"Colin came over and put a hand on my shoulder, patting it."Audrey, that's enough."You said you didn't want Northstar just now, and I get it. You think we favor Molly."I know you're hurt."But you've got the biggest heart of anyone. Just take the year with her. Please."His fingers slid down my arm, reaching for my hand.I knocked them away."I said no."Somewhere in the crowd, somebody said it out loud."Is this family sick?""The older one wins a national math gold and shows up to her own family's party in a server's uniform?""The younger one scores zero, wears a million in jewelry, and they want the older one to lose a year for her?""You c
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Chapter 8
"Molly. Was the illness fake?"Molly shook her head hard. "No. Mom, she's setting me up."She rushed over and grabbed Mom's hand."That recording's fake. She spliced it together. She hates me, that's all this is."Mom, believe me.""Then get evaluated."I said it flatly. "Right now. Any licensed hospital. Psychology, psychiatry, whichever department is appropriate."If a real clinician finds a real condition, I'll take the year off with you.""I'm not going."Dylan frowned."Why not?"Prove you're sick and Audrey has to stay."Colin was watching her closely. "Molly, you won't go because...?"He stopped, then finished it. "Because you made all of it up?"Molly opened her mouth. Her eyes went from Mom's bloodless face to Dylan's locked jaw to the doubt sitting in Colin's eyes.Somewhere in the crowd, somebody snorted."What's left to discuss?""Obviously it was fake.""She ran her whole family for years.""And they let a teenager play them like that.""Eight years the
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Chapter 9
"Audrey!"Audrey, listen to me."I know I got it wrong. I know that now."Don't stop wanting me. Please."She got hold of my sleeve.I pried her fingers off it one at a time."Mom. When you were setting my alarm back, did you think about me even once?"Dylan rushed over and pulled me into his arms."Audrey, this is on me."I played favorites and I was an idiot. She had me for eight years."Don't go. I'll buy you a place. That neighborhood you always liked."Pick any school you want. I'll cover all of it.""Enough."I pushed his arm off."For years you told me that if I bombed, you'd take care of me."Then you turned around and spent every dollar meant for me keeping Molly happy."I had to work nights to afford a practice workbook."You'd take care of me."When did you ever do it?"Dylan's mouth opened, but nothing came out.Colin pushed through behind him.He was holding a small box.Inside it was the Northstar pin. The one I'd given Molly."Audrey, take it back.
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Chapter 10
The day I got to Pacific Harbor, the sky was clear.Sunlight came down through the gaps in the clouds and lay across the stone paths of the Seabriar campus like broken gold.I stood at the main gate with my suitcase.Then I looked up.The sky was blue.Clean, endless blue.My phone had buzzed the entire way there.Mom called.Dylan called.Colin called.Even Molly tried a few times.I didn't answer any of them.By the third day, the calls were thinning out.By the fifteenth, my phone was silent.Pacific Harbor's scholarship was generous.Generous enough to cover tuition and everything I needed to live on.I didn't need shifts at the Silverline anymore.I didn't need to bend over a table in a uniform, selling bottles.I didn't need to stand outside a private room counting my hourly wage down to closing.My first-year schedule was brutal.I was up at seven every morning.Most nights I got back to my dorm at eleven.I was worn out, and I was happier than I'd been in
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