All Chapters of First Place Fraud: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

The call from the State Testing Board came while I was at home. I was opening a package I had ordered for myself. It was a graduation gift, a custom Kassian-style accordion."Ms. Kincaid, your college entrance exam scores have been temporarily frozen. Your status as the top scorer in the state is under review."I froze for a moment. A notification had already popped up on my phone. The number one trending topic was about me.[Harper Kincaid commits college entrance exam fraud. Underprivileged student demands justice.]I tapped on it. The pinned post at the top was a video, a formal accusation filed under the boy's real name. He wore a school uniform faded from too many washes. His eyes were red-rimmed, and his voice shook when he spoke."My name's Drew Halston. I placed second in the state on this year's college entrance exam, and I'm in Harper Kincaid's class. Harper's family is loaded. Her dad's a big-time CEO. She's never once passed Brevian, but somehow she pulled a 145 on the

Chapter 2

The live stream was set up in a conference room at the State Testing Board.By the time I left the house, reporters had already swarmed the front door, shoving cameras and microphones in my face."Ms. Kincaid, do you have any idea how much your father paid to help you cheat?""When are you planning to apologize to the students who actually earned their scores?"The live stream had not even started yet, and the viewer count had already passed a million.I did not answer a single question. I walked straight to the car and headed to the State Testing Board.The conference room had a row of long tables set up, with three cameras positioned directly across from them.The State Testing Board had sent three officials—the director, the deputy director, and a records clerk. Meanwhile, the Department of Education had sent a representative, and the Oversight Board had people on-site as well.On the other side of the table, Drew was already seated. He wore a white dress shirt, his eyes fai

Chapter 3

Drew clearly had not expected me to stay this combative, even now. He faltered for a moment, then pulled a photograph from his bag. "Harper, we've been classmates a long time. I really didn't want to push you this far, but since you're going to keep up this attitude…"The photo showed Dad and the deputy director of the State Testing Board, the two of them dining alone at an upscale restaurant.I stared at the photograph, my eyes narrowing.I had not known about this. Dad had never mentioned it to me.Drew caught the shift in my expression, and his voice turned heavier with wounded conviction."I happened to take this photo back in March. Harper Kincaid's father, sharing a private dinner with Deputy Director George Dawson of the Testing Board. Then, on the college entrance exam, Harper just happens to have the performance of a lifetime and becomes the top scorer in the state."He paused, his tone dropping lower."I don't believe that's a coincidence. There was almost certainly so

Chapter 4

A memory flashed through my mind, back to the very beginning of high school.I had gone to Mr. Aldridge at the start of freshman year and filed a formal request, letting him know I would not be studying Brevian at any point during the next three years, because I would not be taking the Brevian section of the college entrance exam.Hence, for three years, I slept through his class and turned in blank tests, and he never said a word about it.We had maintained a quiet understanding the entire time. He would not bother me about Brevian, and I would not cause him any other trouble.It was almost funny.I never would have guessed that he would be sitting here now, telling the world it was 'not possible'.I pulled myself out of the memory and looked at him. "Mr. Aldridge, do you remember the request I filed with you at the start of freshman year?"His gaze went unfocused, drifting everywhere except in my direction. Even so, he did not budge."I don't know what request you're talking

Chapter 5

Every head in the room turned toward the paper in my hand."What did you say?" The director's voice was laced with confusion.I held the paper out further, angling it so the camera could get a clearer shot. "I said the foreign language I registered for on my college entrance exam was not Brevian. It was Kassian."Drew's expression changed. The smugness had not even had time to fade before it froze in place, as if someone had hit pause."You… You're lying." His voice had gone dry."Lying?" I let out a short laugh. "Go check the Testing Board's website yourself. My registration information is all public record."I set the registration form on the table and slid it toward the director. He put on his reading glasses, looked down for two seconds, and then went completely still. He picked up the form, read it again, then looked up at me, then back down at the form."You did register for Kassian."His voice was not loud, but the microphone picked it up perfectly. Every person watching

Chapter 6

Just then, Mr. Aldridge suddenly stood up. His chair tipped backward and hit the floor with a loud crack."Harper… I'm sorry…" His voice was shaking. Tears ran down his cheeks.Everyone turned to look at him.Drew whipped around. "Mr. Aldridge, you—"The words came out of Mr. Aldridge like they were being squeezed through a vice."Drew's father was the one who came to me."His father is the deputy superintendent of the city's Department of Education. He threatened me. He said if I didn't come here and testify, he'd have me fired, and he'd make sure my son couldn't get into any school."My son takes his college entrance exam next year. I couldn't say no."Harper did come to me at the start of freshman year. She told me she would not be taking Brevian on the college entrance exam and asked me not to worry about her Brevian grades. I agreed. But after Drew's father got to me, I… I lied."When he finished, the life seemed to drain out of him entirely. He sank back into his chair l

Chapter 7

The live stream was over, but the story was not. The skepticism online continued.[So Harper registered for Kassian. Does that automatically prove she didn't cheat some other way?][Her Brevian was laughably bad. Why should we believe the rest of her scores are real?][I still think something's off about her.]I felt no anger even as I read through the comments.That evening, I went live again.There were no filters, no editing, no team behind me. It was just me sitting alone in the study at home. Behind me was a bookshelf lined with titles in more languages than I could count.The stream title was a single line.[You want proof? I'll show you.]When I hit the broadcast button, only a few hundred people were watching. Most of them had followed me before everything happened. They left a few encouraging comments and went quiet.I did not say anything. I just waited.Three minutes later, someone shared the stream link on social media. The viewer count jumped to 10,000, and the

Chapter 8

The first day of college arrived under a sky so clear it almost did not look real.I walked through the university gates with my bag on my back. The shadows of the sycamore trees scattered across the ground in broken patterns, crunching softly under my feet.The air smelled like fresh-cut grass, mixed with the particular chaos that came with freshman move-in day. Suitcase wheels rolled across pavement, parents called out their children's names, and the sound of cameras clicking came from every direction.I took a deep breath.Two months ago, the entire internet had been calling me a cheater. Now, I was standing here, a college student who had earned her place.Footsteps sounded behind me."Hey! Excuse me!"I turned around. A round-faced girl with eyes so bright they looked like glass marbles was hurrying toward me, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, clutching a stack of registration papers."You're Harper Kincaid, right?" She was out of breath, her cheeks flushed. "I watched yo

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