Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

The day my SAT scores came out, my parents threw a dinner for the whole town and bragged to everyone they ran into. "My daughter got really good score. She's made us so proud."However, now, as I gripped my phone, my fingertips were slowly going cold."Mom, my stomach is bothering me."There was a half-second pause on the other end. "Your stomach again? Dinner's already ready.""It really hurts. I'm going to get it checked at the urgent care clinic first."I turned and walked away from the building.Mom's voice turned urgent. "Come back first. Mr. Ormsby is right here. The verification code will only take a few seconds. You can go to the clinic after we're done."I stopped at the side of the road and took a deep breath. "I've already confirmed my applications myself. Nobody else needs to touch them."The voice on the other end went completely silent.A few seconds later, Dad scoffed. "Think you're all grown up now, huh?"I hung up, then immediately took a taxi to the urgent c

I walked right past him.When I reached the door, Mom called after me in tears. "Callie, would we ever do anything to hurt you?"I did not look back, because the answer was already clear. They would, and they already had.Three days after the application deadline, Cedar Hollow High held a panel for outstanding graduates. I had not planned on going.However, Mr. Ormsby called me out by name in the class group chat. [As one of our top scorers, Callie will be sharing her experience with the underclassmen. Please don't let personal feelings get in the way of a school event.]I knew exactly what he was trying to do. He wanted to make it official in front of everyone that I had "chosen" the local teaching contract program of my own free will.I went. It was not to go along with it. It was to see how far they were willing to take this act.A banner hung across the auditorium.The principal, the dean of students, and the PTA representative were all there.My parents sat in the front r

I looked up.Standing in the doorway was the woman I had helped at the urgent care clinic that night.She had changed into a dark suit and pinned her hair up, and she looked much better than she had that night."And you are?" the officer asked.She handed over her ID and a business card. "My name is Constance Mayhew. I worked in the policy advisory office at the state board of admissions for 22 years, and I'm now an advisor for a nonprofit that advocates for students' admissions rights. This applicant reached out to me last night, and I'm here to help her secure her evidence."I was stunned.That night, all I had done was buy her some orange juice and help her get checked in. I never would have guessed who she was.Constance came over to me and asked quietly, "Would you like me to stay with you while you continue with the review request?"I nodded. "Yes, I would."She turned to Mr. Ormsby. "You just said that since the portal requires a password and a verification code, no one

Dad asked, [She changed her password. How do we get in?]Mr. Ormsby replied, [You can reset it with her ID number and applicant ID number. You'll need to figure out how to get the verification code. Can the carrier store handle that?]At 9:20 pm, Mom sent a photo of a ticket number from the carrier store.Mr. Ormsby replied, [Once you have the code, come straight to the school's computer lab. I'll be waiting on the third floor.]At 10:58 pm, Dad wrote, [She posted in her class group chat that she doesn't authorize anyone to make changes.]Mr. Ormsby replied, [Ignore it. If she makes a fuss later, just say she wasn't feeling well and asked her parents to confirm things for her. I only gave guidance.]At 11:44 pm, Mom wrote, [It's done. Teaching program first, nursing second.]Mr. Ormsby replied, [Good. Tomorrow we all stick to the same story. She weighed her options and chose the stable path on her own.]When the chat history was projected onto the screen, no one in the room dar

The moment I got the notice, my hands shook so hard I could barely hold the paper.Constance stood beside me and gave my shoulder a gentle pat. "Now you've got your path back."I looked down at those few lines of text, and the tears finally fell. It was not because I felt wronged. It was the relief of having survived.After the review came through, my parents came to see me once. We met in the conference room at the police station, since I refused to see them alone.Dad had clearly lost some weight, but the look in his eyes was just as hard as ever.Mom's eyes were swollen, and she started crying the moment she saw me. "Callie, come home with me. Your dad's blood pressure has been high these past few days, and your brother is scared to death. We're a family. How did it come to this?""And after I come home?" I asked.She froze."After I come home, will you let me go to Calvert?" I went on.Her lips moved. "It's so far away. Mom just can't stop worrying..."I laughed. "So noth