I Found Out I Was the Real Daughter Before the SAT So I Tanked It Chapter 07

I Found Out I Was the Real Daughter Before the SAT So I Tanked It Chapter 07

“A 400?”

That number struck Mom and Dad across the face like a vicious slap.

Both of their faces flushed red in an instant.

“What does this mean?” Mom’s voice cracked. “Annalise, you got a 400 on the SAT?”

The relatives burst into an uproar.

“A 400? Is there something wrong with this kid’s brain?”

“Weren’t they bragging yesterday that she’d be the top scorer? This is…”

“I’m dying. The top scorer turned into a 400?”

Mom whipped her head toward me. “Annalise, what on earth are you doing? We raised you for so many years, and this is the score you give us?”

I said nothing.

A wealthy family friend of the Nolans laughed out loud. “Oh, Mr. Nolan. You and your wife were both statewide top SAT scorers back in the day, weren’t you? How did you end up with one daughter scoring a 400 and the other somewhere in the 800s?”

“Looks like academic genes don’t always pass down. My son scored a 1550, and his father and I barely made it through middle school.”

The others laughed along with her.

Dad looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole.

He nearly crushed the wineglass in his hand.

Even so,

he forced himself to stay calm. “Everyone, calm down. Something must have gone wrong.

“Annalise’s mock SAT scores have always been higher than previous statewide top scorers. Even if she had a bad day, it wouldn’t be this score.”

The relatives whispered among themselves. I heard people laughing, people sighing, and people taking pleasure in our family’s humiliation.

Ten minutes later, the guests left.

Dad slammed the front door shut with a bang, then turned and glared at me.

“Talk. What exactly happened?”

Mom stood beside him, crying and cursing. “You have humiliated your father and me completely. Two statewide top scorers raised a daughter who got a 400. How are we supposed to face anyone

after this?”

I looked at them and smiled.

“You two statewide top scorers also had a biological daughter who scored an 840. Why aren’t you embarrassed by that?”

“You-”

“That 400 is how I’m repaying you for the eighteen years you gave birth to me and raised me.”

Ten years of lies were worth exactly that much.

“You ungrateful girl,” Dad said, his voice trembling. “You did this on purpose?”

I smiled. “It was a mistake. Can’t an academic powerhouse make a mistake?”

Mom rushed over and jabbed her finger into my shoulder. “Do you have any idea how many people were here today to laugh at us? Even Willa scored an 840, and you actually—”

“She scored more than four hundred points higher than I did,” I said with a nod. “That’s great. She’s impressive.”

Mom choked on her words, her face turning an ugly, blotchy red.

Dad took a deep breath and forced down his temper. “Annalise, saying these things out of anger won’t help. The SAT is already done, so let’s think about what comes next. Repeat senior year and retake it next year-”

“I’m not repeating senior year.”

“If you don’t repeat senior year, what do you plan to do? What school would take you with a 400?”

I looked at him, my smile widening. “Dad, I’ve thought about it. You’re both so rich. I can just live off you from now on. Since I have you as my safety net, what difference does college make?”

Mom exploded. “Are you insane? You’re not our biological daughter. We’ve already done more than enough by paying for your education, and now you want to live off us?”

“But you raised me for eighteen years.”