I Took The Same Exam, They Only Celebrated Her Chapter 06

I Took The Same Exam, They Only Celebrated Her Chapter 06

The cameras shoved right up against the screen. Everyone was buzzing with anticipation for this moment.

People kept asking, over and over, what score Rory Hayes had gotten.

But Rory stood there like someone had her by the throat, unable to force out a single word.

Mom’s eyes went wide. “How–how is this possible?”

Dad panicked. “Maybe the score was recorded wrong? We should call the school district.”

Asher was still making his way to the front, still talking. “If you got a top score in the state, sometimes the portal hides the number for a few-”

Then he saw it.

Six hundred.

He stumbled back hard. “Did you put in the wrong student ID number?”

The reporters blinked, equally confused. They double–checked the photo and were about to ask if her name

was actually Vivi Hayes-

Just then, Grandpa and Grandma burst through the door, arms laden with gift bags.

“My brilliant granddaughter! You’ve made the Hayes family proud!” Grandpa bellowed. “Bought you the whole Apple ecosystem–hope you like the colors!”

My aunts flooded in too. “Never thought our troublemaking little Rory would outshine her own brother! Here’s fifty grand, sweetie. Not much, but it’s yours.”

Rory stood there, woodenly accepting the gifts, a sickly, forced smile plastered on her face. “There’s… something’s off with my score. Let me re–enter my details.”

More relatives pushed in, laughing heartily. “Calm down, sweetie. You’re just in shock! Reporters don’t make

mistakes like this.”

“Unless… they got the wrong girl?” one aunt mused out loud. “Maybe it’s your little sister?”

Mom shot her a sharp glare. “My younger daughter? Don’t be ridiculous. She’s only a sophomore. She hasn’t

even taken the SAT.”

Liam piled on. “Even if she did take it, her scores probably wouldn’t even get her into a decent state school.”

It was almost laughable. They still had me pegged as the sick kid who fell behind in middle school. For a short while back then, my health really had dragged my grades down to average. Rory was the “sharp” one, always top three. At first, they’d fight over who got to attend her parent–teacher conferences- rock–paper–scissors to decide the lucky winner. The loser would be forced to come to mine. Eventually, I just sat there alone at every single one.

The day I skipped a grade, I was bursting to tell them the news. But they were out celebrating Rory’s birthday.

I asked, crestfallen, why I couldn’t come.

“We already gave you seven whole years. Isn’t that enough?”

Rory re–entered her ID.

Same score.

“Let me.” Asher snatched the slip and read it aloud to Liam.

Same score.

Rory let out a choked gasp, her eyes rolling back, before she collapsed limply into Mom’s arms.

“Don’t panic, baby–it’s clearly a technical error! We’ll call the school district!”

The reporters exchanged an uncomfortable look. “Um, ma’am,” one finally ventured, “from the conversation

we just heard… you have another daughter?”

“Yes. But she doesn’t have great grades. Don’t bother interviewing her–being around reporters will only be a

bad influence on the girl.” Mom waved a dismissive hand, forcing a weak smile.

“Is her name… Vivi Hayes, by any chance?”

The silence was deafening.

The livestream chat exploded like a bomb had gone off.

[WHAT IS HAPPENING. A top–scholar interview turning into THIS?]

[I’m sorry, they didn’t even KNOW their own kid was taking the SAT?!]

[Imagine scoring like that and thinking you’re the state scholar. The audacity is unreal.]

The relatives scrambled to do damage control. “Oh, well, Vivi or Rory–what does it matter? They’re both your daughters, right?”

But even as they spoke, hands subtly reached out, pulling back the gifts they had just given to Rory. “So… where exactly is Vivi right now?”