Not A Small-Town Girl

Chapter 13-1

Ryan watched Elara’s uncharacteristic enthusiasm with knowing amusement. "Just wait," he murmured, clearly privy to something his colleagues weren’t.

The other professors initially dismissed Elara’s excitement. ’Probably just a math whiz, they assumed -until Danielle finished every remaining exam in just thirty minutes.

They’d always flaunted Moreno’s elite status. ’How the hell could someone who hasn’t even bothered with the SATs be this good?’ they thought, convinced the math score had to be some kind of fluke. But as Danielle walked up, papers in hand, their doubt started to crack.

"You’re finished with everything?" Elara couldn’t hide her delight.

"Yes," Danielle said simply, as if completing several hours’ worth of tests in minutes was perfectly ordinary.

The other professors’ skepticism transformed into stunned admiration as they graded. The literature professor’s eyes widened. "Perfect score-this essay is publication-worthy!"

composition," the language professor declared. "This sets a new departmental

design professor, notorious for never being satisfied, actually smiled. "This work... the innovation, the technical precision. It exceeds

Darling, Danielle completed all exams in forty minutes with perfect scores across the board," Ryan informed her

spent the whole time preparing consoling speeches, even rehearsing exactly how to comfort her if she struggled. This outcome hadn’t even crossed their

with her thoughts. Something wasn’t sitting right. How the hell could someone from nowhere,

always been at the top of her class, but even

Perfect scores!" Vivian

need to celebrate this." Howard beamed

entrance test, she thought bitterly. ’When I aced my SATs, they weren’t nearly this excited. But I guess their real daughter gets

to be rude, but... growing up where she did, with such limited education-how did she manage perfect scores? Maybe she had... help