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!"

the language professor declared. "This sets a new departmental

actually smiled. "This work... the innovation, the technical precision. It exceeds professional quality. Your natural talent

exams in forty minutes with perfect scores across

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

alone with her thoughts. Something wasn’t sitting right. How the hell could someone from nowhere, with no resources to speak of, pull this off?’ Audrey

of her class, but even she had never nailed perfect scores

scores!" Vivian hugged

to celebrate this." Howard

’When

to be rude, but... growing up where she did, with such