you going?” “To work,” I replied. Lily didn’t
say anything else, rushing into my parents‘
bedroom. “Mom, look at this outfit! Do you
like it?” “Anything you wear looks beautiful,
honey,” Mom replied from inside. The door
wasn’t completely closed, and I heard Lily say,
“Ethan gave it to me.” I didn’t wait to hear
any more, heading out the door.
After another tutoring session, I waited for
the bus. It was 1 pm, and the bus was almost
empty. I sat near the back, as usual, and
く
checked my phone. My teacher had texted.
She said I was officially the state’s top scorer
in humanities. She was ecstatic, showering
me with praise, saying the last time the
school had a state topper was Ethan. Seeing
his name made my eyes ache. I looked away,
out the window, watching the sunlight dapple
through the sycamore trees.
After I calmed down, I looked back at my
phone.“–The TV station wants to interview
you. They’re thinking the afternoon you go
back to school to pick up your transcripts.
How does that sound?”
I replied, “Sounds good.”
When I got home, Lily, wearing the pink
pleated skirt, was sitting on the floor,
surrounded by college brochures. Mom sat
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beside her. Seeing me, Mom waved me over.
“Ashley, what are you thinking of majoring
in?” I slipped off my shoes, put down my bag,
and said, “Law.” Lily scoffed. “Ashley, be
realistic. Your scores aren’t good enough for
law school.” Mom chimed in. “Ashley, your
sister is probably going to apply to the local
college. Their elementary education program
205
has a lower admission requirement. Maybe
you should consider that too. Being a
language arts teacher would suit you.” “No,” |
said firmly. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m
applying for law. I want to be a lawyer.” Mom
frowned. “That’s a very competitive field,
Ashley. Unless you apply to some less
prestigious schools…” “My scores are high
enough,” I started to explain, but Lily grabbed
<
Mom’s arm. “Mom, don’t worry about her!
Help me figure out what I should apply for.”
Once again, she’d successfully diverted
Mom’s attention. It was always like this, ever
since we were little. I was never the outgoing
one, and in a family with twins, the contrast
was stark. I didn’t say anything else, heading
to the bathroom to wash my hands, then
retreating to my room.
The day we went back to school for our
transcripts, Mom drove us. Lily sat in the
front, chatting with Mom, while I reviewed my
notes for the interview. “Mom, the top
science student at our school is only tenth in
the state. Way worse than last year. But the
humanities student got the top score! Looks
like the school focused all its resources on
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humanities this year. I should have chosen
humanities,” Lily complained. Mom was
surprised. “Really? I thought your school was known for its science program?” Lily
grumbled, “They changed principals this year. I don’t think the teaching staff is as good. If I’d chosen humanities, I’m sure I could have
gotten into State with Ethan.” She glanced
back at me. “Ashley, I’m so jealous of you.
You got lucky choosing humanities. You even
got above average.” “Results are a product of
effort,” I said quietly. Lily rolled her eyes and
turned back around.
When we arrived, Mom said, “Girls, call me
when you’re done. Aunt Sarah and I are going shopping.” Lily and I were in different
departments, so even our school buildings
<
were different. Back in my classroom,
everyone was chatting. As I walked in, the
room fell silent for a second. I paused,
thinking the teacher had arrived. I glanced
behind me, but the doorway was empty. Then,
a burst of applause erupted. “Awesome!
Ashley, you’re the state topper!” “That’s
incredible!” “Congratulations!”
I was stunned, then realized what was
happening. I felt a blush creep up my cheeks,
but I couldn’t help but smile. I was never the
popular one, despite being the class
representative for language arts. But now,
surrounded by cheers, I finally understood
what it felt like to experience a true high
school moment. A moment that made me
genuinely smile.
<
After we got our transcripts, everyone
exchanged goodbyes and went their separate
ways. Mom called. “Ashley, are you done
yet?” I was following my teacher to the
auditorium for the interview. “Not yet,
something came up.” “I’m still out shopping,”
Mom said. “I’ll have Lily meet you, okay?” I
paused. “I’m in the auditorium.”
The interview took about twenty minutes. Just
as it ended, Lily walked in. She looked
around. “Ashley, what are you doing?” The
reporter, packing up her equipment, saw Lily
and her eyes lit up. “Is this your friend?” she
asked me. “No,” I shook my head. “She’s my
sister.” “You’re both so pretty!” the reporter
gushed. “Thanks,” I said.
Lily walked closer, her eyes falling on the
L
reporter’s press badge. “You’re from the TV
station?” The reporter nodded. Lily looked
bewildered. It seemed to dawn on her that
something wasn’t right. “What are you doing
here?” she asked. Another reporter was
packing up the camera. My teacher walked in
with three bottles of water. I looked at Lily
calmly. “Interviewing the state’s top
humanities student,” the reporter said. All the
color drained from Lily’s face. She froze, her
eyes unfocused. Her gaze flickered over me,
then landed on the reporter. “What did you
say?” she whispered. The reporter glanced at
me and repeated, “Interviewing the state’s
top humanities student.” Lily looked around
the auditorium again, realizing I was the only
student there. Her face went white. “Who’s
the top student?” she asked, biting her lip.
The reporter looked confused, probably
wondering why Lily, my sister, didn’t know. I
stood up calmly. “Me,” I said.
“No way!” Lily stormed out. I took a water
bottle from my teacher, thanked her, and
followed Lily out. Lily was a short distance
ahead, calling Mom. “Mom, Ashley lied! She’s
been lying this whole time! She actually did
really well…” I couldn’t hear what Mom was
saying. The sun was bright, filtering through
the sycamore trees. I saw Ethan standing by
the security booth, chatting with the guard.
He looked casual yet put–together in a dark
button–down shirt that accentuated his broad
shoulders. Hearing our footsteps, he turned
and smiled. Lily must have seen him too,
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because she stopped crying. She ran towards
him and threw herself into his arms. “Ethan!”
she sobbed. Ethan looked surprised, his
hands still at his sides, not hugging her back.
His dark eyes fixed on me. “What’s wrong?”
he asked. “I don’t know,” I said, shaking my
head. Why else would she be acting like this?
Lily was always competitive, using me as a
stepping stone to boost her own ego. Finding
out I’d scored higher than her must have been
a blow to her carefully constructed world. She
was probably terrified of losing Mom and
Dad’s attention. “Don’t cry,” Ethan said
gently. I looked away.
Mom and Aunt Sarah arrived while I was
sitting in the back of Ethan’s car. Lily was still
crying in the passenger seat. Ethan, one hand
く
on the steering wheel, glanced at her through
the rearview mirror. “Lily–Rose, stop crying.
Your mom’s here.” Mom rushed out of her
car, her worry evident even through the car
window. Would she have been this worried if
it had been me crying? I thought about it. I
rarely cried in front of Mom. Clearly, the
squeaky wheel gets the grease. Lily threw
open the car door and flung herself into
Mom’s arms. Mom comforted her, then
