Don’t make me go back
After the school gave the guaranteed admission
spot to the girl who bullied me, I decided to
tank everything. Physics competition? Nope.
Representative speech? No way. The seven-
school joint exam? I handed in a blank paper.
But when the school board came to visit and
my dad, who’s a board member, asked to see
me, I couldn’t exactly skip that. So I went
straight up to him and complained, “Dad, the
school’s playing favorites.”
It all started when the joint exam scores came
out. I got a 2280 (perfect score is 2400), the
highest in our grade. But instead of
congratulations, I got sneers. My teacher, Mr.
Henderson, grabbed my score sheet and told
me to go to the office. Ashley Parker, the
principal’s daughter, was also there, giving me a
smug look.
<
Mr. Henderson got straight to the point. “The
early admission decision is out.” His eyes
flicked between Ashley and me. Then he smiled
at Ashley. “Congratulations.”
I waited for him to finish, my face blank. “What
about me?”
His smile faltered. “Katie, I wanted to talk to
you about… your options. I know you work
hard, and you’ve won awards, but Ashley… well,
she has…”
I finished his sentence. “Ashley has mediocre
grades, bullies her classmates, and throws her
weight around.”
Mr. Henderson was speechless. Ashley was
furious. “Katie, what the hell are you talking
about? Haven’t I taught you a lesson already?”
I gave her a cold look. Her “lessons” included
locking me in the bathroom, putting bugs and a
<
10:30
dead mouse in my desk, and throwing my books and supplies in the trash. Mr. Henderson knew
about it.
I pointed at her arrogant expression. “Even so, she still gets the early admission?”
Mr. Henderson stammered, giving Ashley a look. Then he turned back to me, trying to placate me. “With your scores, you can get into any
college…”
I cut him off. “Didn’t the announcement say the
top scorer gets priority for early admission?”
He frowned. “Well, yes, but you don’t really
need it, do you?”
Yes, I did. I had a deal with my dad. If I got
early admission, I could study music instead of
business management.
I looked at Mr. Henderson again. “Three years,
<
five national awards, sixteen state awards,
countless school awards, always top of the
class. Even so, she still gets it?”
He was sweating now, lips trembling. Ashley
snapped, “Just give it up already! It’s just one
spot. If you piss me off, I can make your life a
living hell!”
I ignored her, staring at Mr. Henderson until he
finally said, “Rules are rules, but… The decision
is made. Just focus on the SATs. It won’t make
much difference.”
I nodded and left. Ashley followed me out.
“Katie, some people are born with silver spoons
in their mouths, and some people are born to
shovel shit. Blame your loser dad.”
