It was possible that Luke had already done this project, but I was almost positive he hadn’t. He was a braggart, and if he’d whipped off a twenty-five-page paper and read a dozen extra books on top of our already-heavy syllabus, he would’ve said something.
Also, I imagined Mr. Abernathy would’ve given me the heads-up that my competitor had done the assignment. A gentle, “Don’t forget that extra-credit project, Nora. Luke finished his.” He was like that, Mr. A.
But he would not be able to give Luke the heads-up, because I was going to hand mine in at the last possible second. It was due the last day of the semester—December 23, and December 23 was the day Mr. Abernathy was going to get it.
Because I was organized, I still had the list of books in my English folder. I went to the Scupper Island Library and did something I’d never done before—I stole six books, stuffing them into my backpack. If I checked them out, it might get back to Luke. His girlfriend’s mother worked at the library. Everyone wanted Luke to get the Perez Scholarship. No one was pulling for me.
I didn’t know if the project would make a difference, but I had to try.
For the next ten days, I worked like a fiend. I read and studied constantly, when I was fixing a snack, eating, sitting on the toilet. I only allowed myself two hours of consecutive sleep a night, sleeping on the couch, claiming I was sick and didn’t want to give my germs to Lily. If Lily was home in the afternoon, I slipped down to the cellar to read those damn books. Truth was, I was afraid she might rat me out.
I read, I scribbled notes, I studied for exams, I stole six more books from the library. I read some more. Wrote. Studied. Read. Wrote. Crammed.
“You okay?” my mother asked. “You look tired.”
“Exams,” I mumbled. “I’m fine.”
She knew something else was going on, but she didn’t press it. She never did. I didn’t have time to wish she were the type of mother to sit down and say, “What’s wrong, honey?” I was on a mission.
By the time my last exam rolled around, I was a wreck, literally shaking with fatigue. Five minutes before the end of the last day of the term, I handed my paper in to Mr. Abernathy.
He looked at me in surprise. “My heavens, Nora,” he said. “I can’t believe it. You’re the first student ever to complete this.”
“And, boy, am I tired,” I said. And I leaned against the blackboard and sighed dramatically, smearing what I had done in case Mr. A took a closer look. “Phew.”
It was sleeting out, the sky heavy and dark as I walked home. Tears slid out my eyes, and I didn’t bother wiping them away. I went straight upstairs, crawled into my bed and slept for seventeen hours straight.
Christmas came. Lily was civil for an hour as we exchanged gifts but didn’t stay for dinner. Mom and I ate alone, then watched TV. I slept most of break, watched TV, stayed in my pajamas.
I didn’t know how I did on my exams, because the teachers hadn’t posted the grades, per Dr. Perez’s request. I didn’t know how much extra credit I’d get from Mr. Abernathy, or if it would make a difference. All I knew was that I tried, and there was an ugly, hard part of me that hadn’t existed before.
Technically, I hadn’t cheated. Morally, I knew I had. I told myself I didn’t care, that it would be worth it, that Luke Fletcher didn’t deserve every single bright and shiny thing in the world.
On January 4, the first day of the new term. Dr. Pedro Perez came to school, and the entire student body and faculty gathered in the gym at nine o’clock sharp. I sat in the back, closest to the door, because if Luke won, I knew I would cry.
Xiaowen sat next to me, and I broke out in an icy sweat.
Xiaowen Liu. Holy crap on a cracker, what about Xiaowen? I didn’t even know what her GPA was! Forget my AP classes, forget Luke... What about Xiaowen? I hadn’t even thought about her. It had been Luke and me for three years, and now this transfer student would nab our town’s most distinguished honor.
“Hi, Nora,” she said.
“Hey,” I said, my voice choked.
“Good luck,” she said.
“You, too.”
Luke walked past with his posse, his arm around Dara, his hand in her back pocket. I looked at my feet, not wanting to see his triumphant, perfect face. I heard the words lard ass and a ripple of ugly laughter.
My heart was beating so hard I could barely hear as the principal kissed up to Dr. Perez, thanked him, praised him, all but leg-humped him as the billionaire genius sat in a folding chair next to the podium, looking at the floor, a faint smile on his face.
Finally, finally, he stood up. “Hello, kids,” he said. “It’s my honor to present the Perez Scholarship to the Scupper Island student with the highest GPA. This year’s winner, with a GPA of 4.153, is Nora Stuart.”
There was a collective gasp. For a second, I didn’t know why.
It was because Luke hadn’t won.
And neither had Xiaowen.
I had.
There was some applause. Not much, probably just the teachers.
“Nora, come on up here,” said the principal, a touch of impatience in her voice. Another Luke fan. She went to every soccer match.
“Congratulations,” Xiaowen said. I looked at her, my eyes feeling stretched open too wide. “Go,” she added.
On wobbling, watery legs, I went up to where Dr. Perez waited. “Well done,” he said, shaking my damp hand.
“Thank you,” I breathed. “Thank you, Dr. Perez. I...I... Thank you.” Tears streamed down my face, and Dr. Perez chuckled.
If only Daddy could see this.
It had been six and a half years since I had seen him or talked to him, yet that was my first thought.
My eyes found Lily in the crowd. She was staring at me, listening as Janelle Schilling whispered in her ear.
There might’ve been a trace of a smile on her face.
Suddenly, Luke stood up and strode out of the gym, fury in every step. Dara, his girlfriend, followed, then Tate Ellister, who also played soccer, then the rest of the team. They said nothing. Amy got up and left, too.
“Well, now,” the principal said. “Uh, congratulations, Nora. Hard work pays off. You juniors and underclassmen, you listen up, all right? Next year, this could be you.”
With that, our assembly was over. “If you need anything, let me know,” Dr. Perez said, handing me his card. “Good luck.”
A man of few words. “Dr. Perez,” I said as he turned away. “You...you’ve changed my life.” I paused. “And it needed changing.”
He looked at me for a long second. “Make the most of it.” Then he winked, let the principal glad-hand him again and left me trembling, elated...and alone.
My sister made her way up to me. “Congrats,” she said. She looked me up and down, but there was some amusement in her eyes. “You look like you’re about to pee yourself.”
“I feel like it, too,” I said. My voice was still weird, legs still shaking.
“So I guess you’ll be in Boston next year.”
“Yeah.” I would be. I’d be sitting on that perfect lawn. I’d have friends.
I wouldn’t be the Troll. Maybe. In fact, maybe...maybe I could be someone else entirely.
“Gotta run,” Lily said.
“Bye,” I said belatedly, but she was already halfway across the gym.
A few teachers congratulated me in the hall. In homeroom—Luke was conspicuously absent—our report cards were passed out.