Chapter 104
Madeline quickly scrolled through the national leaderboard on her phone until she spotted Summer’s score and ranking.
186 points, ranked 10th in the nation.
Had she not seen Mirabella’s score, she would’ve thought that was pretty impressive, But now… Madeline touched her nose, a forced smile creeping onto her face as she said, “Wow, Summer, you really aced it too, huh?”
Summer’s thoughts, lost in a jumble of emotions, snapped back to the present with Madeline’s voice. She masked the turmoil within and asked calmly, “What did I score?”
“186 points, right at number ten nationwide.” Madeline’s voice was noticeably softer when she said it, lacking the oomph she had when she mentioned Mirabella’s perfect 200 score.
Hearing this, Summer’s eyes briefly dipped in response, her tone flat, “Okay.”
After her terse reply, she slid her phone back into her desk drawer and pulled out her physics textbook instead, burying her head in it. Her ponytail cascaded onto her shoulder, velling half of her profile from view.
Madeline watched her, her heart heavy with sympathy, wanting to offer some comforting words but coming up empty. All of this was because of Mirabella. She stole Summer’s spotlight after seventeen years, and now, she was back to rub salt in the wound with her over–the–top achievements. It was Infuriating. Why couldn’t she just stay in the honors program and keep a low profile?
Madeline was positively seething!
Meanwhile, Mirabella made a beeline for Ms. Annette’s office.
“Mirabella, I was just about to call you, and here you are.” Ms. Annette’s stern face softened instinctively at the sight of Mirabella.
Mirabella looked puzzled, “Oh?”
“Congratulations on snagging the top national rank in the city preliminaries again. You’re outstanding!” Ms. Annette couldn’t hide her genuine admiration. She recalled how Mr. Morgan, that old stickler, almost misled her and she nearly made the mistake of turning away such a promising student.
Now that Mirabella had clinched the national top spot again, that stubborn old man must be kicking himself. The thought brought a smug smile to Ms. Annette’s lips.
Mirabella was silent for a beat before she said, “Ms. Annette, I suspect there’s been a mistake with my BrainSpark Nationals preliminary score.”
Ms. Annette paused, “A mistake? What do you mean?”
“I don’t think my score should be just 200 points. No, I’m certain it shouldn’t be just 200 points,” Mirabella said earnestly, her expression serious.
Ms. Annette stifled a laugh. “What do you mean ‘just‘ 200 points? The total is 210!”
She regarded Mirabella with a mix of amusement and perplexity for a moment before asking. “So, what score do you think you should have?”
“Full marks!” Mirabella lifted her chin confidently.
Ms. Annette coughed, taken aback once again. Truth be told, she wanted to believe Mirabella, but she knew the competition’s rigorous standards, and achieving full marks was nearly impossible.
“Mirabella, not scoring full marks isn’t the end of the world. Don’t be disheartened. You still ranked first in the nation and have smoothly advanced to the city finals,” Ms. Annette consoled with a meaningful tone.
At that, Mirabella couldn’t help but give a wry smile. “Ms. Annette, it’s not about the full marks. I just want to know
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Chapter 104
where those ten points went.”
Realizing her misunderstanding, Ms. Annette chuckled and said, “Ah, I see… It just so happens that the folks from the Education Association are in Mr. Hammond’s office right now. I was supposed to inform you to drop by but got sidetracked. Why don’t you head over there now and ask them about the deduction directly?”
