Chapter 90
Emmitt, weary of the exaggerated tales that seemed to flow endlessly from his mother’s lips. casually shifted the conversation. “Didn’t Mirabella join the BrainSpark Nationals? How did the prelims go?”
He paused briefly, glancing at Mirabella, but before she could respond, he continued, “Summer’s been in that competition too. Scored pretty well, got a high ranking.” He deliberately omitted that Summer had placed sixth, out of consideration for Mirabella’s pride.
Mirabella’s eyebrows twitched slightly, but she remained silent.
Delilah and Shawn, standing nearby, didn’t seem the slightest bit surprised. Instead-
“Oh. Summer’s score is decent enough,” Delilah said nonchalantly with a nod.
Shawn, equally composed, added, “Summer’s always been a strong student. Her being near the top isn’t surprising.”
But no matter how good Summer was, she wasn’t a match for their daughter. After all, their girl had aced it, clinching the top spot with a perfect score.
Noticing their tepid reactions, Emmitt looked up. puzzled. Summer had been their cherished foster daughter for over a decade. Even if they
weren’t thrilled for her, their response seemed off. Could it be because Mirabella had done poorly, and they were being considerate of her feelings?
Emmitt chuckled at the thought, but before he could dwell on it, Shawn’s voice filled the air again. “Our Mira’s a different story. Fresh from a small–town high school and hardly settled into the big city’s teaching methods, she went straight for the jackpot–a perfect score. She’s really done the Davis family proud!”
Shawn finished speaking with a smugness so exaggerated, it was as if he wanted to tattoo ‘World’s Smartest Daughter‘ across his forehead.
“And rightly so. She’s the national number one.” Delilah chimed in, her tone shifting to one of unbridled pride, her chin lifted high.
Emmitt’s face registered shock as he turned to them. “Perfect score? First place?”
Sensing Emmitt’s disbelief, Delilah blinked innocently. “Huh, didn’t I tell you?”
“You might’ve forgotten.” Shawn chimed in, feigning seriousness.
“How could she…” Emmitt blurted out impulsively, “Her grades were not great, were they?”
Delilah’s eyebrows arched as she glanced at her eldest son. “Who told you that?” She seemed to have erased from her memory the fact that she too had once believed her daughter’s academic performance was lacking.
Emmitt was taken aback.
Chapter 90
“If you don’t believe it, go check the rankings online for yourself,” Delilah huffed, clearly disappointed by Emmitt’s distrust.
Emmitt’s expression stiffened, his grip on his fork faltering. He didn’t reach for his phone to check the rankings. He knew his parents wouldn’t joke about such matters. Mixed emotions churned within Emmitt as he turned to look at Mirabella, who sat quietly enjoying her meal.
For so long, he had always thought that his sister had poor academic performance, and he even believed that the acceptance letter to Parkside High School was obtained through improper
means.
After learning she had entered the BrainSpark Nationals, he prejudged her actions as frivolous. Ironically, he had thought himself kind, even offering to hire her a tutor–an offer she had declined, leading him to believe she was reaching beyond her grasp.
