Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Last week, my counselor had handed me an application form.

It was a direct early-admission recommendation to Harvard and MIT.

I could have skipped the SAT entirely and secured my spot, but I had insisted on taking the exam to prove my abilities.

Looking back, I had been an absolute fool. If I had simply signed that paperwork back then, none of this nightmare would have happened.

Then again, I could never have anticipated that Chelsea possessed a cheat system to steal my score.

There were no regrets in life, but since I was blessed with a second chance, why shouldn't I rewrite my destiny?

I walked straight into my counselor's office and stated my intention.

The counselor beamed with joy and immediately pulled out the recommendation form.

"You've finally come to your senses! I kept telling you that you didn't need to stress over the SAT. Your academic record has blown past every threshold by miles!"

The counselor genuinely cared about my future. Star students like me were rare, and I was easily the most gifted one she had ever taught.

I smiled at her warmly.

"Thank you, Mrs. Gable. Even though I'm submitting this form, I still plan to sit for the SAT. Even if the score doesn't matter for my admission, I want to take the test so my classmates don't feel discouraged."

"Plus, if I take the exam alongside them, it will motivate everyone to push harder and boost the whole class's morale."

Chelsea wanted to swap our SAT scores, didn't she?

Then let her have it.

I wanted to see what kind of glorious score she could pull out of thin air this time.

Mrs. Gable patted my shoulder, nodding with immense pride.

"You truly are the finest student I've ever taught. Even at this stage, you're still looking out for your peers."

"I approve your request. I'll inform the principal right away."

I smiled and thanked her.

Soon, the day of the SAT arrived.

Early that morning, Chelsea woke me up and checked my ID and test pass multiple times, even inspecting my spare number-two pencils three times over.

Mom was deeply moved by the sight.

"Jocelyn, look how sweet your sister is! She hasn't even packed her own bag yet, but her whole heart is focused on taking care of you!"

Chelsea lowered her head, blushing with faux modesty.

"Mom, it's the least I can do. Jocelyn is such a brilliant student, she's definitely going to score top marks!"

With just a few sweet words, she had Mom tearing up with emotion, hugging and kissing her cheeks.

"Chelsea, you're so sweet. You are Mommy's greatest pride!"

Chelsea played humble: "Mom, I'm not that great. At least I'm not like Jocelyn. My grades are terrible, unlike her, who is always top of the class."

Mom stroked Chelsea's hair lovingly. "Oh, Jocelyn just happens to be book-smart. She falls short of you in every other way! You're kind, sweet, and caring. Sometimes I feel like you're my only real daughter!"

After being Mom's devoted daughter for nearly eighteen years, I was still worth less than her precious golden child.

I shook my head with a quiet chuckle, turned around, and walked out the front door toward the testing center.

Chelsea's voice called out from behind: "Jocelyn, make sure to do your absolute best on the test!"

Oh, I definitely will, my dear sister.

Inside the exam hall, I let out a massive yawn, laid my head on the desk, and fell fast asleep under everyone's bewildered stares.

I had stayed up late playing video games over the past few days and was genuinely exhausted.

In my past life, I had never dared to touch a game or even watch TV for the sake of my grades.

During my teenage years, when kids loved to have fun, I had forcefully turned myself into a soulless study machine.

I had wanted to make Mom proud, to be a daughter she could show off.

In the end, all my hard work had merely been stolen by someone else.

In this life, I completely set myself free.

And honestly, doing whatever I wanted felt incredible!

Halfway through the test, the proctor gently tapped my shoulder to wake me up.

She whispered with deep concern: "Miss, this is the official SAT exam."

I nodded politely to show I understood.

Seeing that I still had no intention of picking up my pencil, she gently offered another reminder.

"You should at least write down something besides your name and registration number."

Taking her advice, I sat up and flipped open the math section booklet.

On the very first grid-in question, I solemnly scribbled the digit "1".

Having finished my grand contribution, sleepiness washed over me again, and I slumped back down on the desk.

I heard the proctor let out a defeated sigh, accompanied by the stunned gasps of the students around me.

On the day the scores were released, Chelsea was far more nervous than I was.

Ever since the exam ended, she had been probing me about how I felt, even secretly asking Mrs. Gable about my estimated score.

When she heard my estimated score was around 1550, she had let out a massive sigh of relief.

Today was the moment of truth.

She didn't even bother checking her own student portal, choosing to sit right behind me to watch my screen.

I turned and asked her: "Chelsea, how do you think you did?"

She smiled smugly: "Pretty good! I filled in an answer for every single bubble."

I nodded: "That's great to hear."

The better she performed on her own, the higher my transferred score would be.

At exactly noon, I logged into my College Board account.

When the score report loaded on the monitor, Chelsea sprang out of her chair in sheer horror.

"A zero? How on earth did you get a zero?!"

I looked at the big, fat zero on the screen and chuckled.

"Turns out leaving everything blank really gives you zero points."

"No, no, this is impossible! You're Jocelyn Drake, how could you score a zero?!"

Chelsea was having a complete mental breakdown, pacing frantically, clawing at her own hair, and staring at the screen in disbelief.

No matter which way she looked at it, it was an undeniable, solitary zero.

Mom was equally stunned, stammering in disbelief: "Jocelyn... Did you really get this score?"

I nodded calmly: "Yeah. I was tired of always being first, so I wanted to see what rock bottom felt like for once."

"Jocelyn, have you lost your mind?!" Chelsea screamed at the top of her lungs, completely losing control.

"This is the SAT! The exam that decides your entire future! Didn't you estimate a 1550? What the hell is this zero?!"

"Are you insane?!"

Her screeching terrified Mom.

It was the first time Mom had ever seen Chelsea rip off her sweet mask and act like a raging lunatic.

I arched an eyebrow and asked coolly: "I never shared my score estimate with anyone. How did you know about it?"

Chelsea froze instantly, her mouth opening and closing as she stammered without forming a single coherent word.

Right at that moment, the numbers on my screen quietly shifted.