On the surface, I’m the school’s resident pretty girl with a hollow head—a total academic failure. But behind closed doors, I’m terrifyingly disciplined, grinding through practice exams until 2 AM every night. To boost my GPA, I’m simultaneously juggling three "tutors." They happen to be the three top students at Oakwood Academy: the STEM genius, the Literature prodigy, and the Debate champion. I thought I was managing my schedule perfectly. I thought my secret was safe. That is, until I accidentally saw a group chat on one of their phones. Caleb (STEM God): [Harper is studying Physics with me tonight. Don't overload her with other homework.] Sebastian (Lit Genius): [Don't keep her too late. I need to go over the reading list with her afterwards.] Adrian (Debate King): [So, serious question... after graduation, which one of us do you think she’s going to pick?] I panicked. I dropped the phone and turned to flee, only to find the three of them blocking the doorway, arms crossed, staring right at me. 1 I am famous at Oakwood Academy. Famous for having top-tier looks and bottom-tier grades. I sit comfortably at the very bottom of the class rankings. In the latest Calculus exam, I achieved a spectacular score of 8%. Mr. Harrison, usually the mildest teacher in the school, was chasing me down the hall with my test paper. "Harper Sterling! If I threw a scantron sheet on the floor and stepped on it, I’d score higher than an eight! How did you manage to dodge every single correct answer?" "We are a prep school! This is an Honors class! How did you even get in here?" I picked up the crumpled test he’d thrown at me and offered a sheepish smile. "Mr. Harrison, don't be mad. I promise I won't get an eight next time." The whole class roared with laughter. Mr. Harrison looked like he might have a stroke. "Right, next time you'll aim for a nine? Take this home, get your parents to sign it, and bring it back tomorrow!" Just then, a crisp voice came from the doorway. "Mr. Harrison? The principal sent me to return your flash drive." Mr. Harrison turned around, his face instantly transforming from rage to delight. "Hailey! Thank you so much. I heard you got a 98% on this test. Fantastic work, truly." The girl at the door smiled humbly. "You’re too kind, sir. I still made silly mistakes. Caleb got a perfect score, after all." "This test was brutal," Mr. Harrison reassured her. "A 98 is incredible. Caleb has been doing college-level math since he was six; he’s an outlier." He turned back to me, his eyes filled with disappointment. "Hailey is your sister, Harper. How can you be related and be so... different? Graduation is around the corner. You need to wake up." I nodded enthusiastically like a bobblehead, but my eyes were locked on Hailey. She smirked slightly, turned on her heel, and walked away. I let out a silent sigh of relief. 2 Back at my desk, my friend Chloe whispered, "Was that your sister? I heard she’s ranked fifth in the whole grade. Why don’t you ask her to tutor you?" I stuffed the shameful test paper into my bag. "Studying is boring. Gaming is better. Want to hop on Discord tonight?" Chloe looked like she was about to cry. "I got a 30%, Harper. If I touch my Xbox, my mom will kill me. Thank god I have you, or I’d be the only one failing this class." I glanced at her test paper, covered in red ink. I couldn't help myself. "Chloe, question five is just the quadratic formula. How did you miss that?" Chloe blinked, flipped open her textbook, and scribbled for three minutes. Then she looked up at me, wide-eyed. "Oh my god, you're right! Harper, how did you know that?" Panic spiked in my chest. "I... I guessed! It was the only one I got right on the whole test! Total luck." Bianca, the girl sitting in front of us, turned around with a sneer. "You two are hopeless. Dumb and Dumber. You should just drop out and go to public school." "Hey!" Chloe snapped. "We got into this school fair and square! And if I remember correctly, Harper’s entrance exam score was higher than yours!" Bianca laughed coldly. "That was years ago. Look at her now. She’s rotting at the bottom of the barrel." Chloe opened her mouth to argue, but I grabbed her arm. "Chloe, stop. The teacher is looking." 3 After school, Chloe tried again. "Harper, seriously, skip the games tonight. Let's go to the library and fix our math grades." Just then, Hailey walked by. She paused, looking at me with that perfect, practiced smile. "Heading to the library, Harper? I’m going too. Want to come?" I shook my head vigorously. "Nope. Going home to rank up in League. My grades are a lost cause anyway." I walked away under Chloe’s disappointed gaze. It was a shame. I really wanted to explain those math concepts to Chloe. As soon as I stepped off campus, my phone buzzed. Contact: STEM God (Caleb) [You missed one question on the practice set yesterday. I’ll explain it tonight.] [Also, I heard you got an 8% on the school exam. What are you doing?] [Score control is an art, Harper, but single digits is just insulting.] I frowned, mentally replaying yesterday's problem set. I couldn't believe I missed one. I typed back quickly: [Meet at the usual spot.] Then, a follow-up: [I got an 8 because... don't you think the number 8 looks cute? Like a little snowman?] Caleb: [...] 4 At 6:00 PM, I arrived at a quiet café downtown. Caleb was already there, tucked in a corner booth. He looked up the second I walked in. "Do we have telepathy?" I teased, sliding into the seat opposite him. Caleb shook his head, his face serious. "No. I just didn't know when you’d arrive, so I looked up every time the door opened." I paused. Caleb was usually cold and aloof. It took me months of strategic flirting to get him to agree to tutor me. Hearing him say something so... human... was weird. He seemed to realize what he said and looked down at his books, the tips of his ears turning pink. "Let's look at the problem," he muttered. "This geometry proof. Your initial logic was sound, but your auxiliary line was wrong..." After reviewing the mistake, he pulled out a fresh practice test. "What did you actually get on that school exam?" he asked. "100%. Same as you," I whispered. The corner of his mouth quirked up. "Good. Your logic is solid. But the SATs are different from our school's specific curriculum. Try this set. It's modeled after the AP exams." I took the paper and started working. Ninety minutes later, I handed it back. Caleb nodded. "You're getting faster."
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