During my senior year of high school, I used fake photos of a gorgeous model to catfish an MIT-bound genius. I scammed him into giving me a year of free SAT tutoring. After graduation, we were supposed to meet in real life. But my cousin, who had just scored a 1540 on her SATs, tried to intercept him. "He's the top student in MIT's physics department. Do you really think a humanities nerd like you deserves him?" I didn't go to MIT. I went to Harvard. After the semester started, there was a joint Harvard-MIT mixer. When the notoriously aloof upperclassman sitting across from me was asked about his dating history, he answered flatly: "I got played by a catfish." "It didn't feel great." After he spoke, his eyes locked onto mine. "Wouldn't you agree, freshman?" Chapter 1 The day the SAT scores were released happened to coincide with a massive family dinner. My cousin, Chloe, had scored a 1540. She instantly became the prized jewel of the entire family. "I knew our Chloe would crush it." "Exactly! She's the absolute pride of this family!" I sat in silence, my head bowed, staring at the phone hidden under the edge of the table. My online boyfriend, Liam, had just sent me two messages: "Did you check your scores yet?" "I'm at the airport. I'll see you tonight." My heart did a violent flip. I hadn't figured out how to reply yet. Suddenly, my cousin called my name: "Emily." I looked up. I was met with her malicious, overly sweet smile. "Did you check your scores yet? What did you get?" Before I could answer, my aunt laughed. "Chloe, why are you rubbing salt in Emily's wounds?" "Someone who fails basic algebra on a regular basis isn't going to miraculously sprout wings on the SATs." Ever since my dad passed away from an illness, my family's financial situation had been dire. Our relatives had always looked down on us. Especially my cousin, Chloe. She was the golden child. Growing up, her absolute favorite hobby was stepping on me to elevate herself. I forced a stiff smile and looked at her. "You really want to know?" "We're all family here." Chloe smiled innocently. "Emily, even if you have to go to community college, nobody here is going to laugh at you." My mom put down her fork and squeezed my hand under the table. "I'm proud of Emily no matter what she scores." My aunt muttered under her breath: "Tsk. Dirt poor and practically failing, yet she still acts so high and mighty." For a moment, every single eye in the private dining room was pinned on me. I took a bite of melon, chewed slowly, and finally spoke: "It's true. I choked under pressure. Didn't do my best." Chloe couldn't hold back a triumphant smirk, though her tone was fake-sympathetic: "What do you mean, choked? Your scores have always been right around the—" I cut her off: "—I only scored 40 points higher than you." Chapter 2 She froze. A few seconds later, she practically shrieked: "Are you insane?! If you're going to lie, make it believable!" "You're a humanities student! The absolute highest score in the state for the humanities track this year was a 1580!" "Correct." My voice was completely flat. I casually picked up another piece of melon. "I am the top humanities scorer in the state." The room plunged into dead silence. Chloe stood frozen, her face shifting violently between red, green, and white. Suddenly, she blurted out, "Did you cheat on the SATs?!" "Believe whatever you want." I grabbed my mom's hand and stood up. "We're going home." Leaving a room full of stunned relatives in the restaurant, I walked home. When I checked my phone, I saw two new messages from Liam. "It's okay if you didn't do well." "In my eyes, you are always the brightest star." "..." He was so sweet, I wanted to cry. I had used a fake profile to mercilessly exploit him for a year of free elite tutoring. For the first time, a sharp pang of guilt pierced my chest. Chapter 3 When I went back to my high school that afternoon, I was the absolute center of attention. After all, on all my previous practice tests, my scores had barely scraped a 1200. The students were whispering everywhere I went. "How did the class slacker suddenly get a near-perfect score?" "You haven't heard? Emily cheated. The school board is reviewing the security footage right now." Amidst the chaotic chatter, I suddenly caught a few girls gossiping in the hallway. "Liam is coming back to visit the school tonight." "Oh my god, Liam? The guy who got early admission to MIT last year and broke the state record for the AP Physics exams?" I had barely registered his name when Chloe suddenly appeared. She was surrounded by a crowd of sycophants, all praising her for her "amazing" 1540. "Actually, I know Liam personally. We've talked privately quite a bit." Hearing Liam's name, Chloe raised her voice slightly. "Last year, when my practice scores dipped, he reached out to me specifically. He told me he wanted to see me at MIT." "That's why I worked so hard this year." Someone gasped. "Meeting at the absolute top... that is so romantic!" Chloe put on a deeply shy expression. Yet her eyes darted toward me, completely triumphant and provocative. I let out a scoff. "I talk to Liam every single day. How come I never heard about him encouraging you?" "Emily, you are a pathological liar." "Does Liam even know who you are?" Chloe looked at me with pure disdain. "He's the top physics student at MIT. Do you really think a humanities nerd who cheated on her SATs deserves him?" Suddenly, a voice echoed down the hall: "Emily! The school board officials want to see you in the principal's office." Every single person in the hallway turned to stare at me. I heard someone mutter loudly: "Cheating on a standardized test... isn't that a federal crime?" Chapter 4 I stood in the principal's office, my back straight, facing the probing gazes of the school board officials. "You've reviewed the security footage. You should know I didn't cheat." "Of course we know that." They asked, "Emily, we are simply curious. How did you manage to jump nearly 400 points on the actual exam compared to your practice tests?" I pursed my lips. "Because... I was intentionally tanking my scores." Westfield High has a very specific, highly lucrative corporate scholarship. It was designed to incentivize underperforming, low-income students. If a student's final SAT score improved by more than 300 points compared to their junior year baseline, they received a $20,000 "Most Improved" grant. "My family's financial situation is terrible. I wanted to ease the burden on my mom." The officials in the room exchanged complex, heavy looks. Someone let out a deep sigh. A moment later, my homeroom teacher walked over and patted my shoulder. "Don't worry about the money anymore. You're the top humanities scholar in the state. The academic scholarships alone will cover everything." Chapter 5 By the time I walked out of the office, the sky was growing dark. The students outside were mostly gone. I unlocked my phone and checked the senior group chat, only to realize what was going on. The school was hosting a massive post-graduation banquet at a nearby hotel. Everyone was there. And Liam had shown up. Someone sent a candid photo of him to the group chat. A tall guy in a white tee and cargo pants stood under the warm hotel lights, a light jacket draped over his arm. He stood perfectly straight, like a stalk of bamboo. His eyelashes were lowered, his gaze cool and distant. Someone like him would be the most dazzling person in any room he walked into. And me... I looked up. My reflection stared back at me in the glass of the school's bulletin board. I was painfully thin, my features incredibly plain. Because I had been pulling all-nighters working multiple part-time jobs, I even had two massive breakouts on my forehead. I looked absolutely nothing like the flawless AI-generated model photo I had sent him. The group chat was still buzzing. "Liam is so gorgeous, but he looks like he has a lot on his mind. He keeps drinking and zoning out." "He's probably thinking about Chloe! They're supposed to meet at the top, remember?" Chloe popped into the chat to reply: "We met up! We met up!" Since I was completely in the wrong for catfishing him, I originally hadn't planned on meeting Liam at all. But in that moment, maybe because the summer night breeze was intoxicating... A massive, impulsive urge to see him surged in my chest. However, right as I arrived at the hotel lobby. I pulled out my phone to check which floor the banquet was on. Two new text messages popped onto my screen. From Liam. "That photo wasn't actually you, was it?" "You must be incredibly ugly in real life. How do you have the absolute nerve to use a fake photo to scam me? You disgust me." My footsteps halted. My entire body turned to ice. A second later, a new post refreshed on my Instagram feed. It was from Chloe. She was wearing Liam's light-colored jacket, leaning against his shoulder in a highly intimate, affectionate pose. The caption read: "I finally caught the moon."
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