The year I graduated high school, I watched my sister, Jane, steal my acceptance letter to Harvard. She replaced it with her own letter from the local community college. I saw her do it. And I did nothing. I let her forge the documents. I let her and my parents celebrate. Because in my last life, I didn't. In my last life, I screamed. I exposed her lie. My reward was a beating from my parents. "You're the older sister! Why can't you let her have this? All she wants is a good future, and you have to snatch it away?" My father's words, as he ripped my letter from my hands and gave it back to her. My mother was worse. "You're too good for community college, is that it? Fine! You don't have to go anywhere!" She tied my hands and feet with a rope. She sold me to Old Man Hawkins, the crippled widower on the edge of the county, to be his wife. Hawkins locked me in his root cellar. He wanted a son. I endured his torment until I couldn't. I threw myself in the river and ended my life. Only as I was dying did I learn the truth. Why, if we were sisters, did they treat me this way? It turned out I wasn't their daughter at all. And because I wasn't their blood, I was treated like livestock. Heh. Thank God for second chances. The people who humiliated me, who broke me... they won't get off so easy this time. 1 "June! Good news! The mailman came, our letters are here! This one's yours." My sister, Jane, handed me an envelope with a saccharine smile. I opened it. "Ms. June Miller, you have been accepted into our General Education program..." The letterhead was from some obscure state teacher's college. My parents, hearing the commotion, rushed over. "Well, you actually got in?" my dad said. "Let me be clear. We're poor. We can't afford two college tuitions. If your school isn't as good as your sister's, you're not going." They immediately turned to Jane. "Janie, where did you get in?" Jane proudly held up her letter. The crimson seal of Harvard University was impossible to miss. She shouted, "I got into Harvard! I'm going to Harvard!" "I must be the top of our county! No, the whole state!" "Praise the Lord! We've got a golden goose in the Miller family!" My parents were ecstatic. My mother jabbed my father in the ribs. "Earl, what are you waiting for? Get the savings jar. We're going to the department store in town to get our girl some new clothes!" Before he was out the door, she yelled again, "And get the good polyester, Earl! She's going to the big city! We can't have her looking like trailer trash!" It wasn't just clothes. My mother made plans to slaughter our only hog for a huge "send-off" party for Jane. In her excitement, my mother finally noticed me. She twisted my ear, hard. "And you. All day, lazy, not doing your chores, hiding in the barn with those scraps of paper. And for what? A crappy little diploma? We wasted good pencils on you!" My ear felt like it was tearing off, but I didn't fight back. This was my normal. I walked over to my sister. "Jane," I asked, "can I see your letter?" She snatched it away. "No way! What if you get jealous and rip it up?" She looked me up and down, a smug little sneer on her face. "You know, out of everyone in our class, you studied the hardest. Reading by that kerosene lamp all night, getting soot all over your face. I bet your spit is black! "And after all that, you still did worse than me. If I were you, sis, I'd be so embarrassed I'd just die." Her words made me cough. She was right about one thing. My lungs were probably ruined from the fumes. I had given everything to get out. And this was the result. 2 I was awake when the mailman came. Jane thought I was asleep. She snuck out and took both letters. When she saw I'd gotten into Harvard and she'd only gotten into the local college, her eyes went red. She stomped her foot in the yard. I watched her creep into the living room. She took a pen. She carefully added a single stroke to the name on my letter. Our names were almost identical. I was June. She was Jane. With one neat line, she changed my "u" to an "a." She swapped the letters. She put mine in her pocket and handed hers to me. In my last life, I screamed. I called her a thief in front of our parents. My father slapped me to the ground. He didn't just hit me. He kicked me, over and over, until I was silent. He grabbed my letter and handed it to Jane. "You're the older sister! Why can't you let her have this?" I tried to get up, but my mother tied my wrists. "You think you're too good for that school?" she hissed, dragging me to the cellar. "Fine! You won't go anywhere! It's time you got married!" The money they got for selling me paid for Jane's tuition. While she was being celebrated, I was being brutalized. While she was becoming a "Harvard woman," I was drowning myself in a well. Now, I'm back. This time, I'll let her have it. She wants my letter? She can take it. I want to see just how she plans to use it. The news that a Miller girl was going to Harvard spread through the county like wildfire. Kids from school started showing up at our farmhouse, carrying gifts. Bags of Hershey's Kisses, glass bottles of Coke—things we never had. "Jane, my dad brought this back from the city. It's real chocolate! Try it! I can get more!" "Janie, when you're a big shot, don't forget about us!" "A Harvard girl from our town! Wow. Don't forget us little people!" Jane, wearing her new polyester shirt, held court, her arms full of treats. "Don't you worry," she said, beaming. "I'm not the type to forget my roots. When I'm successful, I'll take care of all of you!" "I'm not like my sister. Wasting all that kerosene at night, pretending to study. And for what? A diploma from a community college! What a waste of oil." They all turned to look at me. "Yeah, June was always the bookworm. Always muttering formulas in the field. And she still failed." "I bet she was just faking it! Acting all high and mighty, ignoring everyone. Well, her own sister put her in her place!" "We're all just poor farm kids, but she always acted so stuck-up. Just because she was dating the mayor's son..." "Shh! Speak of the devil... Cody's here!" I looked up. A young man in a crisp button-down shirt was walking toward the house. 3 It was my boyfriend, Cody. I stood up, my hands clenched. In my last life, after I escaped the cellar, I ran. I ran fifteen miles, my shoes tearing, until I got to his house. I told him everything. I begged him to get his father, the mayor, to help me. His father went to my house. He came back an hour later, told my parents where I was, and let them drag me away. He didn't believe me. He just wanted his son away from "trash" like me. When my parents grabbed me, Cody just stood there. I clung to him. "Cody, please, don't let them take me. Please." One word from his father, and he let go. "June," he promised, "you just go home. I'll figure this out. If what you're saying is true, I'll make it right." I waited. I waited until I was tied up and handed over to Old Man Hawkins. He never came. Two months later, I heard he and my sister were engaged. And now, here he was. He looked at me, his face full of pity. Then, he turned away and walked right to Jane, handing her a box of canned peaches. "Congratulations, Jane. This is just a little something." Cody was tall, handsome, and powerful. Every girl in town wanted him. We'd promised we'd both get out, go to the city together. Now, he was going to a state university. And I... I wasn't going anywhere. Jane linked her arm through his. "Cody, you shouldn't have! You're too sweet." Cody glanced at me again, but he didn't pull his arm away. "My dad was real impressed. He said you're the county's pride. He'd like you to come over for dinner." The other kids gasped. The mayor's house. I'd dated Cody for two years, and his father had never once acknowledged my existence. Jane giggled. "I'd love to! Cody, I heard you're going to college in the city, too. We can ride the bus together! We'll have to look out for each other." She shot me a look of pure triumph. I just lowered my head. I went to the backyard. Cody followed. He grabbed my arm. "June, listen. It's just my dad. I have to do what he says!" "I really do like you, June, but... our stations are just too different. I thought if you got into a good school, he'd accept you. But... a community college?" His words made me want to laugh. "So you believe it, too? That's all I'm good for?" "No! That's not what I mean!" he said, flustered. "But this is the reality. You can study all you want, but you choked when it mattered. You're just... you're not on her level." From the doorway, Jane called, "Cody! Mom's serving pie! Come get some!" Cody looked at her, then back at me. "June... if you're looking for someone to blame, blame yourself for not being good enough." He turned and walked back to her. Jane took his arm again, this time resting her head on his shoulder, smiling at me. I smiled back. A cold, thin smile. Enjoy it while you can, Jane. You'll be crying soon enough. 4 My best friend, Maria, was furious. "Look at that snake! Everyone knows you and Cody are a couple, and she just... just takes him! And she's the Harvard girl? I spit on that!" She looked at my letter. She squinted. "June... wait a minute. Look at this! The ink on the 'n' in your name... it's darker! It looks like someone wrote over it!" She gasped. "Oh my god. You don't think... this is her letter, and she faked your name?" She was loud. Jane looked over. Even facing exposure, she didn't flinch. She just gave me a smug little wink. That night, after everyone left, Jane sat at the table, eating Cody's canned peaches. "Mmm, so sweet." She waved a piece of paper in the air. "Guess what I have, sister? All the paperwork. The birth certificate, the forms... everything I need to enroll." "It doesn't matter what your grades were. I'm the one going to Harvard." She glanced over my shoulder. I didn't have to look. I knew my parents were standing in the shadows of the hallway. They were all in on it. If I fought back now, they'd drag me to the cellar. I just stayed silent. "My party is tomorrow, sis," Jane cooed. "The mayor and everyone important will be there. You'd better be on your best behavior. Or..." She leaned in. "Or I'll have Mom and Dad marry you off to Old Man Hawkins. He's sixty, but he still wants a son. You'd be perfect for breeding." The name made my stomach turn. My past life... the filth, the ropes, the pain... My eyes went red. Jane just patted my clenched fist. "You should thank me, June. Without you, I'd never get to go." I forced my face into a smile. "You're welcome, Janie." She made one mistake. She needs me for this to work. And that's why she's really not going anywhere. The next day, our farm was chaos. My parents had hired a local band. They'd invited the whole town. Jane was wearing a sash that said "Future Harvard Grad," her new polyester dress shining in the sun. Cody was there, right by her side. People were already calling them a couple. Maria was vibrating with rage. "June, are you just going to let her do this? Steal your school and your boyfriend?" I was perfectly calm. "Not yet. The best part hasn't happened." "What best part? Are they setting off fireworks?" I just smiled. Before the food, the mayor got up to speak. Then, he invited the "guest of honor, our state's top scholar, Jane Miller," to say a few words. Jane cleared her throat. Just as she was about to speak, two cars pulled up. Men in dark suits from the state capital got out. They pointed right at Jane. "Are you Jane Miller? The top scorer from this county? We have a report that you committed exam fraud."
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