As <b>soon </b>as Jameson’s call came <b>through</b><b>, </b>Janice set down her <b>cup </b>of coffee and took the phone from the housekeeper<b>. </b>
<b>Jameson </b>asked<b>, </b><b>“</b>Mom<b>, </b>SAT results are out. How did Shermaine do?”
Janice replied leisurely, “Oh, nothing special. Why don’t you tell me how did Jason do?”
<b>As </b>soon as Janice asked, Jameson swelled with pride and dered, his voice booming, “Jason scored 1580!”
It was impressive, but it was still no match for Sheary–she outshined himpletely.
Good grades mean nothing. What truly matters is knowing your ce, staying down–to–earth, and <i>not </i>coveting things that don’t belong to <b>you</b>.
Jameson said, “Mom, with 1580 out of 1600, it’s uneptable if Jason doesn’t be this year’s top science scorerst year’s champion <b>only </b><b>got </b><b>1570</b>!” His voice brimmed with pride.
<b>She </b>
“Jason outperformedst year’s top scorer by 10 points. Since Shermaine didn’t do as well as him, shouldn’t we honor our agreement<b>? </b><b>It’s </b>time <b>you </b>acknowledged Jason and officially recognized him as a member of the Jean family.”
Janice scoffed coldly. “Did I ever say Sheary did poorly?”
Jameson was momentarily speechless. After a few seconds, he stammered, “But… didn’t you just say she didn’t score that high?<b>” </b>
Janice said airily, <b>“</b>Oh, nothing special–just 1590.”
Jameson thought he must be hearing things. “W–what did you say<b>?</b>”
Janice said firmly, “I’m telling you, Sheary scored 1590 on the SAT. The title of top science scorer belongs <b>to </b>her. <b>As </b>for Jason being recognized <b>as </b><b>a </b>Jean family member–forget about it.”
Jameson was stunned. ‘No way!
‘How could Shermaine possibly score 1590!‘
He’d already booked the party venue and made all the arrangements with the hotel<b>, </b>fully expecting to celebrate Jason bing the top science scorer.
But now he was told Shermaine took the title instead.
Jameson’s face darkened. “No way! How could Shermaine possibly outscore Jason? Mom<b>, </b>you’re just saying this because you don’t want him back in the family, aren’t you?”
Janice snapped, her temper ring as she heard his words. “Who has time for your jokes? Believe it or not, the facts are staring you in the face.
“And let me remind you–Shermaine is your daughter<b>, </b>not your enemy. Stop looking at her through prejudiced eyes. <b>You </b>still have time <b>to </b>change your ways, or you’ll regret it when it’s toote for tears.”
The higher his hopes had soared, the harder the fall now.
Jameson’s face darkened further.
Natalie, Jason’s mother, stood nearby and<b>, </b>seeing his thunderous expression, didn’t dare to speak up.
Never in her wildest dreams had Natalie imagined her own son would be outscored by Shermaine, who scored 1590–just 10 points <b>shy of </b><b>a </b><b>perfect </b><b>1600</b>.
The long–awaited dream was shattered. Natalie clearly couldn’t process it right away, muttering to herself, “How could this <b>be</b><b>? </b><b>How </b><b>did </b><b>Shermaine </b><b>score </b>so high?”
Just then, her phone rang–it was a call from the school teacher.
Chapter <b>207</b><b>. </b>
Natalie hesitated <b>briefly </b><b>before </b><b>tapping </b><b>to </b>answer the call<b>. </b>
The <b>teacher </b>said <b>on </b><b>the </b><b>other </b><b>end</b>, <b>“</b><b>Is </b>this <b>Ms. </b><b>Keller</b><b>? </b><b>The </b><b>SAT </b>results are <b>out</b>. Jason performed <b>exceptionally </b>well <b>and </b><b>ced </b>second in
“I <b>truly </b><b>thought </b><b>that </b><b>score </b><b>would </b><b>make </b><b>him </b><b>the </b><b>top </b><b>science </b>scorer<b>, </b><b>but </b>as they <b>say</b><b>, </b>there’s <b>always </b>someone <b>better </b><b>out </b>there. <b>Shermaine </b>from t <b>Academy </b><b>actually </b><b>scored </b>1590 and became the <b>city </b>champion.”
<b>The </b>real kicke <b>The </b><b>top </b>scorer in liberal arts was also from Brightwater Academy.
<b>The </b>other schools <b>could </b><b>do </b>nothing but <b>watch </b>with envy.
Brightwater Academy hit the <b>jackpot</b>!
There were only two <b>top </b><b>scorers</b>–<b>one </b>in <b>liberal </b>arts and one <b>in </b><b>science</b>–<b>yet </b>Brightwater Academy snagged them both <b>at </b>once!
Now it was undeniable–Shermaine was officially the city’s top scorer, leaving these three with no room <i>to </i>doubt it.
Jason <b>bit </b>down hard on his lip until he tasted blood, yet he stubbornly refused to let go.
He still remembered during <b>the </b>test, she’d start dozing off within half an hour.
‘Clearly, the SAT was <b>a </b>breeze for her.
‘Ipletely underestimated her<b>.</b><b>‘ </b>Jason thought.
After years of grinding through countless practice tests, this SAT was his peak performance–his highest score ever, just 20 points shy <b>of </b><b>a </b>perfect 1500. <b>Yet</b>, even at his very best<b>, </b>it still wasn’t enough.
And worst of all, he thought bitterly, this meant his dream of returning to the Jean family and iming his ce as the second young master waspletely shattered.
<b>AB </b>