<b>“</b><b>You </b>ungrateful <b>little </b>bitch!” Linda Morgan’s shrill voice pierced <b>through </b><b>the </b>house as Jade walked <b>away </b>from the dining table. “I raised <b>you</b>, fed you<b>, </b>put clothes <b>on </b><b>your </b>back, and <b>this </b>is how you <b>repay </b>me<b>?</b><b>” </b>
Frank jumped up, reaching for his wife’s arm. “Linda, please, <b>let’s </b><b>just </b><b>calm </b><b>down- </b>
“Shut up!” Linda snapped, whipping around to face him.
When Linda turned back to continue her tirade, she found herself staring <b>directly </b><b>into </b>Jade’s eyes. Something in that gaze–cold, calcting, and utterly devoid of fear<b>–</b>made Linda’s <b>voice </b>die in her throat mid–sentence.
The entire room fell silent. Even Emily felt a chill run down her spine as she stared down <b>at </b>her <b>half- </b>eaten pasta, her appetitepletely gone. Five hundred dors. Her sister had <b>just </b><b>casually </b>sent five hundred dors like it was nothing.
Later that night, Emilyy scrolling through Instagram, but her mind kept wandering back to <b>Jade</b><b>. </b>Everything about her sister had changed–not just her personality, but her entire presence.
She thought back to the Jade she knew before: overweight, constantly looking at the floor, flinching at the slightest criticism. That Jade wore baggy sweatshirts from Walmart and thrift store jeans.
Now? Emily had noticed thebels. Calvin Klein tops. Levi’s jeans. An Apple Watch that definitely wasn’t a knockoff.
“Where the hell is she getting all this money?” Emily muttered to herself. “And how did she lose all that weight so fast?”
She sat up suddenly as another thought struck her. Jade had always been the family <b>disappointment </b>-the one with terrible grades, the one who’d never get into a decent college. That had been <b>Emily’s </b>constion: at least she was the smart one.
But if Jade could change everything else about herself <b>so </b>dramatically… <b>what </b>else <b>might </b>she <b>be </b>capable of?
Emily shook <b>her </b>head firmly. “No <b>way</b><b>. </b><b>Her </b><b>grades </b><b>have </b><b>been </b><b>trash for </b><b>years</b><b>. </b><b>That </b><b>doesn’t </b>just change overnight.”
“Max? You still up?” Linda pushed his door open without waiting for a response.
Max was hunched over hisputer, fingers flying across the keyboard. “I’m learning Python programming,” he exined without looking up. “Jade showed me some basics. If I get good enough, I might be able to make money like she does.”
Linda’s expression changed at the mention of Jade’s name. “Thatputer,” she said slowly, eyes narrowing. “How much did it cost?”
Max hesitated. “About… twelve hundred.”
“Twelve hundred dors?” Linda’s voice rose sharply. “That good–for–nothing-”
“Jade bought it for me,” Max said defensively. “It’s for school and programming.”
Linda crossed her arms tightly. “Your sister thinks she’s so special now. Has she mentioned anything about where she’s getting all this money?”
“She’s good withputers. She makes money online.”
Linda’s expression softened into something calcting. “Maybe you could ask her for a little more help for the family? She clearly has plenty to spare.”
Max finally turned to face his mother, his expression unusually hard. “No, Mom. I won’t do that.”
“Max-”
Frank appeared in the doorway. “Linda,e to bed. It’ste.”
Linda looked like she wanted to argue, but after a moment, she followed Frank out.
“You think you can get a perfect score on the AP Calculus exam today?” Max asked the next morning, sliding a te across the counter to Jade.
Jade nced at the egg white omelet Max had prepared. “Is there any doubt?”
“It’s supposed to be pretty tough this year.”
900
“I’ll get a perfect score,” she said simply.
“I made you breakfast, Max said unnecessarily. High protein, low fat. Good for your<i>… </i>um, weight loss n.”
Jade took a bite. “Thanks.”
Max watched his sister eat with a mixture of curiosity and admiration. The transformation he’d witnessed over the past few months still amazed him. Not just the physical changes–though those were remarkable–but the way she carried herself, the confidence that seemed to radiate from her.
“You’re staring,” Jade observed without looking up.
Max blushed. “Sorry. I just… I’m still getting used to-” he gestured vaguely at her -all of <b>this</b><b>.</b>”
At lunchtime, Max checked Reddit and nearly dropped his phone. The post with Jade lution had exploded overnight. Over thirty thousandments. More than ten thousand share
Several professors from MIT and Caltech hadmented, analyzing the solution and expressing astonishment. Some were debating the implications for quantum field theory. Others were demanding to know the identity of the mathematical prodigy behind the work.
Max scrolled through thements with widening eyes:
“<i>This </i>is <i>revolutionary</i><i>. </i><i>The </i><i>approach </i><i>breaks conventional </i>quantum alignment theory.”
<i>“</i><i>I’ve </i><i>been </i><i>working </i><i>on </i><i>this </i><i>problem </i>for <i>almost </i><i>a </i><i>year</i><i>. </i><i>This </i>solution is… <i>I </i>don’t even have words.”
The hashtag #Quantum Wunderkind was trending. As he continued scrolling, a direct message notification popped up from Edward Sheldon.
“<i>Your </i><i>solution </i><i>is </i><i>nothing </i><i>short </i><i>of </i><i>brilliant</i>. <i>I’ve </i>been <i>working </i>on this problem for months. Would you be <i>willing </i>to <i>share </i><i>your </i><i>contact </i><i>information</i><i>?</i><i>” </i>
It wasn’t the first message from Sheldon. There were five others, all sent over the past twelve hours.
That afternoon, Jade sat in the AP Calculus exam room, surrounded by nervous students frantically
reviewing notes<b>. </b>She looked bored.
C
When the test booklets were distributed, Jade immediately began writing. Other students were still reading the instructions when she flipped to the second page.
Mrs. Hanson, the calculus teacher serving as proctor, noticed Jade’s rapid progress with a frown. By the time most students hadpleted the first problem, Jade was already on the fourth page.
Twenty–five minutes after the exam began, when most students were barely a third of the way through, Jade stood up and walked to the front with herpleted booklet.
“Ms. Morgan,” Mrs. Hanson whispered harshly, “you have over an hour left. Please return to your seat and check your work.”
“I’m finished,” Jade said simply.
“No one finishes this exam in twenty–five minutes. This isn’t the time for pranks.”
“It’s not a prank. I’m done.”
Mrs. Hanson’s face flushed with anger. “Return to your seat immediately.”
Students were beginning to look up from their tests, distracted by the exchange. Mrs. Hanson snatched the booklet from the desk.
“Fine,” she hissed.
Jade walked out without another word. Mrs. Hanson flipped through the test booklet, her expression shifting from anger to confusion to disbelief.
Every problem was solved with elegant precision. No scratch work, no corrections. Just perfect solutions, one after another.
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