"But..." Qadir was so stunned he could barely speak, stammering, “Juniper, didn''t you skip your junior years?"


    "I did," Juniper replied with a faint, unconcerned smile. “But I still studied the material."


    "When did you study it, Juniper?” Queenie immediately scooted closer, seizing the chance to ask. The question had been bouncing around her head for ages, and her curiosity was killing her.


    Qadir stared at her eagerly as well. Someone as brilliant as Juniper must have been studying for a very long time.


    "I don''t remember exactly," Juniper said, her eyes half-lidded. "Maybe when I was five or six, or maybe seven or eight. In any case, it took me two years in total."


    She had breezed through elementary, middle, high school, and college material until there was nothing left for her to learn, at which point her teachers had essentially kicked her out.


    "How old?" Queenie''s voice shot up, convinced she had misheard. If she could, she would have cracked Juniper''s skull open just to see if her brain was made of the same stuff as a mere mortal''s.


    "How many years?" Qadir echoed, so shocked he stumbled and nearly fell over. Two years to finish every subject? He had been kind of pleased before, thinking Juniper was a cker like him. Now... the thought was like a p in the face.


    "Alright, that''s enough." Reaching the office door, Juniper gently pinched Queenie''s bewildered cheek and smiled. "When the dean asks you anything, just be honest. I''ll handle the rest."


    Queenie and Qadir exchanged a worried nce. Would the old-timers in the administration really believe that Juniper had finished the entire curriculum by the age of ten? That she could actually get a perfect score?


    ...


    Inside the Dean''s office, Juniper, Queenie, and Qadir stood in a line against the wall. The Dean of Students was there, along with all the senior year teachers.


    The only exception was the old physics teacher, who kept sneaking nces at Juniper, his lips twitching between a smirk and a frown. At one point, he seemed to recall something amusing and let out a small chuckle.


    The rest of the teachers, however, wore grim expressions, their eyes fixed on the casually postured, unfazed girl as if she were on trial. Their faces and gazes were dripping with disdain.


    "These exam papers are yours, right?" the Dean asked sternly, pointing to two test papers on his desk.


    Juniper nced down and saw her answer sheets for Literature and Math. A perfect score on both. How neat. It was strangely satisfying to her obsessivepulsive side.


    "Yes, they''re mine," Juniper said, straightening up slightly, her tone respectful. "Is there a problem, sir?"


    The other teachers'' faces shifted, almostughing at her audacity. A cker getting a perfect score wasn''t just a problem; it was the problem. And she had the nerve to y dumb? The gall of this girl!


    "I want the truth. How did you get perfect scores on both of these exams? The Dean nted his, hands on his hips and marched over to her his eyes zing. "And where did you get the answers for the other subjects?"


    He had just returned from a business trip yesterday and was immediately greeted with tales of the new problem student stirring up all sorts of trouble. First, it was a brawl and now she was cheating on a gulz. If there was one thing he detested, it was academie dishonesty, especially when it involved a good student like Queenie.


    He had no idea why Salma had admitted such a menace into their school. Well, with Salma away, it was the perfect opportunity for him to restore some order A student with such poor character and a knack for trouble should have been expelled long ago.


    “Speak up!” he thundered when Juniper remained silent, his furious voice shaking the room. "If you can''t give me a straight answer, you can forget about continuing your studies here!"


    The force of his yell made both Qadir and Queenie jump. The Dean was infamous for being strict and ruthless.