Chapter 72


    Summer was brimming with confidence about her test scores. Since stepping out of the examination


    hall the day before, she felt certain that, despite a few vague answers in the humanities section,


    everything else was spot on. Passing the preliminary round was, in her mind, a foregone conclusion.


    Scoring one hundred and thirty–eight and ranking sixth was well within her expectations.


    A smug smile yed on Summer’s lips. She had barely nced at the results on her phone before she


    almost handed it back to her agent. But then, a thought struck her, and she smoothly withdrew her


    hand, her fingers delicately swiping up the screen.


    Summer scrolled down to the bottom of the ranking page, but still did not see Mirabe’s name. A


    frown creased Summer’s brow. Hadn’t Mirabe taken the test? Why wasn’t her name listed? Could it


    be that Mirabe didn’t pass the preliminaries?


    That thought deepened the smile on Summer’s face. She knew It. With Mirabe’s ability, how could


    she make the cut? With a soft chuckle, Summer’s fingertip inadvertently tapped the ‘back to top‘ arrow.


    As she was about to close the


    ebpage, the name Mirabe suddenly jumped out at her.


    First ce, one hundred and filty points, Mirabe.


    The smile on Summer’s lips froze, and her grip on the phone tightened Involuntarily. How was this


    possible? How could Mirabe have gotten a perfect score? How could Mirabe be at the top of the


    list?


    “Summer, you look a bit pale. Are you worn out from the rehearsal?” her agent asked with concern


    upon noticing his client’s unusual demeanor.


    Summer’s eyes flickered, and she casually handed the phone back to her agent, her voice gentle. “I’m


    fine. Maybe I just got too wrapped up in the performance. I’m stilling down from that.”


    Her agent patted her shoulder reassuringly, “Take a breather here, and once it’s time for the live


    recording. I’lle to


    get you.”


    “Thanks.” Summer replied graciously.


    As her agent took the phone and started to leave, he paused and turned back to Summer, “Summer,


    there will be a Q&A segment. I’ll mention yourpetition to the producers. Just y it by ear when


    you answer, alright?”


    Summer blinked, then nodded in agreement.


    Mirabe had sailed through the preliminaries with a perfect score, a feat unmatched in the dozens of


    schools across Ashford. Her name sat confidently at the top of the official BrainSpark Nationals


    citywide rankings. Even the student in second ce trailed by nine points–a testament to her solid


    grasp of both the arts and sciences.


    At the city Education Association headquarters, the buzz was about the extraordinary student from


    Parkside High School who had aced the test, even cracking John’s notoriously tricky physics problem.


    “This student is quite remarkable,” the secretary–generalmented, holding up the test paper with


    admiration before passing it to the chairman.


    The chairman, adLeog his sses, took the paper and cast his eyes downward. Before he even


    examined the answers, the neat handwriting caught his attention. It was pleasing to the eye.


    “Nice penmanship,” the chairman remarked generously. “The handwriting reflects the person. This


    student must be quite cultivated.”


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    “Humanities students tend to have a bit more finesse than those in the sciences, I suppose,” the


    secretary–general replied with a chuckle.


    The chairman raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really? A humanities student solved John’s physics


    conundrum?”