Chapter 155
Summer's POV
Mia was right, of course. The morning passed in a blur of classes I barely registered. Lunch was a distraction I didn't taste. By the time the final bell rang, my nerves were wound so tight I thought I might snap.
"You're coming with me, right?" I asked Mia.
"To stand in front of a bulletin board with a bunch of physics nerds? Obviously."
We walked to the administrative building together, following the stream of students heading in the same direction. The crowd was bigger than I'd expected—not just physics team members, but curious onlookers, friends of competitors, people who just wanted to see the drama unfold.
The bulletin board was exactly where the flyer had promised: first floor, main hallway, impossible to miss.
And there, pinned to the cork surface, was a single sheet of paper.
FOUR-SCHOOL PHYSICS MOCK EXAM - TOP 50 RANKINGS
My heart hammered against my ribs as I pushed closer, Mia right behind me. The list was organized by rank, names in neat columns, scores listed beside each one.
I started at the bottom, working my way up. Fiftieth place. Fortieth. Thirtieth.
"Come on," Mia muttered. "Where is he?"
Twentieth. Fifteenth. Logan's name appeared at rank fourteen—70 points. Impressive.
But not at the top.
My eyes kept climbing. Tenth. Fifth. Second place: some kid from Phillips Academy, 77 points.
And then, right at the very top, printed in bold:
Rank 1: Kieran Cross - St. Jude's Preparatory Academy
Total Score: 98/100
(21 points ahead of 2nd place)
I stopped breathing.
Ninety-eight. Twenty-one points ahead. First place.
"Holy shit," someone behind me breathed. "Kieran got ninety-eight?"
"That's insane," someone else said. "Twenty-one points ahead? That's not even close."
"I knew he'd crush it," Logan's voice rang out from somewhere in the crowd. "That's my boy!"
But I barely heard any of it. I was staring at those numbers, at his name in bold at the top of the list, and my vision was blurring with tears I couldn't quite explain.
He'd done it.
Even with everything else—the family situation, the remote learning, the constant juggling act—he'd still managed to place first. To prove exactly how brilliant he was.
"Summer?" Mia's hand found my shoulder. "Hey, are you crying?"
"No." My voice came out choked. "Maybe. I don't know."
"Good crying or bad crying?"
"Good." I wiped at my eyes, laughing a little. "Definitely good. He did it, Mia. He really did it."
"Of course he did." She squeezed my shoulder. "Did you ever doubt him?"
"No. But seeing it..." I gestured helplessly at the board. "It's real now. It's proof."
Proof that he was strong enough. Smart enough. That no matter what life threw at him, he'd find a way to rise above it.
I pulled out my phone with shaking hands.
Summer [3:08 PM]: I saw the results. You did it. You really did it.
Summer [3:09 PM]: I'm so proud of you I could cry. Actually, I did cry. In front of like 30 people.
Summer [3:10 PM]: I know you're going to say it's no big deal, but it IS. You're amazing, Kieran Cross. Don't you dare forget that.
I hit send and waited, phone clutched tight, surrounded by celebrating students and excited chatter.
Five minutes passed. Then ten.
Finally, my phone buzzed.
Kieran [3:21 PM]: Thanks.
One word. But somehow, it was everything.
My chest felt warm, almost unbearably so, and I could feel the heat spreading to my eyes again. I glanced at my phone screen—3:25 PM. The administrative building was starting to empty out, students dispersing back to their dorms or after-school activities, but I stayed rooted to the spot, staring at that single word on my screen.
Thanks.
"Summer?" Mia's voice cut through my thoughts. "You okay?"
"Yeah." I blinked hard, forcing myself to focus. "Actually, no. I need to do something."
"What kind of something?"
I grabbed her arm, already pulling her toward the exit. "Come with me. I need your car."
"My car? Summer, what—"
"Please?" I turned to face her, and whatever she saw in my expression made her stop protesting. She just sighed, digging her keys out of her backpack.
"Fine. But you're explaining on the way."
We practically jogged to the student parking lot, where Mia's beat-up Honda Civic sat waiting.
"So?" Mia demanded as she started the engine. "Where are we going?"