Top Score, Bottom Morals

I dragged myself off the floor and used the wall to keep moving, inch by inch, toward the door.

After leaving the hospital, I took a cab to school.

I limped into the building on crutches and headed straight for the academic office.

Ms. Todd was sorting seating charts. The second she saw me, she frowned.

"Jovie? What are you doing here?"

"Ms. Todd, my SAT ticket got burned. Can I get a replacement?"

Her eyes flicked to my cast before she looked away. "There's only one ticket. We told everyone to keep it safe. If you lost it, that's on you."

"I didn't lose it. It got burned—"

She cut me off immediately, her voice sharp. "Mr. Swinton already called. He said you were emotionally unstable after the accident and might come here causing problems. Besides, the system's already closed. Nobody can fix this now."

"I didn't lose it. Govind burned it..."

"Enough!" She slammed her pen onto the desk. "Jovie Jevan, I know you're a top student, but that doesn't give you the right to act entitled. You screw up at the worst possible moment, then try blaming the man paying for your education?"

I just stood there, stunned.

Five years ago, Govind first showed up at the children's home.

He didn't remember his past. Didn't even know who he was.

Before long, we were inseparable.

He protected me from bullies more than once. One time, when I got locked in isolation, he broke the door open in the middle of the night just to get me out.

Then the Swinton family found him.

Their missing heir was finally coming home.

The day he left, he held my hand and said, "Jovie, I'll come back for you. Once things settle down, I'm getting you out of here."

And he did come back.

His family paid for my school and living expenses.

Every weekend, he visited me. Took me out to eat. Bought me books. Studied with me.

Everyone said Govind Swinton was a good guy. That Jovie Jevan was lucky to have someone like him looking out for her.

I believed it too.

That's why I never imagined he'd betray me.

For Yvette.

I walked out of the office in a haze and somehow ended up in front of the honor board outside the classroom building.

The citywide mock exam rankings were posted there.

My picture sat at the very top.

First Place: Jovie Jevan.

In the photo, I was smiling, eyes bright like someone who'd finally found hope.

Now I stood under it in a leg cast, looking wrecked.

"Jovie?"

A voice came from behind me.

I froze.

When I turned around, Yvette was standing a few steps away, holding onto Govind's arm.

The second she saw me, she shrank against him. "Jovie, how could you sneak out of the hospital and spread rumors that Govind burned your SAT ticket?"

A few students passing by slowed down to stare.

"That's Jovie Jevan? I heard she got hit by a car. Why's she here making a scene?"

"Govind Swinton supported her for years. Turns out she's just an ungrateful brat."

Rage shook through me. I swung my crutch at Yvette.

Before it could hit her, Govind caught it.

Then he shoved me hard.

I slammed straight into the glass honor board.

The crash exploded in my ears.

Glass shattered everywhere.

Sharp pieces dug into my back as warm blood ran down my spine.

I hit the floor hard. Broken glass pressed into my skin, pain ripping through every inch of me.

Above me was my photo.

The girl in it was still smiling.

"Govind, did those fifteen years mean nothing to you?" I lay there, my voice raw. "Back at the children's home, you were the one who got me out of isolation..."

Blood spread across the ground beneath me.

"You said you'd get me out of that hell..."

Govind suddenly laughed under his breath. "Fifteen years?"

He crouched beside me, close enough for me to see the coldness in his eyes.

"Do you really think ending up at that children's home was an accident? That saving you was just luck?"