The boy I’d loved since childhood refused to open his front door when I asked him for help with one physics problem.
Chapter 2
The final practice examination began on a rainy Thursday morning, three weeks before graduation. I arrived early with sharpened pencils, a calculator, and a bottle of water. For once, I’d slept well instead of worrying about whether Nicholas would be disappointed in me.
He was standing near the classroom entrance with Haley beside him.
When he noticed me, he stepped into my path.
“Marissa, this has gone on long enough.”
I stopped.
“What has?”
“Your little temper tantrum. You don’t need to keep pretending you can do everything without me.”
Haley touched his arm.
“Nicholas is just worried about you.”
He nodded.
“After the exam, I’ll make time to help you catch up. But you need to stop being so stubborn.”
I studied his face.
He genuinely believed he was offering me something generous.
“Nicholas, have you considered that I might not need to catch up?”
He laughed.
“You’ve never scored higher than me in physics. Don’t suddenly act like you’re better than everyone.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then stop acting like it.”
I stepped around him.
“My exam starts in ten minutes.”
Inside the classroom, I found my assigned seat.
My phone vibrated one last time before I switched it off.
Shane had sent a message.
“Trust your preparation. Read carefully. One problem at a time.”
I took a slow breath.
For years, every test had felt like a judgment of my worth. If I did poorly, Nicholas would be disappointed. If I did well, I’d immediately wonder whether he’d done even better.
This time, I wanted to know what I could accomplish for myself.
The examination was difficult.
Several questions required reasoning beyond familiar formulas.
Halfway through the physics section, I encountered a problem involving energy distribution and friction that initially seemed impossible.
My heart began racing.
Then I remembered Shane’s voice.
“Start with what you know. Don’t let an unfamiliar question frighten you.”
I underlined the conditions.
I wrote down the basic principles.
Then I carefully worked through the relationships between the variables.
The solution emerged one step at a time.
When the final bell rang, I put down my pencil feeling something I’d never experienced after an examination.
I had done my best.
Outside, Nicholas waited near the lockers.
“Question seven,” he said immediately. “What did you get?”
I adjusted my backpack.
“I don’t remember exactly.”
“Come on. Let’s compare answers.”
“Not today.”
His eyebrows rose.
“Are you afraid you got it wrong?”
“No. I just don’t want to spend the afternoon worrying about something I can’t change.”
I walked away before he could respond.
My phone buzzed.
“Eat something good. Rest. Don’t compare answers.”
I laughed softly.
Shane always seemed to know what I needed to hear.
The results were released the following afternoon.
Mr. Reynolds entered our classroom carrying a stack of papers.
He looked unusually pleased.
“Before I hand these back, I’d like to recognize a remarkable improvement.”
I kept my eyes on my desk.
“The highest physics score in our senior class belongs to Marissa Finch.”
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then the room erupted.
“Marissa?”
“Seriously?”
“She beat Nicholas?”
Mr. Reynolds raised his hand.
“Marissa scored 282 out of 300 points. That’s forty points above her previous examination score and three points higher than our second-place student.”
I could barely breathe.
Two hundred eighty-two.
My hands trembled beneath the desk.
For twelve years, I’d believed I was simply an average student who needed Nicholas to understand difficult subjects.
Now I’d outscored him.
Not because someone had handed me the answers.
Because I finally understood what I was learning.
Mr. Reynolds placed my paper on my desk.
“Excellent work, Marissa. Whatever you’ve changed about your preparation, keep doing it.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Across the classroom, Nicholas sat motionless.
His expression had turned pale.
Haley leaned toward him and whispered something.
A moment later, she raised her voice just enough for nearby students to hear.
“Wow, Marissa. Didn’t you score around 240 last time?”
I looked up.
“Yes.”
“That’s such a huge improvement.”
She smiled.
“I guess your online tutor really knew what to expect on this exam.”
The room grew quieter.
I felt the first cold edge of uneasiness.
By lunchtime, rumors were spreading.
By three o’clock, someone had posted a photograph of my physics review guide on the school’s student forum.
The caption read:
“No wonder Marissa suddenly became a genius. Her tutor prepared her for almost the exact same concepts that appeared on the exam. Coincidence?”
Comments appeared rapidly.
“How did she improve so much?”
“That seems suspicious.”
“Maybe someone gave her special preparation materials.”
I stared at the screen.
The guide contained dozens of practice problems based on common physics principles. Many were more difficult than anything on the examination.
Anyone who looked carefully could have understood that.
But nobody seemed interested in looking carefully.
Haley commented beneath the post.
“Please don’t accuse Marissa without proof. I’m sure there’s an explanation.”
Her words sounded supportive.
They also kept the accusation alive.
A message from Nicholas arrived minutes later.
“Tell me the truth. Did that tutor give you unfair help before the exam?”
I read it twice.
Then I typed, “You think I cheated?”
His reply came immediately.
“Marissa, I know your actual academic level. People don’t improve forty points in a month without something unusual happening.”
My eyes burned.
Nicholas had watched me struggle for years. He knew how hard I wanted to improve, how many notebooks I’d filled, and how often I’d stayed up late trying to understand concepts he refused to explain.
Yet he couldn’t imagine that I’d earned my score.
The following morning, he approached my desk with Haley beside him.
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” he announced. “You’ll explain that your tutor used questionable materials. I’ll talk to Mr. Reynolds and make sure you don’t get blamed.”
I looked up slowly.
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
“I earned my score.”
Nicholas sighed.
“Without me speaking up for you, do you really think the school will believe you?”
Something inside me finally snapped.
I pulled my notebooks from my backpack and spread them across the desk.
Pages of calculations, corrected mistakes, and detailed explanations covered the surface.
“Did either of you ask how I improved?” I demanded. “Did you ask what I studied or how many hours I worked?”
Several students turned toward us.
Nicholas’s jaw tightened.
“Lower your voice.”
“No. You’ve spent years telling me I’m too slow, too careless, and too stupid to understand anything without you. Now that I’ve proved I can, you’re calling me dishonest.”
Haley’s eyes filled with tears.
“Marissa, that’s not fair. Nicholas only wants to protect you.”
I looked at her.
“Then he can protect me by telling the truth.”
Before Nicholas could respond, our homeroom teacher, Mrs. Dwight, appeared at the doorway.
“Marissa, Principal Martin needs to see you.”
My stomach dropped.
Mrs. Dwight looked uncomfortable.
“Someone has formally questioned the fairness of your examination score.”
Nicholas immediately stepped forward.
“I should come too. I’ve studied with Marissa for years.”
Mrs. Dwight hesitated, then nodded.
Haley followed us into the hallway.
As we walked toward the office, Nicholas leaned close enough for only me to hear.
“You should have listened to me.”
I stopped.
For one brief moment, I remembered the little boy who’d once shared his lunch with me on the playground. He’d held my hand when thunderstorms frightened me and promised we’d always be friends.
I’d loved that boy for years.
But the young man walking beside me was no longer someone I recognized.
“I did listen to you, Nicholas,” I said quietly. “That was my mistake.”
