Exchange - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Everyone stared at Jessica. Even with her plummeting grades, they still believed she was just playing around, that she could easily reclaim her top spot if she tried. Everyone had witnessed Jessica’s freakish memory.

She’d once memorized an entire biology textbook in a day, down to the page and paragraph of every fact. A human photocopier. Jessica lowered her head, playing coy, further confirming their assumptions.

The guys behind me snickered. “If I were Ashley, with a sister like Jessica, I’d just die. She’s ugly and stupid. Makes her sister look even better. What’s the point of even living?”

“Right? And she’s still arguing about that question. What if… she’s the one who’s wrong?”

I slammed my hand on the desk and stood up. Mr. Lee frowned. “Didn’t I just tell you to sit down?”

“I’m Ashley Ellis.”

The class erupted in laughter. “When Jessica was getting number one, it was effortless! She’d crush the competition without even trying. That’s math talent. Ashley’s just grinding through practice problems. How dare she try to impress a UCLA professor? My ‘dumb people allergy‘ is acting up.”

But then, Professor Chen walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. “Ashley, I have a math lecture at UCLA tonight. I need you to share your insights on Szemerédi’s theorem with my undergraduate students. Don’t forget.”

Mr. Lee and Mr. Jones gasped. “Szemerédi’s theorem? You? A high school student?”

Professor Chen smacked Mr. Lee’s head. “That’s right! A high school student understands something my graduate students. struggled with for three years! You should be ashamed.”

Mr. Lee turned red, speechless. The laughter died down. They might not know what Szemerédi’s theorem was, but they understood it was a big deal. As the girls in class stared, Alex brought a desk over and sat next to me.

He whispered, “Don’t listen to them. I’ve met plenty of smart people, but consistent passion and hard work are far more valuable.”

I nodded. He got it. Jessica had talent, but no drive. What was the point of acing tests if you weren’t pushing boundaries? I wanted to innovate, to break new ground, to represent the US on the world stage of mathematics.

My grades climbed steadily in subsequent tests, from 30th to 10th to 1st. And they stayed there. At first, some kids accused me of cheating. But after consistently topping the class, the rumors faded.

Jessica’s rank continued its downward spiral, from 400 to 600 to the bottom 1000. It only took a year. I replaced Jessica as Southwood’s top Harvard hopeful. She became the poster child for Mr. Jones’s anti–dating lectures.

But Szemerédi’s theorem… no matter how much I studied, how many hours I poured into it, I couldn’t crack that final step. Professor Chen remained supportive. “Ashley, you’ve done incredibly well for a high schooler. A mathematician’s prime is usually in their twenties. Focus on the SATs for now.”