Exchange - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jessica constantly flaunted her supposed wealth. “Miller Group just bought a bunch of land downtown. They’re building luxury condos. This watch? Twenty grand. You’ve probably never even seen that much money. Ethan took me to a fancy dinner the other night. Five hundred bucks.”

I didn’t care. I just hated that she was wasting my time. Finally, I snapped. “So? Ethan’s been hanging out with that dancer from class 5. I’d watch my back if I were you. Guys like him get bored easily.”

I’d hit a nerve. Ethan hadn’t been to our house in weeks. My parents were pressuring Jessica to fix things. She took it out on me, snatching my book and ripping out the page on proof by contradiction. “Studying! Studying! It’s not going to work! Proof by contradiction is so simple! Why are you wasting your time on it?!”

That’s right. It was simple. So why hadn’t I tried it? Maybe I’d over-complicated things. It clicked. All the hours I’d spent, all the books I’d read, all the theories I’d researched… it came together.

I shut my door, grabbed a pen and paper, and worked through the night, tweaking the proof I’d attempted before. It finally felt complete. I checked it three times, sent it to Professor Chen. Ten minutes later, his congratulatory call came.

He was ecstatic. “Ashley, write this up as a formal paper tonight! I’ll sign off on it. We’re submitting this to the Journal of Symbolic Logic. Nothing less for a genius like you.”

Twenty days until the SATs. While waiting for peer review, I threw myself into SAT prep. The system’s robotic voice started popping up constantly. “Host, Jessica requests to trade her beauty for your intelligence. Do you accept?” No.

The requests came multiple times a day, increasing in frequency as the test approached. Every time I refused, I’d hear Jessica pacing frantically next door. “Why isn’t it working?! Why can’t I get it back?!”

The night before the SATS, Jessica lost it. She screamed outside my door, accusing me of stealing her brain, calling me a thief. My parents, of course, didn’t believe her. They thought she was cracking under exam pressure.

“It’s okay, honey. You’re pregnant. Just focus on the baby. The Millers might not acknowledge you, but they can’t ignore their grandchild. Your sister, that idiot, wants to study math. Math doesn’t pay the bills.”

“Your high school math teacher probably makes less than you spend on a single dinner. Relax! You’ll have a child. That’s more important than any college.  Even Harvard grads flip burgers.”

I rolled my eyes. Myopic parents were the worst. There were Harvard grads running multi- billion dollar companies. I thought I’d finally escape this suffocating family after the SATS. I was wrong.

Jessica, in her madness, dragged me down with her. She had everything she supposedly wanted – beauty, wealth, a boyfriend, her parents‘ – adoration but like always, she couldn’t stand me having something good.

My alarm went off at 8:30. I shot out of bed. A year of hard work culminating in this one day. I grabbed my admission ticket and ID, ready to leave, when I realized my door was locked. From outside, Jessica’s crazed laughter echoed. “If you let Ashley take that test, I’ll get rid of this baby! None of you will get a piece of the Miller fortune!”

My parents‘ spineless voices followed, “Don’t worry, sweetie. We won’t let her leave,” I pounded on the door, Jessica’s laughter intensified. “So eager to study, huh? So dedicated? I want you to feel what it’s like to have it all ripped away! You’ll never be better than me, Ashley. You’ll always be beneath me.”

I called 911. Then I called Professor Chen, He was sputtering with rage. “Are your parents insane? Do they even know that if your paper is accepted, you’ll be in math history books?! They’re throwing your future away for some petty cash! It’s ridiculous! Disgusting! Tragic!” “Don’t worry! Alex and I are on our way!”

He sounded more like a father than my actual dad ever had. Alex video–called. His eyes were gentle but firm. “If you miss the test, I’ll retake it with you next year. My dad has always wanted a daughter. And you’re amazing at math.”

A crowd had gathered outside our house – Professor Chen, a group of college guys, and a couple of cops. Professor Chen told the cops to break down the door. They hesitated. “Sir, this is a domestic dispute. We can’t just break down people’s doors. If this gets out, it’ll be bad press. We have to try to reason with them.”

It was 8:45. The test started at 9:00. No one was admitted after 9:15. Professor Chen gritted his teeth. “Anyone who helps me break down this door gets an internship recommendation and a job offer!”

The college guys, all built like tanks, surged forward. The cops made a half–hearted attempt to stop them, then landed on the ground as if they’d been shoved, muttering about “peaceful solutions” but making no real effort to intervene.

Seeing the cops‘ acquiescence, the college guys went at the door with renewed vigor. Just after 9:00, it burst open. My parents and Jessica were quickly subdued.

As I headed out, Mom yelled, “Ashley! If you walk out that door, don’t ever come back! We’ll disown you!”

Dad chimed in, “We’ll never pay for your college. And if anything happens to your sister’s baby, we’ll haunt you forever!”