After that dinner, I had imagined Clarissa sinking even deeper. Cold stares. Awkward silence. Until she finally realized she was not wanted in that house.
Time passed quickly. The day of the final semester announcement arrived under a sky that was far too bright. The bulletin board was crowded with names from The Best Class. I stood in front of it, confident as always.
My name was always in the top five. Always.
My eyes moved quickly down the list.
Then they stopped.
Rank one: Clarissa.
Rank six: Shannon.
Six.
The number felt like a stain on a white dress. Small, but impossible to ignore.
Clarissa.
Despite my efforts to isolate her at home and in class, she still managed to take first place.
An orphan girl who suddenly entered my life. Someone who did not even have a family name when she first stepped into my house.
No. I would not allow this.
Whispers began to gather around the board. Some classmates compared scores. Some were shocked. Some did not believe it.
