Only The Best

Chapter 1

They first realized Harley was special when I was in eighth grade. I was struggling with my pre-algebra homework at the kitchen table when the little seven year old had flopped into the chair beside me and started scribbling on a piece of paper in purple crayon. After a few minutes, she held up the paper, a grin exposing her missing front teeth. 

"Look Evie! I did it!" 

"Did what?" I grumbled, frustration making me cranky. Harley waved the paper in the air. 

"Look!"

I looked. And saw that those little purple scribbles were numbers and variables. She had done the first four problems of my homework in just a few minutes. I gaped at her. 

"How did you do that?" 

And that was how my seven-year old little sister became my tutor, and how my parents realized that Harley was a genius. 

Now flash-forward four years. In two weeks, I would be a senior at my high school. My friends and I would be the kings and queens we once were back in eighth grade. It was going to be perfect. 

That is, until we got the letter. 

It was addressed to Harley, her name written in delicate, looping cursive. I carried the envelope into the kitchen, looking at it quizzically. The return address was Greenwoods High School. My high school. 

"Hey mom? I think the school mixed up Harley and I's name or something," I said slowly, glancing up from the stack of mail. Mom raised her eyebrows and paused her onion-chopping. 

"What do you mean?"

"They sent a letter addressed to Harley," I said, holding it up. Mom's eyes widened. She wiped her hands off on a towel and plucked the envelope from my fingertips. I watched in confusion as she tore it open, her eyes quickly scanning the letters on the page. 

"Oh my god."

"What?" I tried to look over her shoulder, but she pressed the letter to her chest. 

"Harley got accepted."

"What are you talking about?" 

"Harley! Get your dad and get down here!" she yelled, her eyes watering. 

"Mom what the hell is going on?" I demanded. I heard pounding footsteps. Harley appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, her blond hair done up in space buns on her head, an orange stain on the front of her shirt. Dad was behind her. 

"What is it?" Harley asked. She had a book clutched in her left hand. 

"You passed the test baby," mom said quietly, smiling broadly. Harley stared in shock then lunged forward, snatching the letter from mom's hands. She read it silently. When she was finished, she looked up and let out a squeal. 

"I got in!"

"You got in!" dad shouted, swinging her up into his arms.

Furious to be the only one left out of the loop, I grabbed the letter.

We are pleased to congratulate Miss Harley Wilford on passing our entrance exam for gifted students. Miss Wilford has been invited to attend Greenwoods High School beginning in the fall.