High Hopes (Annie Leblanc's Twin)

2: the math test

Nova

"Jennie!" I nearly screamed at the top of my lungs.

I was jumping up and down from excitement.

"What!" She ran in.

"My parents replied!" I exclaimed.

"Oh my gosh, what did they say?" She asked.

"They want me to meet them!" I smiled, then sighed, "but I have to go to California to see them at a meet and greet."

"Well, when is it?"

"In three days, on the twentieth," I said.

"That's really close," she paused, "but I think it's important to meet your parents. I'll let you go—"

"Thank you thank you thank you!" I hugged her and kept jumping up and down.

"—under one condition. You have to get at least a B on your math test tomorrow."

"I will! I promise!" I said, then opened my math textbook and started to study.

Jennie chuckled and left the room.

I'm kind of decent at math, but I hate it to the point where I don't do my work on purpose. Jennie has to bribe me with stuff in order to not fail pre-algebra.

I tried to study and review my notes, but I eventually gave up and started to fall asleep.

<<>>

"Everything off your desk except a pencil," my teacher said.

I sighed and put my textbook away.

"Good luck," my friend Alex whispered to me.

"Thanks," I smiled at her.

Mrs. Stanton handed us the tests. I wrote my name and the date, then glanced at the first question.

Shoot.

I studied the wrong chapter.

I tried my best, leaving a few answers blank, but I knew that I wasn't going to make the grade I needed. At that point, I wanted to cry.

I turned the test over and started writing a letter to my teacher, explaining why I needed a B, praying to whatever God I was supposed to believe in that she'd curve my grade. I told her the whole story. I knew she probably wouldn't believe me, but it was worth a shot.

I put the test on her desk and told her to look at the back when she was grading it. She said she would.

The next day, she called me over to her desk as soon as I walked into class. I took a deep breath and walked over.

"Nova, look. This story sounds in absolutely no way real, but someone can't just come up with something this complex. Here's the deal: I'll curve your grade to a B until next Monday, but after that your grade turns back into your real grade. Deal?"

I smiled.

"Yes, definitely, I'll take it! Thank you so much Holly!"

"For the last time, please don't call me by my first name," she said.

"Okay, you got it Hol— Mrs. Stanton!" I said, heading to my desk.

After school, I jogged to Jennie's car in the parking lot and opened the passenger side door.

"I got a B!" I exclaimed.

"I'm so proud of you!" She said, then hugged me.

"So do I get to go to the meet and greet?" I asked.

"Of course!" She said.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and forwarded her the email so she could get tickets and a hotel room and everything for the trip. After that, I wrote an email to my parents.

Dear mom and dad,

My foster mom said I can go, so we're getting tickets! I can't wait to see you and my siblings!

Also, I thought you'd like to know a little more about me. To start off, I go by Nova, not Natalie. It's not so much that I hate the name, it's kind of that Natalie's a fairly common name. Also, there's a third reason, but I don't want to say it right now.

I live in Dayton, Ohio. The summer is way too hot and the winter is way too cold, and we get a lot of snow. I love cats. LOVE cats. My favorite colors are indigo, periwinkle, and white. I'm allergic to pumpkin seeds. I want to be a psychologist or a neurologist when I'm older. I can't stand math, and my favorite subject in school is history.

I also have a condition called synesthesia (more specifically chromesthesia) where I see colors when I listen to music. My favorite artist is Panic! At The Disco, and my favorite song by them are the colors light blue and peach.

Tell Annie that Picture This is the color white with a splash of a peachy-pink and just a tiny bit of blue.

Love, Nova <3

I pressed send. I've only got two days before I get to meet them in person.

"We're gonna have to fly out tomorrow night, so start packing as soon as you get home," Jennie told me.

"Okay!" I smiled.

I started thinking about clothes to pack. I'll need pajamas, an outfit for the plane home, and a super cute outfit to wear to the meet and greet. Honestly, I have no idea what to wear. How I dress depends what kind of day I'm having, so I'll probably just wear something with a flannel in it. That's a safe bet. I'll figure out the rest when I get home.

I literally wrote this chapter a few hours after posting the last one, lol.

I haven't felt this way about any story since I first published Bye, I Guess and In One Week. BIG has nearly 60k reads and IOW is still fairly successful. I think this book is going to be really good.