Joycelyn’s POV
The livestream peaked at over one million concurrent viewers that afternoon.
As clips spread across every social platform, my name instantly became a trending topic nationwide. #HarvardQuinn and #SATPrincess dominated Twitter, while TIKTok exploded with reaction videos to my unexpected academic coup,
The public couldn’t get enough of this “Community College to Harvard” drama, Speculation about my exact score reached fever pitch, with online betting pools allegedly drawing over a million participants wagering on whether “The Cheerleader Genius” had actually secured the state’s top position.
Three days later, when my official score of 1600–a perfect SAT score–was leaked to the press, the internet practically melted down.
“Even Hollywood wouldn’t write a script this good!” “We just witnessed a legend being born in real
time!”
That evening, CNN featured a clip from the livestream with the caption: “American Dream Alive: Small Town Cheerleader Defies Expectations, Earns Perfect SAT Score and Harvard Full Ride.”
Meanwhile, internet sleuths reviewing the footage noticed the strange dynamic between Nathan, Raven, and me. Boulder High students, finally free to spill years of bottled–up gossip, flooded
comment sections:
“Boulder High senior here with the REAL tea: Nathan was originally Raven’s boyfriend, but when Joycelyn outscored Raven for valedictorian, Raven convinced hot–but–dumb Nathan to seduce Joycelyn. They deliberately dragged her to parties, got her skipping classes, and tried to tank her
future.”
“But plot twist! Joycelyn was playing 4D chess the entire time! She PRETENDED to fail tests for months while secretly studying at night. Then BAM–perfect SAT score and Harvard scholarship! You all saw Raven’s meltdown live. As someone who suffered through years of Raven’s mean girl BS, this
was JUSTICE SERVED!”
“So this is basically a real–life movie where the smart girl recognizes the fake dating plot, strings along the hot jock, then gets into her dream school anyway? Netflix needs to call her ASAP!”
12:27
Touchdown PLAY: Cheer Queen vs. Quarterback King
57.9%
Chapter 12
“All hail Queen Joycelyn! Dating the quarterback while securing the bag. Absolute legend behavior!”
When Nathan’s name flashed on my phone for the twentieth time that week, I was deep in the comments section, barely containing my laughter.
Since score reveal day, he’d been blowing up my phone non–stop.
But I had no time for him. I was too busy building my brand.
Internet fame is fleeting–I needed to capitalize quickly. Between the college scholarship offers flooding my inbox, I launched my “Perfect Score Study Method” online course, compiled my meticulously organized notes from two years of AP classes, and began offering premium Zoom tutoring sessions at $200 per hour.
Riding the wave of my viral moment, my digital study guides hit the market at the perfect time–right before college application season. Sales exploded overnight.
Students from across the country flooded my comment sections with gratitude, saying my techniques had transformed their approach to standardized testing and begging for more content.
The positive feedback loop kept building. By the time my course sales hit seven figures, I caught my reflection in my laptop screen–a girl with fire in her eyes and a future brighter than anyone in Boulder could have imagined.
I’d laid the first cornerstone of my empire. I’d secured a future entirely of my own making.
I was about to decline Nathan’s call as usual when it abruptly ended. Three text messages appeared
in succession:
“It’s my birthday today. Could you meet me just once?” “I sent you a local delivery.” “I’ll wait for you. As long as it takes.”
My doorbell rang. The delivery had arrived. Inside was a key card–identical to the one I’d handed
him a year ago.
How poetic. The story had come full circle, but Nathan and I had completely switched roles.
♡ (0)
(0)
60.5%
Chapter 13
Chapter 13
