My dad banned me from eating breakfast for a month because my GPA dropped from 3.5 to 3.2 on my progress report.


One morning, I was so starving that I grabbed one of my sister's bagels from the table without thinking.


My twin sister, Aria, immediately ratted me out to Dad.


He stormed to school and forced me to kneel in front of everyone.


"You brat! Why don't you just choke on it? Your GPA tanks and you still have the nerve to eat breakfast?"


Aria chimed in with a smirk, "Dad, you can't totally blame her. She's just... not that bright."


"You're an embarrassment. I wish Aria was my only daughter!"


I opened my mouth, wanting to tell him I'd just been accepted to Harvard on early decision.


But what came out instead was: "Fine, Dad. From now on, just pretend you never had me as a daughter."


...


The moment those words left my mouth, the air around us went dead silent.


My classmates snickered:


"Come on, Josie, don't say stuff you don't mean. You'll regret it when your dad actually disowns you!"


"Yeah, with your grades, you'll be lucky to get into some no-name state school. If your dad cuts you off, you'll either have to drop out and work at McDonald's, or do work-study. Can you even handle that?"


"It's just kneeling, right? It's not like we haven't seen you humiliated before. Worst case, you'll be all over TikTok for a few days. No biggie!"


Freshman year, I forgot my homework and begged Dad to bring it to school.


He showed up, tore into me in front of the entire class, then ripped my assignment to shreds—said it was a "lesson."


Sophomore year, I had the worst cramps and a cold during PE. I asked him to excuse me from class. Instead, he personally dragged me to school, calling it "character building."


I ran those two miles in front of everyone, slower than a dying snail.


I thought he was just strict.


But then I saw him drive through a storm to pick up Aria, soaking himself to the bone while smiling and saying, "Dad's fine, sweetie."


On his way home from work, he'd stop by the bakery to get her favorite croissants. Never anything for me.


More than once, he jabbed his finger in my face and spat, "You're gloomy, your grades suck—how are you even related to Aria? How did I end up with such a dumbass daughter?"


"I wish Aria was my only daughter!"


He'd said that line a million times. This was the first time I ever responded.


Dad froze for a second. Then he exploded.


"Fine! FINE! Since you wanna talk back, I'm done with you! The second you turn eighteen next month, get the hell out of my house!"


"Let's see how far those wings of yours can take you!"


After Dad left, the crowd dispersed.


Aria strutted over, voice dripping with fake concern:


"Sis, sneaking a bagel was your mistake. What's the big deal about kneeling? It's not like you haven't done it before!"


I stared her down. "You knew I finally gave that bagel to a homeless guy. Why'd you lie and tell Dad I ate it?"


Aria's eyes darted away. "I didn't see it. What if you did eat it? I can't just hide stuff from Dad."


I let out a bitter laugh. "You didn't see it, so why snitch? And even if I did eat it—so what? I've covered for you my whole life. And what have you ever done for me?"


When we were seven, the family cat knocked over a plate. Aria blamed me.


On New Year's, in front of all my families, Dad made me kneel for three hours.


When we were ten, Aria lied and said I stole money from the house.


Dad found thirty bucks under my pillow and beat me for an hour.


But that night, I saw Aria playing with a toy I'd never seen before.


There were too many incidents like that to count.


Dad always believed Aria. Never me.


Aria clearly remembered all of it too. She puffed out her chest smugly.


"So what? It's your fault for not knowing how to make them happy. I was sweeter than you as a kid. Now I get better grades. Of course Dad trusts the successful daughter!"


"You know Dad cares about his image. Your GPA is barely a 3.2—you won't even get into a decent school. If you had a 3.9 like me, would he punish you?"


"You should be grateful to have a genius sister like me. Since you're riding my coattails, stop whining about it."


Right as she finished, a classmate walked up with a shit-eating grin. "Josie, the principal wants to see you in her office."


The second I left, Aria whipped out her phone and texted Dad:


\[Dad, Josie got called into the principal's office because her GPA tanked. She's dragging down the whole class. So embarrassing.\]


Dad replied instantly: \[Got it, sweetie. I'll deal with that brat when she gets home.\]


Aria smiled to herself.


Meanwhile, in the principal's office, the principal slid a form across the desk toward me, beaming.


"Congratulations, Josie. This is your early decision acceptance packet from Harvard. Let's get it filled out!"


Chapter 2


Last semester, I entered a physics competition.


My problem-solving approach caught the attention of a professor on the judging panel, and he invited me to participate in an experiment.


After I subHarvardted my lab report, he clapped me on the shoulder with satisfaction. "How would you like to be my student?"


Just like that, I got early admission to Harvard's physics program.


The experiment ate into my study time, causing my GPA to drop slightly, which gave Dad another excuse to tear into me.


The experiment was confidential—until the official announcement, I had to keep it from my family.


So, back then, I tried to defend myself weakly. "But I got a perfect score in physics."


Dad sneered. "So what? Your GPA is barely above a 3.0. You won't even get into a decent state school. You'll be flipping burgers for the rest of your life!"


Aria chimed in with her usual passive-aggressive tone. "Yeah, sis. Physics is only worth, like, 15% of your GPA. Meanwhile, I can ace my AP English exam without even trying and pull a 95 average!"


Dad pointed at my lab equipment cluttering the storage room.


"You waste your time messing with this junk instead of focusing on what matters. Starting tomorrow, you're memorizing vocab. If you don't score at least a 90 on your next English test, I'm throwing all this crap out!"


I snapped back to the present.


I finished filling out the form and handed it to the principal.


She looked it over again and again, clearly thrilled.


"In over a hundred years, this school has never produced a student like you. Harvard's physics program is no joke, and that professor? He's a legend. Every single one of his students has gone on to become at least a university professor."


"Alright, I'll subHarvard this right away. Next month, Harvard will post the early admission announcement on their website. When that happens, we're throwing you a school-wide assembly!"


That evening, when I got home, Dad was sitting in the living room, ready to pick a fight.


"This morning you were all high and mighty, saying you didn't need me as a dad. Where's that backbone now? If you've got the guts, don't come crawling back!"


I looked at him calmly. "I'm not eighteen yet. You're legally required to provide for me until then."


His face darkened. "You little brat, still talking back? Get on your knees and apologize right now, or I'm kicking you out tonight."


Aria was munching on takeout, stirring the pot as usual. "I get it—kneeling in front of everyone at school was embarrassing. But it's just us here. What's the big deal? Unless you think Dad doesn't deserve your apology?"


Predictably, Dad exploded. He started shoving me toward the door. "You ungrateful shit! If you won't kneel, then get out! I'll show you who's boss!"


Ever since Mom died, I've been the one doing laundry and cooking.


Once I started high school and didn't have time to cook, Dad started making meals—but never for me.


I've wanted to leave this house for years.


But I don't have any money yet.


The school promised me a $5,000 scholarship, but I won't get it until next month.


I didn't argue with him.


I just calmly called the police.


The cops showed up and gave Dad a lecture.


Neighbors poked their heads out to watch, and Dad's face turned beet red.


He's obsessed with his image. This was the final straw.


At least now, he wouldn't dare kick me out before I turned eighteen.


After the police left, Dad glared at me with pure hatred.


"You little bitch. Since you're gonna play dirty, don't blame me for playing dirtier."


"The second you turn eighteen next month, you're out. From that day on, I don't have a daughter."


"You think you're so tough now? Wait till you're broke and homeless. You'll come crawling back, begging me to take you in. And when you do, kneeling won't be enough to fix it."


With that, he slammed his bedroom door.


Chapter 3


Even Aria looked rattled by what just went down. For once, she sounded genuine. "Dad was just blowing off steam. If you'd just apologized, none of this would've happened. Now you've made it impossible for anyone to back down."


Of course I knew that.


Seeing I wasn't budging, she scoffed. "Whatever. Can't save someone who wants to die. Since you're getting kicked out anyway, take all this junk with you! This house is gonna be mine and mine alone!"


She stormed into the storage room and started hurling my lab equipment into the hallway.


I didn't stop her. I just watched.


The school had way better equipment anyway. This stuff was useless to me now.


I knew exactly what Aria was thinking.


Dad's love is finite. If she gets rid of me, she gets it all.


But she didn't seem to realize—Dad's negativity is infinite.


I used to absorb it all. But once I'm gone? Who's left?


The next morning, Dad and Aria were eating breakfast.


Naturally, there was nothing for me.


I didn't care. I was about to leave when Dad called out in a cold voice.


"Here's your allowance for the month. Take it and get lost. Don't come asking me for money next month."


I turned around. Three twenty-dollar bills sat on the table.


There were still twenty days left in the month.


That money obviously wasn't enough.


But I didn't say a word. I just took it and left.


After class, I went to find Derek in Class 3.


He looked at me impatiently. "What do you want?"


Derek and I used to be pretty close.


But once we got to high school and my grades started slipping, Aria made a pact with him to both get into the best university in the state.


After that, he started avoiding me.


I got straight to the point. "You accidentally ruined my physics notebook a while back. You owe me for it."


Derek's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait, your notebook? I thought it was Aria's?"


I didn't bother explaining. I dragged him over to confront Aria.


Her eyes darted around nervously. "Hey, don't be so petty. What's mine is yours, right? Derek's practically family. Who cares if he messed it up? How can you even ask him for money?"


Then, as if realizing something, she sneered. "Oh, I get it. You're broke, aren't you? If you need money, go beg Dad. Don't embarrass yourself out here."


But Derek frowned at her. "That notebook clearly took a ton of effort. Breaking it was my fault. Paying you back is the right thing to do."


He quickly Venmo'd me $300.


Then he turned to Aria, clearly annoyed. "The notebook wasn't even yours. Why'd you lie? And why'd you refuse my offer to pay Josie back?"


Aria scrambled to explain. "I was just trying to help you! I didn't think it was a big deal. It's just Josie's notebook. She can rewrite it, right?"


Derek looked at her with disappointment and walked away without another word.


His grades were solid except for physics, which dragged him down.


Aria had taken credit for my perfect-score physics notes and given them to him, earning his praise.


But who would've thought I'd actually call her out?


Aria glared at me viciously.


"You bitch! You're trying to turn Derek against me! I was gonna ask Dad to go easy on you, but forget it. Go sleep on the streets for all I care. We'll see who gets the last laugh!"


Back in his classroom, Derek couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.


That notebook had been so well-organized, so detailed—it had boosted his score by several points.


But if Josie barely scored above a 3.0 GPA, how could she have made such a flawless notebook?


He pulled up the school's grade portal and searched for my name.


The more he looked, the more shocked he became.


Monthly exam: Total GPA 3.1, Physics—perfect score.


Midterm: Total GPA 3.2, Physics—perfect score.


Final: Total GPA 3.0, Physics—still a perfect score.






Dad and Sister Made Me Kneel for a Bagel? Now They Are Begging This Harvard Prodigy for a Glance!