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When they found out I was their biological daughter, they didn't bother looking into my background.
They heard I was raised by miners and immediately looked down on me.
Emma couldn't help asking, "Principal, you—"
"Who let you in?"
Principal Miller pointed outside. "Out! No one comes in without my permission!"
Emma's jaw dropped, her face pale.
Outside, she'd been boasting about how her good behavior earned the family this treatment.
Now, she'd been publicly humiliated.
She slunk away, but Principal Miller glanced at Julian too.
I quickly said, "He's my boyfriend."
Principal Miller nodded and treated Julian more politely.
My father pressed, "Principal Miller, please explain."
"Skylar, Director Swift, entered the gifted program at MIT at eleven. Started working two years later, leading projects the year after that."
"Three years ago, Director Swift visited our school as a guest speaker. The progress we've made in computer science is built on the foundation she helped us lay."
Principal Miller gave my father a strange look. "Mr. Smith, as her biological father, you know nothing about your daughter's achievements? You're enrolling her as a student? People will think you're mocking me."
My father's eyes widened. My mother's too.
Even Julian looked at me in surprise. "You're that incredible?"
I nodded, too lazy to talk, and focused on eating dessert. I gave Julian a piece.
"We… we just found Skylar. We're still learning about her,"
My father said awkwardly.
But when he looked at me, there was pride in his eyes.
My mother looked at me more kindly too.
Anyway, I didn't need to attend classes.
But since I was here, I helped the school solve some technical problems.
My parents followed me the whole time.
Some students recognized them and greeted them. My parents would proudly say I was their daughter, here on a professional visit.
I saw Emma following at a distance, glaring darkly at me.
I wasn't released until almost evening.
On the way home, my parents sat on either side of me. They didn't know what to say, but they looked proud.
I'm so lazy I can't even be bothered to speak. I closed my eyes and rested.
But I felt someone staring. I opened my eyes and saw Emma's resentful glare.
At home, my parents wanted to call everyone and announce my existence.
I reminded them they could mention the gifted program and my work in computers, but not too much—it's classified.
They understood and started calling people to brag.
I collapsed on the sofa, scrolling through my phone. Julian sat beside me, occasionally feeding me sweets.
Emma paced nearby, her face dark, but she didn't say anything.
When dinner was ready, we went to the dining room.
Emma immediately said, "Mom, Dad, I'll work hard to be as outstanding as Skylar!"
