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Our house was ancient and small with thin walls and a patch of lawn out the front that was usually half-dead. It was beautiful on the inside, though, furnished with flea market finds and decorated with cheap yet pretty items from thrift stores. My mom liked to paint, too, so there were a few landscapes around the place, adding swashes of color to the plain taupe walls.
With a long, heavy sigh, I collapsed onto the overstuffed couch in the living room and yanked my shoes off. Mignon padded in, licked my bare feet, and nuzzled my hand, begging for some head rubs.
“Laney! Is that you?”
I sat up. “Mom? I thought you were at work.”
She appeared in the doorway from the narrow hall, cheeks flushed. “I got sent home early.”
My eyes widened. “Did something happen?”
“No. Nothing bad, anyway.” She waved a hand. “There was just nothing else to do at the place. We cleaned everything in record time.”
“Oh, cool. Now we can cook dinner together,” I said. “What do you want to have?”
She stepped closer, hands twisting together with what appeared to be nervous excitement. “First things first, baby. I have news for you. Come into the kitchen with me.”
With a curious frown puckering my brows, I followed her into the kitchen and sat at the table, back ramrod straight. I hadn’t seen my mom look this happy or excited in months. Maybe even years. Whatever this news was, it had to be something big.
She grabbed a large yellow envelope from the center of the table and presented it to me with a flourish. “This came for you today,” she said, eyes brightening even more. “I thought it was for me and accidentally opened it. Almost fell over from the shock.”
My frown deepened as I stared down at the envelope and turned it over in my hands. There was a stamped red wax seal on the back, like it was a letter right out of the seventeenth century. It was broken in half from where Mom had opened it earlier.
“Read it!” she said, practically jumping up and down with enthusiasm.
I retrieved the letter from inside the envelope and poked my tongue against one cheek as I scanned the page. At the top was a golden crest, made up of a crown in a shield with some Latin words below it.
I read the text under the crest without taking a single breath.
Dear Delaney,
It is a great pleasure for me to inform you that you have been selected by Royal Falls Academy to receive an excellence scholarship for your senior year of high school. Each year, students who have distinguished themselves through outstanding academic achievements are chosen from a pool of candidates, and I am pleased to let you know that you were top of the list on this occasion.
RFA excellence scholars receive free tuition and board, along with a $10,000 scholarship allowance to spend at your own discretion.
Please accept my congratulations on your selection for this great honor. We look forward to welcoming you into the RFA community.
Yours sincerely,
Gerald Sanders
RFA Headmaster
My mouth opened, but nothing came out. I simply shook my head as my stomach fluttered with a mixture of confusion and surprise.
“I can’t believe it,” Mom said, giddy with happiness. “You’re going to Royal Falls Academy, baby!”
“But…” I slowly shook my head. “I didn’t apply for a scholarship anywhere.”
“It sounds like they don’t actually ask for applications,” she said, nodding toward the letter. “They just track down the best students at each school in the state and pick a few candidates from the list.”
“I’m not the best student in the state, though, and it said I was top of the list,” I replied in a small voice, chest tightening. “This can’t be right.”
Surely this was an error, and they meant to send the letter to a different Delaney Collins.
“Stop being so modest,” Mom said, putting her hands on her hips. “You’re amazing. You always get the best grades.”
“But that’s just at Silvercreek High. We’re the worst-performing school in the state.”
