Chapter 2

In elementary school, my sister and I went to a private academy. Cody was the only scholarship student there, admitted specially because his grades were so good.

He had a gentle nature, but a bad leg left him walking with a limp.

Sophie couldn't stand how well liked he was. In gym class, she shoved him hard to the ground.

"Stop dragging us down! If you're sick, go die somewhere. Don't infect the rest of us normal people."

Cody's knees were scraped bloody, his face flushed red, and he had no idea how to fight back.

I couldn't watch it happen, so I shoved Sophie down too and told her to apologize to him.

Our parents were called to the school. I never expected it, but instead of blaming Sophie, they slapped me hard enough to knock me over.

"You ungrateful little traitor, ganging up with an outsider to bully your own sister!"

"What did Sophie say that was wrong? If he's disabled, he should go to a special school. Why come to a normal elementary school and ruin things for healthy kids?"

Dad said it like he had every right to, and Mom read the worst possible motives into me.

"You little girl, don't tell me you take a boy's side the second you see one, just to butter him up on purpose?"

"This time, since you hit your sister, we're adding 10 points to her integrity score. You go reflect on yourself!"

Cody and his grandmother couldn't bear the humiliation, and not long after, they transferred out. I never saw them again.

My phone buzzed. I looked down and saw two messages from Ms. Simmons.

"I was very impressed with the proposal you put together last time. I hear you're underappreciated at the Dickersons. Come work for me. Base salary eighty thousand, bonuses on top of that."

"Don't rush to turn me down. Think it over. I'll wait for your answer."

My heart gave a hard thump.

Ms. Simmons ran the Simmons Group, the benchmark of the industry. Countless bright young talents fought tooth and nail just to get in.

And here she was, holding out an olive branch to a nobody like me, someone with no name in the field at all.

But if I left, what would happen to the Dickersons?

The company's cash flow was almost dried up, and my parents were still living in their old glory days, expanding blindly.

Sophie not causing disasters would be a win in itself. Counting on her was out of the question.

"Carissa, don't hold it against your father and me for playing favorites."

Mom softened her tone, pulling my thoughts back.

She pointed at the notebook, at the dense string of "-1"s crowding after my name, her voice pained.

"Your sister met her integrity score target, so she gets a reward. You've lost so many points, and if there's no punishment for that, it wouldn't be fair to your sister!"

Dad waved his hand impatiently. "Why waste so many words on her? Just announce it and be done."

"Where's she going to go, leave the Dickersons? Don't go mistaking the platform for actual ability!"

"Almost thirty and she's accomplished nothing, and now she's been let go too. Where's she going to find work, apply to be a cleaning lady?"

Mom nodded, thoroughly convinced.

"First, from now on you'll be your sister's secretary. You'll do it until she retires, and use your wages to atone."

"Every month we'll give you twenty-eight hundred for normal living expenses. We won't be paying into insurance for you."

"When you're old, I'm sure your sister won't let you go hungry."