Chapter 486

Calista said with feigned concem , “ Maybe there was a system glitch . Why don’t you try checking again ? Coincidentally , my brother is checking his scorche right now . He could give it a try for you . ”
“ No need , ” Aria said . “ Ms. Gibbs , I’ll pass the phone to Lily now . ”
“ Alright , ” Valerie replied .
Aria closed the door behind her and finally got some peace .
Valerie told Lily , “ There are a lot of outstanding students in this year’s senior class . We just learned that the SAT scores for the state’s top 50 students are being withheld and won’t be available to check for another four days .
“ You seniors this year are truly outstanding . Including you , three students in our class have their scores withheld . I’ll go and gather the scores and estimate the score range for the state’s top 50. ”
Lily replied , “ Alright , Ms. Gibbs , you go ahead . ”
Meanwhile , in the kitchen .
Tina glanced around the spotless kitchenware and concluded , “ Aria doesn’t cook . There’s not a single sign that she’s ever used them . ”
Curious , Calista asked , “ So how do her two younger sisters eat ? Do they order takeout every single day ? ”
Vanessa shot her a sidelong glance . “ They order from Amour Bistro . ”
Calista said , “ Wait , doesn’t Amour Bistro usually not take standing orders ? ”
“ Cloe is her friend , and we all know each other . We just pulled a few strings , that’s all , ” Vanessa explained .
Calista was speechless . She’d had enough of talking to Vanessa , so she turned to chat with Luther instead .
After compiling all the seniors ‘ SAT results at Larkridge High School , Valerie called the other two students first before calling Lily . She said , “ The statistical results are out . Eleven of our students made the state’s top 50. Excluding those with withheld scores like yours , the highest mark is 1475. ”
After Vanessa and the others finished cooking , Calista suggested , “ Why don’t we have Aria’s two sisters come out and eat with us ? They’ve been cooped up in their room all morning . We can blur their faces even if they don’t want to be on camera .”
Inside the room , Lily turned to Aria and said , “ Aria , I just heard that girl being snarky . I’m coming out to eat with you . ”
Given Pearl’s condition , Aria didn’t trust the food others had prepared and had already arranged a special meal for her . Since Pearl had already eaten , she didn’t need to come out .
Vanessa came over to fetch the three of them and asked about Lily’s SAT score . After Lily explained , Vanessa visibly relaxed . Her face broke into a bright smile . “ Come on , let’s go out and put Calista in her place . ”
“ Alright , let’s go , ” Lily said .
At the dinner table , Calista , as expected , asked , “ So , have you figured out what happened with the SAT score ? How come it’s zerc
Lily gave a faint smile . “ It’s all sorted out . ”
Then , a staff member said , “ Mr. Greer , check the trending topics . The scores for the top 50 in the state got withheld . ”
Everyone froze , stunned by what they saw .
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“ All top 50 scores in the state are showing zeros ! ”
“ I checked the comments section . People are saying all the state’s top 50 scored above 1475 ! ”
Vanessa immediately burst into applause . “ Top 50 in the state . Above 1450. Lily , you’re freaking amazing . ”
‘ Above 1450 , top 50 statewide ! ‘ Calista snapped out of her daze . Just moments ago , her brother’s 1350 SAT score seemed impressive , but now , faced wit a score above 1475 , it suddenly felt insignificant .
Lily cast a subtle glance at Calista and smiled . “ Nothing special . My estimated score is only around 1500 , so I probably won’t be the top scorer ,
‘ 1500 ? And she won’t be the top scorer ? ‘ Calista’s face stiffened further .
Tina smiled and asked , “ Lily , you must be a straight – A student at school , right ? ”
Lily replied modestly , “ Well , I only performed well during the second semester of junior year and throughout senior year at Larkridge High School
Luther asked curiously , “ So your performance before that must be excellent , too , huh ? ”
Vanessa finally found her chance to interject , “ She only transferred to Larkridge High School late in her junior year , right before finals . ”
Everyone was stunned at this .