'You are utterly useless' shouted my mom from across the room as she looked at my report for the end of term.
'But mom, I only dropped to second best' I said slowly, fighting the traitor tears that were about to betray me.
'If it's not number 1,it's not good enough' she responded, throwing my report into the fire.
It was always the same story, the same expectation and the same reaction. Either be the best or you aren't good enough. I had had just about enough.
I watched the report burn to ashes as I dried up my tears. I couldn't believe she had done that.
I ran up to my room and switched on the laptop. The exams were done and I was finally applying for college. I wasn't sure which subjects I would be majoring in but I knew that I had no choice but to offer mathematics. Why? Everyone in the family knew mathematics and although I sucked at it, I had to do it.
I took off the leather jacket and tied up my hair, ready to read through the email notifications that I had missed over the last few days. Just as I was about to start, the phone rang.
'Hey, you fine?' I said.
'Yeah, I just wanted to say congratulations'
'On what girl?'
'You don't know yet?'
'Know what?'
'Jeez, babe, don't disappoint me'
'Spill'
'You got accepted into Kingman College'
Kingman College, the very best college there was in the entire country and if not, in the whole continent. They only admitted the cream of the cream. Regardless of how good your scores were, you had to take an entrance exam for each subject you had applied to major in. There were two sets of exams. The first set was to get rid of those who didn't know the tricks and the second set was to polish those who had survived. It was tough. It was tough but worth it because companies scrambled to hire graduates from the college. Once you graduated, several companies would be lining up just to hire you. It was worth the effort.
'I am guessing you also got in'
'Yes, being the daughter of the president's secretary paid off.'
'Well thank you Bernice. I will call you later'
Bernice, my best friend, my actual only friend who could put up with me almost knowing everything because I had read books since I could remember. Bernice had been raised by her mother while her father served in the military. He was part of those keeping the peace at the border. When she decided she wanted to join the Kingman College, her mother was thrilled and promised her that she would get in. My guess was that the president's office must have recommended her. Although she had been recommended, she had to write the exams. Those entrance exams didn't care if your father held the keys to heaven.
I rushed downstairs to inform my mom about the admission but then I remembered that I still had to write the entrance exams. I didn't tell her. I didn't want to fail the entrance exams and make her feel more disappointed in me.
I looked at the portrait of my father, he had a PhD in Mathematics and was working as an Economist. He was a brilliant person. My mother was a pediatric surgeon. How would I explain to people if I failed that I was their child? I had to be better. I had to have better grades at all costs. I had to. I just had to.