Chapter 5

The plane touched down at Miami International Airport in a torrential downpour.

As soon as I took my phone off airplane mode, my screen blew up.

A dozen frantic texts and two video clips flooded in from my high school best friend, Nora.

"Flora! Absolute chaos at your graduation party!"

"Where the hell are you?! An Ivy League admissions rep and a local TV crew just showed up at the ballroom!"

I tapped on the first video.

The St. Regis ballroom was packed and buzzing with people.

A massive digital banner glowed at the front of the room:

Congratulations to the Hayes Family's Pride and Joy!

Poppy stood center stage in a custom beaded lace gown.

The spotlight hit her perfectly, making her literally glow.

A reporter from the local education channel stepped up, pointing a microphone right at her face.

"Congratulations on your perfect 36 ACT score," he said brightly. "As the biggest dark horse of this graduating class, can you share your study secrets with us?"

A flash of sheer panic crossed Poppy's face, but the applause quickly swallowed it up.

She gripped the mic and flashed a sugary, sweet smile. "Honestly, nothing crazy. I just stuck firmly to my study schedule. And of course, my family has been incredibly supportive."

Mom, Dad, and Graham hovered around her, absolutely beaming.

Mom was smiling so hard her eyes crinkled.

The reporter then turned his attention to the rest of the family on stage.

"I understand there are actually two Hayes daughters in this graduating class," the reporter said. "Why do we only see one tonight? Where is your other daughter?"

Mom waved her hand dismissively, her voice dropping into a tone of casual disdain.

"Oh, who knows? Probably out goofing off somewhere. She hasn't answered my texts all day," Mom said.

"Her grades are pretty average, so she's probably just too embarrassed to come. Anyway, let's not talk about her. She's not the focus tonight."

Dad chimed in right on cue.

"Yeah, our oldest has always been pretty socially awkward. She hates being in the spotlight to begin with, so we just let her do her own thing."

Graham let out a laugh, leaning into the frame.

"Yeah, Flora usually scores, like, a 22 on her practice ACTs. You really can't compare her to Poppy."

Silas stood right next to Poppy.

He nodded along, flashing that handsome smile of his.

"It's not just the grades, honestly. Poppy is a lot sweeter and way more outgoing," Silas added.

"You guys are definitely interviewing the right sister."

I stared at Silas's face on my screen.

He looked like a complete stranger.

We had been together for three years.

He never even realized that I deliberately bombed every single practice test I took.

I only did it so I wouldn't steal Poppy's thunder, and so my parents wouldn't pull me aside later to scream at me for "trying to show off and make her feel bad."

Ever since Mom sent that half-hearted text yesterday about taking me dress shopping, they figured they had done their parental duty.

They hadn't checked on me once.

They were so wrapped up in themselves, they didn't even notice I had already left the family GroupMe and blocked all their numbers.

I tapped on the second video.

The interview was winding down.

The reporter pulled out a printed registration form, getting ready to verify the final details for the broadcast graphics.

"Alright, let's just do a quick identity check," the reporter said.

He glanced down at the paper, and his brow furrowed.

He looked at the ID photo attached to the file, then back up at Poppy. His expression shifted into something incredibly awkward.

He clicked the power switch on his handheld microphone off, but he didn't realize the camera's boom mic overhead was still recording.

"The system says the student who scored the perfect 36... the top scholar of the state..." the reporter said slowly. "Her name is Flora Hayes."

He stared at her.

"You... you aren't Flora, are you?"