Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 14: Chapter 14
You are reading Their Mistake, Her Rise, Chapter 14: Chapter 14. Read more chapters of Their Mistake, Her Rise.
Joyce, the world-famous "Chem Icon," was searching for a teenage prodigy—someone around Eunice's age.
'If I were that girl,' Eunice thought, 'I'd be Jelonsburg's darling overnight. Getting into Eminence Nexus would be effortless.'
"Listen up," Zack said, leaning against the podium. "No lecture today. We're jumping straight into problem-solving. I'll write the problem on the board. You have one minute to solve it—use any method you can."
The class erupted. "Mr. Shelton, seriously?" a student yelled. "A hard chem problem in one minute? That's insane!"
Zack ignored them and kept writing.
When Eunice saw the problem, her back straightened. Her eyes lit up.
Eunice had come across this problem the night before. Too proud to let it go, she stayed up late until she finally found the simplest solution. Now, she jumped right into working on it without hesitation.
While the rest of the class struggled, Zoe glanced at the problem and immediately knew the answer. But she didn't hurry—she stretched, yawned, and then lazily started writing.
"Mr. Shelton, I'm done!" Eunice's voice broke the silence, drawing everyone's attention.
"Bring me your answer," Zack said, extending his hand expectantly.
Eunice had skipped the complicated steps and gone straight to the simplest method, solving it in less than thirty seconds.
When Zack took her paper and saw the answer, his hands shook with excitement.
This chemistry problem was based on one step of Joyce's lab experiment—only a few could solve it, and finishing it in under a minute was nearly impossible.
Zack's fingers tightened around the paper as his eyes locked onto Eunice in disbelief. "You're the girl Ms. Yoder has been looking for, aren't you?" he asked, voice thick with excitement.
The classroom erupted the moment Zack spoke.
Eunice squirmed under everyone's sudden attention. She realized this was her chance—if she played along as the rumored prodigy, she'd steal the spotlight. Meanwhile, Zoe would fade into obscurity, never able to compete.
Tossing her hair back, Eunice glanced away like she was hiding something. "Mr. Shelton, I really don't know what you mean," she said, her voice thick with pretend confusion.
Zack nodded, completely taken in. "I see now," he said, watching Eunice put on that expression of pretended humility. This only strengthened his conviction that she was the mysterious prodigy.
He held up a paper for the class. "You've all heard the news, right? Yesterday in Jelonsburg, a chemistry genius solved a problem even Ms. Yoder couldn't crack and saved her life.
"And the best part is that she's right here at Highcrest University."
A stunned silence fell over the room. Then it clicked.
"Wait... Mr. Shelton, are you saying Eunice is the chemistry genius?" someone shouted, eyes bulging.
Nearby, Herbert and Jacob gaped at their sister. They never thought she'd been keeping this incredible secret from them.
They couldn't help comparing Zoe and Eunice. Zoe's aggressive confidence only made them appreciate Eunice's quiet humility more.
Eunice's heart raced as her plan fell into place. With the real genius still absent, she saw her opportunity.
If she could establish herself as the chemistry prodigy now, even when the true one surfaced later, no one would believe that girl's claim.
This was her golden ticket—if she could impress Jelonsburg's elite, she'd be on the fast track to Eminence Nexus, just like Philip.
Just as she was about to claim the identity, Zack's voice shattered the moment.
"Wait. This is wrong!" He scrutinized the answer sheet again, spotting an error he hadn't noticed earlier. "You wrote CO instead of CH4 here, messing up the entire solution. The correct formula requires CH4."
He looked up at Eunice, shaking his head. "Your answer is incorrect." The hope drained from his face—she wasn't the genius he'd hoped to find.
Eunice's stomach dropped as the mood in the room changed. Her classmates' admiring looks had turned to disappointment. She clenched her jaw, annoyed that everyone looked like they'd seen this coming.
Desperate for a distraction, she glanced around—then froze when she spotted Zoe's answer sheet.
What she saw hit her like a slap. Her eyes popped, shoulders trembling.
'If I were that girl,' Eunice thought, 'I'd be Jelonsburg's darling overnight. Getting into Eminence Nexus would be effortless.'
"Listen up," Zack said, leaning against the podium. "No lecture today. We're jumping straight into problem-solving. I'll write the problem on the board. You have one minute to solve it—use any method you can."
The class erupted. "Mr. Shelton, seriously?" a student yelled. "A hard chem problem in one minute? That's insane!"
Zack ignored them and kept writing.
When Eunice saw the problem, her back straightened. Her eyes lit up.
Eunice had come across this problem the night before. Too proud to let it go, she stayed up late until she finally found the simplest solution. Now, she jumped right into working on it without hesitation.
While the rest of the class struggled, Zoe glanced at the problem and immediately knew the answer. But she didn't hurry—she stretched, yawned, and then lazily started writing.
"Mr. Shelton, I'm done!" Eunice's voice broke the silence, drawing everyone's attention.
"Bring me your answer," Zack said, extending his hand expectantly.
Eunice had skipped the complicated steps and gone straight to the simplest method, solving it in less than thirty seconds.
When Zack took her paper and saw the answer, his hands shook with excitement.
This chemistry problem was based on one step of Joyce's lab experiment—only a few could solve it, and finishing it in under a minute was nearly impossible.
Zack's fingers tightened around the paper as his eyes locked onto Eunice in disbelief. "You're the girl Ms. Yoder has been looking for, aren't you?" he asked, voice thick with excitement.
The classroom erupted the moment Zack spoke.
Eunice squirmed under everyone's sudden attention. She realized this was her chance—if she played along as the rumored prodigy, she'd steal the spotlight. Meanwhile, Zoe would fade into obscurity, never able to compete.
Tossing her hair back, Eunice glanced away like she was hiding something. "Mr. Shelton, I really don't know what you mean," she said, her voice thick with pretend confusion.
Zack nodded, completely taken in. "I see now," he said, watching Eunice put on that expression of pretended humility. This only strengthened his conviction that she was the mysterious prodigy.
He held up a paper for the class. "You've all heard the news, right? Yesterday in Jelonsburg, a chemistry genius solved a problem even Ms. Yoder couldn't crack and saved her life.
"And the best part is that she's right here at Highcrest University."
A stunned silence fell over the room. Then it clicked.
"Wait... Mr. Shelton, are you saying Eunice is the chemistry genius?" someone shouted, eyes bulging.
Nearby, Herbert and Jacob gaped at their sister. They never thought she'd been keeping this incredible secret from them.
They couldn't help comparing Zoe and Eunice. Zoe's aggressive confidence only made them appreciate Eunice's quiet humility more.
Eunice's heart raced as her plan fell into place. With the real genius still absent, she saw her opportunity.
If she could establish herself as the chemistry prodigy now, even when the true one surfaced later, no one would believe that girl's claim.
This was her golden ticket—if she could impress Jelonsburg's elite, she'd be on the fast track to Eminence Nexus, just like Philip.
Just as she was about to claim the identity, Zack's voice shattered the moment.
"Wait. This is wrong!" He scrutinized the answer sheet again, spotting an error he hadn't noticed earlier. "You wrote CO instead of CH4 here, messing up the entire solution. The correct formula requires CH4."
He looked up at Eunice, shaking his head. "Your answer is incorrect." The hope drained from his face—she wasn't the genius he'd hoped to find.
Eunice's stomach dropped as the mood in the room changed. Her classmates' admiring looks had turned to disappointment. She clenched her jaw, annoyed that everyone looked like they'd seen this coming.
Desperate for a distraction, she glanced around—then froze when she spotted Zoe's answer sheet.
What she saw hit her like a slap. Her eyes popped, shoulders trembling.
End of Their Mistake, Her Rise Chapter 14. Continue reading Chapter 15 or return to Their Mistake, Her Rise book page.