Torn Between Twin Brothers

After the year-end exam was over and the results were out, Ava was called to the guidance counselor's office before all grades were announced. The homeroom teacher informed the class that the grades were out but did not divulge any further..

"Children, I want to inform all of you that the results of your exams are now available. But before I make the announcements, I need Ava, Jeffrey, and Akira to go to the guidance counselor. I will then announce the results once they come back." He then picked up his lesson plan and excused himself. 

"All of you, take a break. I will be back after they finish speaking with the guidance counselor." The homeroom teacher said as he walked out the door.

Ava, Akira, and Jeffrey looked at each other, filled with questions in their eyes. 

"What's going on? Did you guys do something?" Pearl was concerned. Why were they all summoned? Why was she left out? She had so many unanswered questions. But no one knew the answer at the moment.

"They all probably cheated with their exam and got caught!" Said Lady Crystal with a smirk plastered on her lips.

"You, shut up! Stop casting doubt on everyone's head. You don't know that so stop slandering them. They don't need to cheat on the exam, they are smart enough. Unlike you, who has mediocre grades and barely passes." Shouted Pearl from the other side of the room.

Lady Crystal only turned her head to face the other side of the room and ignored Pearl's outburst.

===

Ms. Shannon was busy flipping documents in front of her when the trio arrived. All three had no idea as to why they were being called before the announcement of the grades. While on the way to Ms. Shannon's office, none of the three-spoke.

Pisces, who was on duty to watch the girls during class, was walking right behind them quietly. She, too, was worried about why the children were being called to the guidance counselor's office. But, unfortunately, she could only follow and find out later on.

All three of them were called at the same time to enter.

Still holding hands with Jeffrey in the middle, the trio walked in with their heads high and proud. 

"Good morning Ms. Shannon, you called for us?" Jeffrey spoke for all three of them.

Ms. Shannon looked up from what she was doing and gave the children a welcoming smile.

"Good morning to all of you! Come in! Come in and sit down. I am so proud of the three of you!" That was the first thing she said. Hearing that, all three children let out a sigh of relief and smiled a little as they thanked her.

Once they were seated, Ms. Shannon didn't stop herself and continued with her praises. She was overjoyed that the three children in front of them were the best among their peers in their class.

"I want to start with Akira first," Ms. Shannon said while pulling out one of the folders on her right side.

"After tabulating all your marks for the whole year, I'm happy to announce that you may skip a grade and go straight to 11th grade next year. Of course, that would be your choice. If you don't want to, then you don't have to. You can continue with your course and be in 10th grade next year. Up to you, dear." She was still smiling sweetly as she waited for Akira's answer.

Jeffrey and Ava congratulated Akira, who still had her mouth wide open after hearing what Ms. Shannon said. She was dumbfounded to learn that she could jump one grade ahead. She was sure that Ava and Jeffrey would be told the same thing. But, what about their friend Pearl? They couldn't leave her in 10th grade on her own, she might get bullied by lady Crystal. So, she decided not to make a haste decision.

"Ms. Shannon, thank you for the information. I will think about it and talk to my parents first. Then, I will get back to you after the holiday." She politely said. Ms. Shannon only nodded in agreement.

Then it was Jeffrey's turn. 

"Jeffrey, congratulations! You have exceeded our expectations coming at the end of the year and still show how smart you are. Based on your academic achievement, you are entitled to jump two grades ahead. So you could go straight to 12th grade next year and you will not be far off from attending college, what do you think?" She excitedly announced.

This time, it was Jeffrey's turn to be flabbergasted. He couldn't believe that he was smart enough to jump 2 years in advance. Jeffrey was sure that their parents would be so proud of him. He also responded the same as Akira. He was not sure what Akira was planning on doing, if she decided to take it and jump one year, then he would follow. 

Then it was Ava's turn. They all held hands while waiting for Ms. Shannon to speak. After browsing through the document again for a minute, Ms. Shannon finally raised her head and looked Ava straight in her eyes.

"You!-- young-girl, are a genius among all your peers. I can't believe how high your mark was. We wanted to ask you if you're willing to get tested for your IQ. It's voluntary and not mandatory. So, you can decline if you don't feel like it. Anyway, the faculty members had discussed it already, and it's up to you if you want to do it or not." Ms. Shannon's eyes were beaming proudly.

Ava was calm and wasn't saying anything. She knew her capabilities, and she had been holding herself back so as to not to show that she was gifted. She always does it on purpose that she always scores high enough for her parents to be proud, but she never fully showed her true self.

However, many things had happened in her life recently that made her change her mind. Since James was older than her and would soon enter college, she wanted to be part of his college life. 

She didn't want to give other girls a chance to be close to him, and the only way she could do that was to enter the same college as him. So, she studied hard and let all her brain cells work to the fullest.

Her ultimate goal was to be able to take the college entrance examination ASAP. However, a smile crept into her lips with the thought of the possibility of her attending college simultaneously as James.

"Ava? Are you listening, dear?" Ms. Shannon had called her several times without getting a response. If Jeffrey and Akira didn't shake her simultaneously, she would still be in her own little world thinking about her future as the youngest freshman in the Imperial Academy next year.

"Huh! Oh, I-I'm s-sorry! I was lost in thought and didn't realize it. What was it you were saying?" She shyly asked. She heard part of what Ms. Shannon said, but not all.

"As I was saying, if you agree to take the IQ test, with your academic score plus the result of your test, you will be qualified to take the college entrance examination. If you pass, you may enter the college suggested to you. You will have many options, such as Imperial College, Oxford, Harvard, etc... So, what do you think?" She was holding her breath as she waited for Ava to reply.

"Ma'am, the same as my brother and Akira, I will need to speak to my parents first. Once I have discussed it with them, I will inform you right away. If it were up to me, yes! I want to take the test if it helps me be able to take the College Entrance Examination." She honestly informed Ms. Shannon. But, she didn't elaborate as to why she wanted to enter college by next year.

Ms. Shannon was delighted with her response, that's all she wanted to hear. 

"Alright then, that's good enough for me. As long as I know that you are interested, I could inform the agency that will hold your testing. Once we hear from you, then we can go from there." She was then ready to tell the children to head back to the class when Jeffrey said something.

"Excuse me, Ms. Shannon. This IQ test, can I also participate? Actually, as a matter of fact, can all three of us participate?" He then looked at Akira, "you also want to try, right?" He said more like a command instead of asking.

Ms. Shannon had to think for a moment before she responded. It would be no big deal if they only wanted to know their official IQ, but if they were also thinking of taking the College Entrance Examination, she was not sure that the other faculty members would allow them. So, she decided to be direct to the point.

"It shouldn't be a problem if you both only want to know your IQ level. However, I want to warn you that it's only for learning your IQ and does not constitute the Royal Academy allowing you to participate in CEE. Do you understand that?"

Both Jeffrey and Akira nodded in agreement. Then they remembered Pearl, they didn't want her to feel left out and requested to let her take the test just for fun.

Ms. Shannon was laughing her heart out. She liked that the children's closeness was immeasurable. She hoped and wished that they stay that way for the rest of their lives. The best thing she could do was to guide them through their academic life at Royal Academy.

"Sure! Sure! I will arrange for all of you to take the test once you finish speaking with your parents about what you want to do for next year's class. That's all, you may go back to your class.." She excused them and went back to check her other files.