The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy Read Online Free PDF Page B

you’re from, and a little about what makes you special.
    â€œNow, so you won’t think I’m picking on anybody, we’ll do this alphabetically. You A and B people—you’re used to this by now. You can handle it.”
    As it turned out, there weren’t actually any A people, so the first to be called up was Prescott Bottomy III.
    â€œOooooooooooof!” whispered Brooklyn.
    â€œOoofity-oof,” I whispered back.
    Prescott got up from his seat in slow motion and strolled up to the dais—like there was no need to hurry, his time was so much more important than ours.
    â€œHi,” he said, when he finally got up there, “I’mPrescott, and I grew up in Boston. But my parents are on the Hopkins Med School faculty now, so we live in Baltimore. Roland Park, actually.” (Well, of course! Important to let us know that he lives in a ritzy part of town.) “My father is a hematologist/oncologist, and my mother is a cell biologist.
    â€œNot surprisingly, I’m strong in science and math. I came in second in the National Math Exam last year. I’m also extremely good with computers. Actually, if we’re being honest here— are we being honest here, Ms. Lollyheart?”
    Ms. Lollyheart said that we were.
    â€œActually, I do well in the humanities and languages, too—pretty much across the board, grades-wise and testing-wise. I came in third in the National Latin Exam, for example.”
    I expected Brooklyn to go “Ooof” again, but he didn’t. He was staring up at the podium with that penetrating gaze of his, clearly amazed by Prescott’s arrogance and the cluelessness he showed in expressing it so bluntly. Like Frankenstein’s monster, you really had to wonder what had made him the way he was.
    â€œGot any plans for the future, Prescott?” Ms. Lollyheart asked. “Will you be following your parents into the medical field?”
    â€œSomething like that, though I’d rather do research than treat patients.”
    â€œWell, I think you’ll be pleased with the level of science we teach here. You will be matched with a mentor—all of you will have mentors—someone who is doing high-caliber research, quite possibly at Hopkins. You’ll also have the opportunity to do summer internships at medical labs. Might get your name on a paper or two before you even go to college. So, welcome to Allbright, Prescott.”
    He nodded and slowly returned to his seat.
    â€œSusan Carver,” Ms. Lollyheart called next.
    Susan was from Philadelphia. She had founded a literary journal at her school that won first place nationally in her grade level; she was also the teen editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer . Her dream was to be the next Maureen Dowd, whoever that was.
    Daniel Ellis followed. He was a history buff from Oakland, California, whose specialty was medieval Europe, with particular interest in the Cathars. I was amazed that somebody my age already had a specialty, and I wondered who the Cathars were.
    With each progressive student, I was growing increasingly nervous. What was I supposed to say when my turn came? Exactly what special talent should I claim had brought me to Allbright—being Zoë’s sister? I wasn’t “the best” at anything. I wasn’t ranked second, or third, or even two hundred and seventy-ninth in the nation in any subject whatsoever.
    â€œCalpurnia Fiorello,” said Ms. Lollyheart. I satup straight and peered ahead. Brooklyn did too. How could we have missed her?
    When she got up on the dais and turned around, I understood how: She’d lost maybe fifteen pounds, and her face was no longer round. Her eyebrows, noticeably heavy before, had been plucked. And the frizzy ponytail was gone; she’d had her hair straightened and cut in swingy layers. She even had on a little makeup. Cal Fiorello had had a makeover!
    â€œHi,” she said, “I’m Cal. And as you