My Genius Twin Sister Turned Into a Lovebrain

My sister, Cindy Gardner, and I are fraternal twins. She gets to be the elder sister because she comes out one minute before me, making me the younger brother. Luckily, there's little difference between us when it comes to intelligence. Throughout our school years, one of us always ranks first, and the other comes in second. But after three years of competing in high school, with me coming in second every time, I calmly agree to keep her secret about dating a delinquent named Rodney Sloan. Then the guaranteed-admission spots to Belton University, the country's top university, become available. Our homeroom teacher calls Cindy and me into her office. "There are two guaranteed-admission spots. They're awarded based on grades, and the two of you are next in line. "Fill out this form." I nod and quickly fill out the entire form. Just as I'm about to hand it over to her, Cindy, who is standing quietly beside us, suddenly moves. She snatches my form, tears it to pieces, and tosses the scraps into the air. "If you want me to take the guaranteed spot, there's one condition—Rodney has to get in with me." I laugh in disbelief. What a complete idiot. Mom and Dad are going to tear her apart for this. Chapter 1 Our homeroom teacher, Elaine Zeller, was so stunned by this that she couldn't speak for a moment. She pushed up her thick glasses, her hand trembling as she pointed at the scraps of paper all over the floor. "Cindy Gardner, have you lost your mind? Do you know what you just tore up?" Cindy acted like she was completely in the right, almost as if she were making some noble sacrifice for love. She met Ms. Zeller's furious stare and said slowly, "Ms. Zeller, I know exactly what I'm doing. My request is simple. Either Rodney Sloan gets in with me, or I don't want the guaranteed-admission spot." Cindy turned to me, speaking with a hint of authority and apology in her tone. "Shane, your grades are good. You can get in without the guaranteed admission. "But Rodney's different. He needs this chance." I looked at her without saying anything. Cindy, who had held the top spot in our grade for years, lost all sense of logic once she got caught up in love. She probably thought she was the heroine of some romance drama, putting on a touching show of standing up for love. Ms. Zeller was so angry that she started pacing around in her office. "This is nonsense! It's absolutely ridiculous! Guaranteed admission is based on overall grades. "Rodney can barely make the cutoff for a top-tier college. How could he possibly get a spot? The school has its own rules!" "Then I'll give it up." Cindy held her ground, refusing to give in. "After all, it's my spot. I get to decide what happens to it." "You!" Ms. Zeller pointed at her, too angry to speak. Finally, she waved her hand in defeat. "Get out. I don't want to see you right now. Go cool off!" Cindy thought Ms. Zeller had given in and shot me a smug look. Then she swaggered out and closed the door behind her. The office fell silent. Ms. Zeller let out a long sigh. She looked as if she had aged ten years in an instant. Then she opened a drawer, took out a fresh form, and placed it in front of me. "Shane, I'm sorry you had to go through all this." I shook my head and picked up a pen. "Cindy's spot…" Elaine paused, her eyes full of disappointment. "Since she officially gave it up, the school won't force her to take it. "According to the rules, the spot will go to Rosa Lynch, who's ranked third in your grade." My pen paused on the paper, and then I continued writing smoothly. "Shane Gardner"—I wrote the words clearly and steadily. I wasn't upset at all. I just thought Cindy was ridiculously stupid. Chapter 2 Cindy thought she could threaten the school with her own future and use that to get the impossible chance to be with Rodney. She didn't know that the only thing she was giving up was her own spot. And without doing a thing, I became the only winner. … I had just barely sat down at my desk when someone who reeked of cigarettes came over. Rodney put both hands on my desk, leaned forward, and looked down at me. He could barely hide the smugness in his tone as he said, "Shane, I heard Cindy tore up your guaranteed admission form." I didn't even look up. I opened my workbook and started on a few problems to calm myself down. When I ignored him, Rodney raised his voice. "What good is all that effort? You stay up late studying every night and come in second every time. What do you have to show for it? "Sometimes hard work isn't enough. Some things just come down to luck." As he spoke, he brushed some dirt off his clothes and gave a smug grin. "You're not like me. I'm lucky. With Cindy backing me, I can get into Belton University without even trying." A few classmates nearby started watching, curious about what was going on. Rodney clearly loved the attention. He leaned closer and lowered his voice, so only the two of us could hear. "Just wait. Once Cindy and I get married, I'll be the one running the Gardner family. "At that time, whether you still have a place in this family will depend on my mood." Finally, I stopped spinning my pen and looked up at him. He thought his words had angered me, and the smug smile on his face grew wider. Just then, the classroom's back door flew open with a bang. My idiot sister, Cindy, strolled in with her hands in her pockets. She walked straight over and pulled Rodney, who was still leaning over my desk, behind her. Only then did she look at me, wearing an apologetic expression that was clearly meant to make her seem gracious. "Shane, don't be mad at me. I know I did you wrong." She spoke just loud enough for the classmates around us, who were all listening in, to hear. "But Rodney can't live without me, and I can't just leave him behind. Besides, with your grades, you could easily get into Belton University by taking the college entrance exam." She made it sound so noble, as if she were making some huge sacrifice for me. Behind her, Rodney immediately put on a defiant yet loving look as he gazed at her. "Cindy, I knew you cared about me most." The two of them carried out their lovey-dovey act as if no one else was there. Cindy patted him on the shoulder and said in an affectionate tone, "Silly, who else would I be nice to?" After saying that, she looked at me again. She furrowed her brows slightly as she spoke in her usual elder-sister, lecturing tone. "Shane, you need to be more understanding. Rodney isn't like us. He doesn't have the same advantages as we do, so he needs this chance. "Just think of it as doing me a favor." Watching the two idiots caught up in their own delusions and self-importance, I almost burst out laughing. She wanted me to do her a favor? Was I supposed to help her ruin both her future and an innocent classmate's? I said nothing. I simply picked up my pen again and worked through a complex function problem on my scratch paper. The solution quickly became clear to me. It was far more interesting than their pathetic little act. Chapter 3 Seeing that I remained expressionless, Cindy eventually lost interest. She took Rodney's hand and headed back to her seat, but not before tossing one last comment my way. "Alright. That's settled, then. Just focus on your studying and don't overthink it." The classroom fell silent once again. However, I could still feel everyone's eyes on me. Some were sympathetic, while others clearly enjoyed my predicament. But I didn't care. … At dinner, Mom and Dad casually asked what had happened with the guaranteed-admission form. I idly picked at my food and answered nonchalantly, "Oh. Cindy tore it up." The atmosphere suddenly turned tense. My dad, Vernon Gardner, froze with his hand still in the air. My mom, Jolene Carson, dropped her spoon with a sharp clack. "What did you say?" Dad's voice dropped dangerously low. I repeated myself. "Cindy said she would only accept the spot if Rodney could go with her. Otherwise, neither of us gets to go." The very next instant, Dad slammed his hand down on the table, rattling the dishes. He shot to his feet and glared at Cindy, who had just walked out of her room. "Get over here. Now!" Mom stood up too. She had a hand pressed to her forehead, her voice shaking with anger. "Cindy, have you completely lost your mind? You're throwing away your entire future for that good-for-nothing?" That was all it took to set off a full-blown family meltdown. Cindy stood there with her hands in her pockets, looking completely unfazed. "Mom, Dad, why are you so worked up? I've already talked it over with Ms. Zeller." "What did you tell her?" Dad was so furious that he grabbed a wooden spoon from the kitchen. "Did you two agree on a way for you to humiliate our whole family?" What followed was a brutal attack from our parents. Dad handled the physical punishment, while Mom took care of the verbal abuse, every word she said cutting straight into Cindy's pride. I quietly finished my dinner and carried my dishes into the kitchen. The shouting and crying from the living room had nothing to do with me. Half an hour later, Cindy came into my room, her face bruised and swollen. She glared at me resentfully. "Shane, you really have to stick your nose into everything." Without looking up, I kept working through my problems and said, "I was just stating the facts." "What's been done is done. I'll deal with Ms. Zeller. You just worry about studying for the college entrance exam and stay out of this." With that, Cindy slammed the door behind her. … From that day on, she and Rodney completely let themselves go. They were late to morning classes, left school early in the evening, and sometimes disappeared for the entire day. Whenever I ran into them in the hallway, they were either walking around with their arms around each other, or smoking away in the stairwell. They were so disgustingly lovey-dovey that it was hard to watch. Once, before a practice test, I left a set of notes I had just organized on Cindy's desk and said, "You'd better look these over before next week's test." Rodney happened to walk by and laughed mockingly. "Wow, the top student is still working this hard? Unlike us, we've already secured our college spots. We don't have to put ourselves through this anymore." Cindy linked arms with Rodney and chimed in with an indulgent smile, "Exactly. Shane, you're the one who needs to work hard. We're different. We can start enjoying college life early." I took the notes back and didn't say another word. I had completely given up on trying to warn that idiot Cindy. Chapter 4 I simply sat at my desk and kept quiet, watching Cindy and Rodney act like they had all the time in the world. They strutted around the classroom and wasted what little time they had left in school. The college entrance exam countdown in the top corner of the blackboard kept ticking down. To Cindy and Rodney, it was just a number that meant nothing. To me, it was counting down to the end of this whole farce. Part of me was already looking forward to the moment they realized they had spent all this time heading in the wrong direction. … On the day of the college entrance exam, I wore casual clothes and stood outside the testing center, waiting to see my friends inside. Parents stood all around us in all kinds of matching shirts, their faces filled with nerves and hope. In the tense crowd, Cindy and Rodney showed up. They were dressed in the latest matching couple outfits, each holding an iced latte. They looked relaxed, as if they had come for a walk in the park. Rodney spotted me first. He whistled loudly and tugged on Cindy's sleeve. "Cindy, look. Isn't that Shane?" Cindy looked over. At first, she was surprised. Then she wore a look of pity that conveyed she thought she knew exactly what was going on. The two of them sauntered over to me. Rodney looked me up and down, then scoffed. "Shane, did you finally come to your senses and show up to cheer us on? "Or did you come to see what it's like so you'll know what to expect when you have to take the college entrance exam again next year?" Cindy frowned and put on her best big-sister act. "Shane, stop being difficult. I told you before—with your grades, you could still get into a good college by taking the college entrance exam. "There's no need to skip the test just because you're angry with me." She sounded like she was doing me some great favor, and the condescension in her voice was impossible to miss. "Exactly." Rodney slipped an arm around Cindy's shoulders and rested his head against hers. "Some people just don't know when they've got it good. "They could do fine on their own, but they insist on competing with people who were born lucky. "Look where that got you. In the end, you have nothing. All that hard work for nothing, and now you can't even take the college entrance exam. How pathetic." I watched them play along with each other, pushing the little act they had been putting on for months to what they thought was its grand finale. Some of the parents nearby had already started looking our way. I looked at them quietly, then smiled. My reaction clearly got under Rodney's skin. He raised his voice, asking, "What are you smiling at? Did we hit a nerve?" Cindy's expression darkened too. "Shane, don't push your luck." I raised my wrist and checked my watch. There were 15 minutes left until the college entrance exam started. It was almost time. I stopped smiling and calmly met their smug, gloating looks. Then I said softly, "I was just wondering if you two forgot that guaranteed-admission students get their acceptance letters before the college entrance exam." They both went completely still. The smile on Rodney's face froze, and the smug look on Cindy's face faltered. I turned to Cindy, who thought she was so clever, and looked her straight in the eye. "Did you get yours, Cindy?" Cindy's eyes darted away, and she shook her head almost instinctively. My smile widened. I reached into the canvas bag I was carrying and slowly pulled out the red envelope stamped with a university seal and gold lettering. I held it up and waved it in front of her. "But I got mine."