System Error: The Perfect SAT Revenge

What an idiot! Our wealthy queen purposely tanked her SATs, just waiting for this trailerpark extra to swap for a humiliating zero!

Blinding holographic comments slashed across my vision.

Always the runnerup crushed underfoot, my fingernails dug into my palms as I locked my eyes on the newly bound "Exchange System" panel hovering before me.

The floating text continued to gloat. [ Once this trash swaps for the lowest score, our wealthy queen will just have her family drop an art center on Harvard for a VIP acceptance letter!

Flawless counterkill! ] Trailerpark extra? Me? But—Who ever said I wanted her SAT score? What I planned to take… was something far more precious.

Chapter 1 [ Congratulations to the Host on binding the Exchange System. You have one, and only one, chance to exchange. ] I asked, "Can I exchange anything?

Even her Ivy League early admission and perfect SAT score?" [ Of course.

Please specify your exchange target. ] "Leighton." The second the name left my lips, Leighton, standing a few feet away, curled her fingers into tight fists.

Her gaze darted toward me, dripping with contempt and twisted amusement. So. The comments were right. She could hear my conversation with the system.

Leighton ranked first in our grade, year after year. I was the forever secondplace runnerup, the punchline of every joke. She came from old money, dripping in wealth.

Even my mother, Darlene, was nothing but a maid in her sprawling estate.

My jaw tightened as Darlene's harsh voice echoed in my memory. "Miss Leighton was born to wear the debutante ball crown.

What makes a piece of trailerpark trash like you think you deserve to fight her for an Ivy League spot?" When Darlene found out Leighton's mean girls bullied me, she hadn't blinked an eye. "You must have pissed Miss Leighton off for her to put you in your place.

You were born cheap, so quit acting like a victim." I used to think Darlene worshipped the ground Leighton walked on just to keep her maid job.

That was, until the holographic comments revealed the truth: [ The extra is kind of pitiful. She's the true heiress but was maliciously swapped at birth.

Her maid mother is actually Leighton's biological mom… ] [ Pitiful, my ass. The extra deserves it!

Who told her to play dirty and try to steal our precious Leighton's SAT score? ] [ Thank god our Leighton came prepared and purposely tanked it for a zero.

The extra's plan is ruined! ] [ Wait till the extra gets dragged back to her rich family after graduation.

The parents will be so disgusted by her, and our perfect Leighton will crush her in every way! Who cares if the extra is the real daughter?

Unloved, isolated, and alone—she deserves to unalive herself! ] Isolated? Ending my own life? Too bad. None of that was going to happen. Because I never wanted Leighton's SAT score.

I wanted something far more precious. Between classes, Leighton strutted over to my desk, a vicious smirk playing on her lips. "Tracy, you came in second again.

Need me to tutor you on what you don't understand?" Tracy. That was the name my mother gave me.

I fought back once, pointing out how the name sounded exactly like "Trash" and made me an easy target. Darlene only scoffed. "What?

You think you're too good for the name I gave you? You're nothing but a curse, killing your father the second you were born." "Naming you Tracy is a compliment!

And you dare complain?" But because of this name, Leighton's clique cornered me by the school lockers countless times.

They slammed me against the metal doors, dumping a cup of rancid iced Americano over my head. "Aren't you called Trash?

Come on, taste this garbage water and see if it suits you!" The smile on Leighton's face back then—It was the exact same smirk she wore right now.

I lowered my eyes, cutting off eye contact. "No thanks. Miss Leighton's time is too valuable.

Just worry about your own studies." "Wow, Tracy, so considerate of you." Leighton's smirk deepened into a knowing grin.

She thought I wanted her to study hard so I could steal her SAT score. And she was more than happy to play along, setting the stage for a fatal blow.

Chapter 2 "Not gonna lie, I'm done with this school starting tomorrow. The teachers are way too slow.

My family hired five toptier tutors for oneonone sessions to drill my weak spots." Leighton flipped her hair over her shoulder. "By the time the SATs roll around, the gap between us is going to be a hell of a lot bigger than this!" A triumphant smirk stretched across her lips.

The holographic text exploded in a frenzy of praise. [ Our Leighton baby is so brilliant!

Purposely bragging about five goldmedal tutors to make the extra believe she's grinding, guaranteeing the extra will swap her SAT score! ] [ In reality, our precious Leighton isn't studying a single page!

She's chilling, living her best life, leaving the extra to swap for a giant zero! ] [ Who cares anyway? Leighton is a trustfund heiress.

What overseas Ivy League offer can't she just buy? This queen behavior is everything! ] Sure enough, Leighton stopped showing up to school after that day.

Following the comments' breadcrumbs, I snuck out one night to see for myself.

Leighton was messing around with a bunch of punks who drove beatup pickup trucks, deep in the basement of a frat house.

They ground against each other in the grimy neon light, chugging cheap liquor. Then, lips crashing together, they dragged each other into a cheap motel next door to sweat it out.

I didn't say a word. We were practically adults; we had to own the consequences of our choices.

My choice was pulling on my oversized hoodie, pushing my thickrimmed glasses up my nose, and sticking to my rigid routine.

Without Leighton shoving me into lockers, I actually had time to grind. But I knew she had eyes all over the classroom. So, I slacked off in broad daylight.

The second the final bell rang, I was the first one out the door, only to slip into an abandoned, dustcovered classroom on the fourth floor to keep drilling practice tests.

If Leighton wanted to put on a show, I'd play right along.

I was dying to know—what exactly would Leighton's face look like the moment she realized those SAT scores were never swapped? The morning of the SATs hit fast.

I walked the pavement to the testing center alone. Just outside the main gates, I ran into Leighton.

A suffocating wall of people flanked her—Montgomery and Beatrice, and… my mother, Darlene. They swarmed Leighton, their eyes dripping with an overflowing, sickening devotion.

Darlene never looked at me like that. She hadn't even stepped foot in our trailer for the last six months leading up to the test.

She dumped me in that rotting park, devoting herself to managing Leighton's every meal and whim at the estate. She didn't leave me a single dollar.

If I hadn't worked underthetable diner shifts the past two years, stashing away every crumpled bill, I wouldn't have survived the final stretch. It was better this way.

If Darlene came home, she just barked orders, forcing me to scrub floors. She'd never let me sit in peace to study.

She glared at me like an enemy, terrified I might outshine her precious Leighton. I used to wonder why.

But seeing the holographic text, watching this sickening family display right in front of me—what was left to misunderstand? [ I actually feel bad for the extra… Her adoptive mom is obsessed with Leighton and treats her worse than a stray dog.

When she finally gets recognized by her rich family, her bio parents are disgusted by her. The extra's whole life is just being unloved… ] [ I don't care!

The extra is wrong for trying to cheat!

Besides, if she didn't try to steal the score, how would we get the satisfaction of our queen slapping her face? ] [ But… is the extra actually going to swap the scores?

I've been watching her grind so hard before the test.

She hasn't slacked off to just reap the rewards at all… ] [ On the other hand, the queen just messed around with those frat punks.

Feels like she actually threw her life away… ] Chapter 3 A laugh escaped my lips. Finally, someone in the comments had a working brain.

But when Leighton caught my smile, she twisted it into something else. "Tracy!" Leighton threw her hand up, screaming my name over the crowd.

Heads snapped in our direction, followed by a wave of pointing fingers and muffled sneers. "Tracy, what's with the smile?

Feeling that confident about the SATs?" Leighton pranced over, stopping inches from my face. I kept my expression blank. "I'll manage. You?" "Duh.

I had toptier tutors drilling me oneonone. Plus, you've literally never beaten me." She practically radiated arrogance.

She was baiting me, dangling the hook for the score exchange.

I gave her a piece of genuine advice. "Leighton, make sure you actually take the test seriously." Leighton flashed a sly grin. "Of course.

If only to honor your little warning, I'll make sure to do really well." "Alright, back off—" Darlene shoved her way through the crowd, throwing herself between me and Leighton like a guard dog, terrified I might contaminate her. "Tracy, what gives a piece of trash like you the right to disturb Miss Leighton right before the test?

Get lost!" Montgomery and Beatrice trailed right behind her. Their eyes swept up and down my faded clothes, their faces twisting in disgust. "Leighton, head inside.

Don't let these lowclass people ruin your focus," Montgomery said. This was the very first time I stood facetoface with my biological parents.

Thank god the holographic comments had already spoiled the tragic fate waiting for me if I went back to that family. I felt zero expectations for Montgomery and Beatrice.

And with zero expectations came zero disappointment. I turned on my heel and walked toward my testing room. Eighteen years of swallowing dirt and burying my head.

This time, I was taking everything. Inside the testing room, I locked into the exam. When the final bell blared, I clicked my pen shut like a soldier sheathing a blade.

At the exact same moment, the comments fed me live updates on Leighton. [ Our Leighton baby is the ultimate chill queen!

She slept through the entire test, literally drooling on the desk. So cute! ] [ Ahhhh I can't wait for the legendary faceslapping moment when the extra swaps the score!

Go Leighton go! ] [ Wait, are you guys blind? The extra actually worked her ass off answering the questions.

She doesn't look like someone waiting to swap scores at all… ] So, Leighton really ignored my warning. The SATs were a dead end for her now.

Lucky for her, I never planned on letting her walk down any other road either. The school hosted a massive graduation banquet.

Everyone showed up dressed to the nines, publicly announcing their toptier university intentions.

Leighton was the first to loudly announce, "I scored a 1580!" A collective gasp ripped through the banquet hall. "That high!

You've never even broken 1400 on the practice tests!" the college counselor gasped.

Leighton shot me a mocking brow raise, a coy smile playing on her lips. "I just overperformed this time.

Did pretty well." Then she purposely tossed the grenade into my lap. "And what about our runnerup?

What did you score?" I kept my voice deadpan. "About the same as you." Leighton burst into a piercing laugh. "The same? You?

You couldn't even catch up to me on the mock tests, and now you think you pulled a 1580 too?" I gave her a single nod. "That's right." Chapter 4 Leighton didn't buy a single word of it.

In her mind, I was just laying the groundwork to steal her score.

A sly, calculated smile stretched across her face. "In that case, the state's only fullride Ivy League scholarship is pretty much mine." She tilted her head, locking eyes with me. "I'm having my dad call the press.

We'll livestream the moment the scores drop. You good with that, Tracy?" Good with it? It was exactly what I wanted.

Especially since I knew score release day was the exact day Darlene planned her little family reunion. The day finally arrived. The comments in the system interface were going wild.

Students, parents, and reporters packed the school's reception hall.

Thanks to Leighton running her mouth all week about the state's top SAT score coming from our class, she'd drawn a massive crowd. [ Our Leighton's Harvard offer is already locked in!

She's the main character, period! ] [ This evil side character is so screwed.

All these reporters are here just to watch her crash and burn! ] [ After today's humiliation, even if she goes back to her rich family, she'll still be absolute trash compared to Leighton! ] Students took their seats in front of the laptops set up for the event.

The countdown hit zero. Gasps and cheers ripped through the room