Families always unconsciously compared their own kids to the overachievers.
And Claire was the ultimate "perfect child" everyone else was measured against. Plus, she had been personally mentored by Mary.
If the Hastings family found out Priscilla was in the same class as Claire, they would definitely interrogate her about Claire's progress non-stop.
Truth be told, the Hastings family had originally wanted Mary to take Priscilla under her wing.
Priscilla loved medicine, possessed a natural aptitude for it, and was incredibly studious.
Unfortunately, Mary had turned them down, claiming she didn't have the energy.
When Mary said no, the family couldn't really argue.
How could they expect her to mentor a grand-niece when she wouldn't even mentor her own biological grandchildren?
But then the scandal broke about Claire's true parentage.
Priscilla's mother had lamented the missed opportunity, saying that if they had known Claire wasn't related by blood sooner, they could have pushed harder to get Priscilla that apprenticeship.
Priscilla, however, knew that even if Claire had never existed, her great-aunt still wouldn't have chosen her.
Mary just wasn't the meddling type, nor was she running a charity.
She had retired. Why wouldn't she just enjoy her days planting flowers and drinking tea in the countryside?
Why take on a student at all?
Mary choosing Claire was a stroke of destiny. Priscilla knew she simply didn't have what it took to win the old woman's favor.
"It is quite a coincidence," Claire agreed, looking at Priscilla. "Why weren't you here yesterday?"
"I bought the wrong train ticket and missed the registration window," Priscilla admitted, rubbing her nose in embarrassment.
Claire stared at her in disbelief. How do you mess that up?
Registering a day late wasn't the end of the world, but showing up late on day one wasn't a great look.
But Claire wasn't one to pry. Priscilla being late was her own problem; it had nothing to do with Claire.
"As long as everything is okay."
Seeing that Priscilla and Claire knew each other and were apparently related, the other three girls could only marvel at how smart the women in their family must be.
Both Priscilla and Claire stayed silent.
The two of them had absolutely no biological relation anyway.
Because the class was overwhelmingly male, the girls didn't even have to lift their own luggage. The guys eagerly handled it for them.
Claire boarded the bus early. Priscilla hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided not to sit next to her.
Priscilla and her three roommates were getting along well enough, and they had already agreed to sit together.
"Claire, since you aren't in our dorm, where did they put you?"
Lily Lowell asked curiously.
"I'm in Room 301. Same building as you guys."
"Come to think of it, you had the highest test scores. Why didn't you get priority
rooming? How did you end up in a mixed-major dorm?"
The other girls were just as confused.
When they first heard about Claire's stellar academic record, they
assed the school would roll out
the red carpet for her, maybe even giving her a single room.
"They probably just assigned rooms alphabetically."
It was a complete lie.
She actually had been offered special treatment. The university had asked if she wanted a double-occupancy room.
But since The Churchill Family had already bought her an off-campus apartment,
she didn't see the point in hoarding a premium double room.
She had applied to commute, and the school had approved it.
She just needed to live on campus for her freshman semester.
Even then, she was allowed to stay off-campus whenever she wanted.
"Alphabetical order makes sense,
II
Priscilla chimed in, recalling that e
Claire's last name might have placed her at the end of whatever list they used.
"Excuse me, can I sit next to you?"
A nerdy-looking boy stopped next to Claire's seat.
She recognized him as the guy who had been elected class president yesterday.
Claire had turned down the position because she was too busy, so the female class president role had gone to Macy Wade instead.
Macy was smart, outgoing, and bubbly—a much better fit for socializing.
"Sure."
The rest of the class exchanged teasing glances, clearly
IӘ.
that the class president had immediately made a beeline for the seat next to Claire.