The Price of Admission Chapter 2

I was awake when the mailman came.

Jane thought I was asleep. She snuck out and took both letters.

When she saw I'd gotten into Harvard and she'd only gotten into the local college, her eyes went red. She stomped her foot in the yard.

I watched her creep into the living room. She took a pen. She carefully added a single stroke to the name on my letter.

Our names were almost identical. I was June. She was Jane. With one neat line, she changed my "u" to an "a."

She swapped the letters.

She put mine in her pocket and handed hers to me.

In my last life, I screamed. I called her a thief in front of our parents.

My father slapped me to the ground. He didn't just hit me. He kicked me, over and over, until I was silent.

He grabbed my letter and handed it to Jane.

"You're the older sister! Why can't you let her have this?"

I tried to get up, but my mother tied my wrists.

"You think you're too good for that school?" she hissed, dragging me to the cellar. "Fine! You won't go anywhere! It's time you got married!"

The money they got for selling me paid for Jane's tuition.

While she was being celebrated, I was being brutalized. While she was becoming a "Harvard woman," I was drowning myself in a well.

Now, I'm back.

This time, I'll let her have it. She wants my letter? She can take it.

I want to see just how she plans to use it.

The news that a Miller girl was going to Harvard spread through the county like wildfire.

Kids from school started showing up at our farmhouse, carrying gifts. Bags of Hershey's Kisses, glass bottles of Coke—things we never had.

"Jane, my dad brought this back from the city. It's real chocolate! Try it! I can get more!"

"Janie, when you're a big shot, don't forget about us!"

"A Harvard girl from our town! Wow. Don't forget us little people!"

Jane, wearing her new polyester shirt, held court, her arms full of treats.

"Don't you worry," she said, beaming. "I'm not the type to forget my roots. When I'm successful, I'll take care of all of you!"

"I'm not like my sister. Wasting all that kerosene at night, pretending to study. And for what? A diploma from a community college! What a waste of oil."

They all turned to look at me.

"Yeah, June was always the bookworm. Always muttering formulas in the field. And she still failed."

"I bet she was just faking it! Acting all high and mighty, ignoring everyone. Well, her own sister put her in her place!"

"We're all just poor farm kids, but she always acted so stuck-up. Just because she was dating the mayor's son..."

"Shh! Speak of the devil... Cody's here!"

I looked up. A young man in a crisp button-down shirt was walking toward the house.