The Winner Takes It All by Ivy L. James

Author:Ivy L. James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary, romance, rivals to lovers, bisexual, lesbian, interracial/intercultural, humorous, competition/competitive leads, athletics, gym, tennis, family issues, grieving, anxiety attacks
Publisher: NineStar Press
Published: 2024-09-09T00:00:00+00:00

Embry perched on the chair beside her freshman English teacher’s desk. “I have a university in mind.” Her SAT and ACT prep classes had been emphatic that a good school was key to a good education, a good career, a good life. So, she’d picked the one most likely to get her on the right path. The best path. One that might get Ms. Takahashi’s praise.

Ms. Takahashi beamed, and it lit up the entire room. “That’s great! Getting a head start on your college application list can only help you in the long run.”

“No, this is the one. I really want to go here.”

“Okay, well, we’ll do what we can, right?”

“Right,” Embry said, the word crisp on her tongue, and it meant I’m going here.

“Which college is it?” Ms. Takahashi prompted.

Embry bounced a little in her seat. “I’m thinking Wharton.”

Ms. Takahashi’s smile froze in place.

Embry’s enthusiasm froze with it.

“That’s an Ivy League school.”

“Yeah.” That alone should have been enough to earn a little cheerleading, but there was no excitement in her teacher’s face.

“Hmm.” Ms. Takahashi clasped her hands. “Well, if you want to apply, I won’t stop you. Just be aware it’s very difficult to get in. It’s not a bad idea to start thinking of some backup schools in case things don’t work out the way you want.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sure, fine.” But Embry didn’t want backup schools. She wanted Wharton, and she wanted Ms. Takahashi to approve of her choice. More than anything, she yearned to see that smile again and hear, You’re doing so well, you’re going places, you’re my favorite.

After the final class of the day, Embry crept toward Ms. Takahashi’s classroom, fiddling with the composition notebook she was using to draft her application essay outline…when she heard voices from the gap in the not-quite-closed door. Familiar voices. Talking about her.

“I mean, it’s a nice dream and all,” Ms. Takahashi said lowly, “but really? Wharton? From this school?”

Embry’s blood went cold.

“At least she’s trying to go somewhere,” said a man whose voice Embry didn’t recognize. “I couldn’t pay my seniors to apply to the Ivy League.”

“I hate to say it…”

No. No, no, no.

“…but she’s not even top of her class. And with minimal extracurriculars, it’s hard to see this going anywhere. I just don’t want to see her get her heart broken.”

Embry’s lungs shrank, unable to take in air. Her eyes stung. Her skin prickled, and all she could do was clutch the notebook to her chest and back away.

She headed for the school bathroom and hid in the last stall, squeezing her eyes shut against the tears she refused to let fall. Her breath burned in her throat.

Ms. Takahashi didn’t think she could do it. All the hours at her desk, chatting, learning from her, idolizing her, all for shit. Less than shit. Embry wasn’t good enough. She was a nobody in rural Virginia, reaching for something she could apparently never have. But why couldn’t she have it? Why?

Anger pierced through the heartbreak, and she opened her eyes to glare at the floor.

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