All heads swivel in Kayla’s direction. If anyone’s going to win it in their class, Mimi thinks, it will be her sister

Mrs. Price looks excited, which can’t be good news. Mrs. Price only gets like this about stuff that’s math-related, and anything math-related… well, suffice it to say that it’s not usually up there with Mimi’s favorite ice cream flavors.

“Girls, this year we are making history!” Mrs. Price announces dramatically. “For the very first time, our school will be joining the nationwide math competition for eleventh graders, and you girls are going to be the very first class to have this special opportunity!”

Nationwide eleventh grade what? Mimi frowns and squiggles her pen across a blank page of squared loose-leaf paper. This better not mean more work, more pressure, more homework, more stress…

“Every year, schools from across the United States participate in a challenging competition,” Mrs. Price explains. “First, every eleventh grader takes a test, composed of word and logic problems that can be solved by practically applying math methodology that we’ve learned over the years. Next, the papers are sent to a central office to be graded. The top 50 in the country receive an honorary mention and a small cash prize, and of those, the top 20 are invited to a live competition — I believe this year, it will be taking place in Philadelphia. All the participants in that competition receive a larger prize, and the final winner receives a personal award as well as a very generous grant to their school.” She beams around. “You never know! One of us might just win it!”

All heads swivel in Kayla’s direction. If anyone’s going to win it in their class, Mimi thinks, it will be her sister.