The SAT Day Debacle

It was the day of the SATs, and my test ticket was gone. I’d sworn I’d tucked it in my backpack’s side pocket, but now it was nowhere to be found.

I borrowed someone’s phone and called my mom. She said it was still at home and she’d bring it over ASAP.

“Mom, this is Ashley's ticket!” I panicked, staring at the name on the card.

My mom quickly clapped a hand over my mouth, pulling me aside and glancing around nervously. “Keep it down, sweetie. Don’t let anyone hear.”

I stared at her, confused.

“Your sister Ashley has a bad heart, you know that. The doctors say she’s only got maybe three years left. All she wants is to go to college, but, you know, with her condition, she can’t keep up in school. So, you’re gonna take the test for her, and then you can just do a gap year.”

My head was spinning. Before I could even process it, Mom was pushing me toward the testing center. There was barely ten minutes left before the exam started.

I glanced at the people around me, marveling at how Mom, a lady in her sixties, was braving this crazy heatwave to get my ticket to me. Everyone was saying how amazing moms are.

I looked down at the ticket, feeling a mix of emotions, a cold dread spreading through me. Moms are great, sure, but Mom always loved Ashley more. It was like that from the get-go since Ashley was born with a heart condition.

Ashley and I look nearly identical, and Mom, trying to save a buck, always bought our clothes in bulk, all the same. Nobody could ever tell us apart.

When I got the test, remembering how Ashley was always popping pills, couldn't run, and got out of breath from walking too fast, I filled it out with her name, Ashley—I'm actually Alexis. It’s a tiny difference.

I'd always been at the top of my class. The test was easy; I finished it, double-checked it three times, and then was out of there.

I didn’t see Mom, so I had to borrow someone’s phone again.

“Alexis, honey, me and Ash are back home. Her heart’s not good; she can’t be out too long.” She hung up quickly.

I was left reeling. Ash was already home? Had she even finished the test?

Ash was always at the bottom of her class, and the SATs would have been rough for her. Even if she tried her hardest, she wouldn’t have finished. So, why’d she leave so early?

I had to know how she’d answered everything, so I took what little money I’d stashed away and called a Lyft.

"Ashley, did you finish the test?" I asked the minute I got inside.

“I… it doesn't matter if I finished it, I wouldn't know the answers anyway,” Ashley said, looking at me with fear in her eyes.

I probably looked scary. I’d worked hard for years, and now my most important exam was probably ruined. It was enough to make you snap.

“Alexis, look what you did to your sister! What kind of a big sister are you?” Mom said, pushing me out of the way and running to hug Ashley, comforting her.

"Just give me my test ticket back."

I couldn't even look at them. Mom had never held me like that.

For years, I'd bee...