Kingsley Academy had never, in Ivy's admittedly limited experience of the place, felt quite so genuinely warm as it did the Monday morning after Nationals — a hand-painted banner stretched across the main entrance reading CONGRATULATIONS IVY, NATIONAL CHAMPION, students she barely knew stopping her in the hallway to offer congratulations, teachers pausing lessons briefly to acknowledge the achievement before continuing with whatever curriculum the day demanded.
"You're basically a celebrity now," Priya announced at lunch, sliding a printed article across the table with obvious delight. "Local paper ran a whole feature. 'Scholarship Student Triumphs at Nationals Amid Family Legal Battle.' They interviewed Coach Orlova and everything."
Ivy scanned the article, a strange, dislocated feeling
