The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1563

“I’m going to miss you, you know.”

Shirley’s heart skipped a beat as she read Andrew’s message. Clutching her phone, she chewed her lip and started typing back.

“But honestly, I’m not sure I’m good enough to win a spot. It’s just a dream, really.”

Getting into MIT felt almost impossible. The physics department there was world-famous, ranked number one everywhere you looked. Every physics enthusiast in the world wanted that door to open for them.

She wasn’t the only one trying, either. Karan, her main competitor, already had a stack of gold medals from international physics competitions. Even Mr. Lane had told her not to get her hopes up.

So this national physics competition? Shirley tried not to expect anything. She’d take it as a chance to learn, nothing more.

Andrew messaged her again. “If Mr. Lane recommended you, it means he believes in you. Talent doesn’t care how old you are.”

He sent another message. “If I say you can do it, you can do it!”

And then, “Shirley, you’re amazing. Don’t forget that.”

On the group chat, Charlotte sent a single question mark. Stella followed with two, Parrish with three. Everyone seemed just as surprised as Shirley.

She stared at her screen, silently blinking. Andrew… wasn’t teasing her? This was definitely suspicious.

Apparently realizing he’d come on kind of strong, Andrew quickly tried to change the subject. “Well, what I mean is, even Charlotte thinks you’re a physics genius.”

He added, “Charlotte’s Dr. Cole. She’s kind of a big deal in the physics world. If she says you’ve got what it takes, then you really do.”

That made Shirley smile before she could help it.

“Thank you,” she replied.

She wasn’t really used to this warm and supportive version of Andrew.

Without hesitation, Stella and Parrish both said yes, too.

“Okay, I’ll let Grandma know so she can start getting ready,” Shirley messaged back, feeling her worries finally start to melt away. She actually smiled, unable to hold it in as she put her phone down.

As soon as the chat ended, Shirley hurried home to share the news.

“They’re all such important guests. I just hope they don’t mind our simple food,” her grandma, Geneva, said, clearly happy but fretting at the same time.

Shirley knew her friends’ backgrounds from stories she’d overheard, even if she’d never met them in person. Grandma was nervous about not being good enough for them.

“Don’t worry, Grandma,” Shirley said, opening her backpack and pulling out a tidy stack of three thousand in cash. “This is from the paper I published. And after my shift tomorrow, I’ll get paid another two thousand.”

Five thousand should cover it, right?

Geneva smiled, a little relieved. “If it’s not enough, I still have some…”