With Honors

By Grace Wen

Success in life takes more than straight A's.

 

Melinda is an honors engineering student with a secret: she has cheated on every lab assignment since her junior year. As graduation day approaches, she realizes she can't keep trying to be someone she's not. Can she find a way to live her truth?

 

This story was previously published in 2012.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bamboo Press
• Release date: Apr 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201662233

Grace Wen

Grace Wen trained as a engineer, worked as a lawyer, and is recovering from both. She is a proud Michigan native and lives in metro Detroit. When she's not writing, she enjoys practicing classical guitar, cooking vegan food, and watching community theatre performances.

Book preview

With Honors

Grace Wen

Published by Bamboo Press, 2022.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

WITH HONORS

First edition. April 15, 2022.

Copyright © 2022 Grace Wen.

ISBN: 979-8201662233

Written by Grace Wen.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

With Honors

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We silently filed into the darkened classroom for the Tau Beta Pi initiation ceremony. The only sound came from the shuffles and clicks of our shoes on the worn linoleum floor.

As I studied my classmates, all more spiffed up and groomed than I'd ever seen them, one thought played through my brain in an endless loop.

I don't belong here.

Tau Beta Pi was the top honor society in the engineering school, reserved for the top eighth of the junior class and the top quarter of the senior class. And somehow, I got in.

In one way, it wasn't a surprise. I had a 3.77 GPA at the start of my senior year despite not doing so well in the classes directly related to my electrical engineering major. Two years of straight A’s in my core classes, like the calculus, physics, business, and English courses my classmates bitched about taking, provided a buffer against my not-so-stellar junior year.

A cluster of white tapered candles flickered on the front table. I guess they were going for a mysterious, solemn atmosphere, but the candlelight bounced off the dusty chalkboard and ancient, scuffed desks, ruining the effect.

So where's the sheep? my lab partner Rob whispered.

I elbowed his ribs. Shhh, this is supposed to be serious.

Baaa.

A stony-faced senior guided the fifteen of us around the front table until we formed a circle.

Dr. Simon, my nemesis, cleared his throat to speak. He looked even more ominous than usual in the dim light with the flames from the candles reflected in his glasses. He reminded of the devil. It suited him.

Welcome and congratulations to all of you, he said. You represent the best students at Fulton Tech, and you should be proud of your achievements.

His booming voice reverberated off the walls. I squirmed. It was the voice of my nightmares.

He droned on about the honor society's grand history. I tuned out and focused on trying to stay upright in my shoes. The heels weren't that high, only two inches, but fashion-challenged me wore heels once or twice a year, if that. Converse high tops, sweatshirts, and jeans were more my speed.

I glanced at Rob, who had an appropriately solemn expression on his face. He seemed to be listening intently to Dr. Simon. When he caught my eye, the twinkle told me otherwise. He thought this was as ridiculous as I did.

My face grew hot and I looked away. I stared at my feet until Dr. Simon started calling out each of our names. Since I was at the end of the alphabet, it would take a while to get to me.

I studied everyone else in the room. Nerds, all of us. There was no getting around that. Did they all actually like studying engineering? They geeked out over stuff like microprocessors and motors, stuff that bored the crap out of me.

I don't belong here.

Robert Walsh.

Rob slipped past me, walked up to Dr. Simon, and shook his hand. Unlike me, Rob actually did belong here. He'd earned all his grades honestly, through hard work and loads of natural talent.

On top of that, he was also a nice person and hot in a geeky sort of way, facts that weren't lost on the dozen women in my class. Despite the 5-to-1 male-to-female ratio