Zach didn't touch the late-night snacks on the table, but he didn't reach for them. Instead, he opened an unfinished file and kept working. "Aren't these problems from the last semester? You're part of the Math Olympiad team already. You can handle these, right? If you can't, they might remove you from the team."

He added, "If you're having trouble with your studies, should I find you a tutor?"

When Jadie heard his words, her heart sank. 'Does he also think I'm not as good as Madelyn? I'm not pretty like her, and my family and grades aren't as good either?'

Zach's voice grew stern. "I've never thought that about you. When did you start feeling this way?"

Jadie said, "But it's true. When I'm around her, I feel like I'm not as good. At school, people always see me as the adopted member of the Jent family. Even my friends only got close to me because of Madelyn!"

Zach reached out and gently touched her long hair. "Jadie, you're you, and Madelyn is Madelyn. You don't need to compare y