Chapter 9 The Boy Genius Goes Viral
Jake had been home for only three days, but his life had already turned into a circus.
It started with a leak.
Someone—probably one of the officials involved in his testing—had let the news slip. The story of an 11-year-old with a 250 IQ spread like wildfire. News outlets picked it up, flashing headlines across TV screens:
"Child Genius Stuns Experts with Unbelievable IQ!"
"Meet Jake Harper: The Smartest Kid in America?"
"Middle Schooler Aces SATs—Colleges Fight to Enroll Him!"
By the second day, reporters were camping outside his mom's house in Sherman Oaks.
By the third day, the phone wouldn't stop ringing.
Judith sat at the kitchen table, looking like she hadn't slept in days. The house phone and her cell phone rang constantly, back to back. Every time she answered, it was another university trying to make their pitch.
"Yes, I understand he's gifted, but—" she sighed into the phone. "No, we are not making a decision right this second—" She pulled the phone away from her ear and muttered, "Oh, for God's sake," before hanging up.
The doorbell rang.
Judith groaned. "If this is another dean trying to buy my son, I swear—"
Jake, sitting at the counter, smirked. "Want me to answer?"
She shot him a look. "Absolutely not."
She stood up, peeked through the window, and groaned again. "Yep. Another one."
Jake could hear the man on the porch shuffling his feet impatiently. "Mrs. Harper? I'm from Stanford University! We'd love to speak with you and Jake about an opportunity—"
Judith opened the door just enough to glare at him. "We're not interested."
The man blinked. "But—"
The door slammed shut.
Judith turned around, arms crossed. "This is ridiculous. I can't even go outside without being ambushed by college recruiters."
Jake just grinned. "I mean… technically that's a good problem to have."
Judith pinched the bridge of her nose. "I swear, if another Ivy League calls, I might throw the phone into traffic."
Just then, the phone rang again.
Jake chuckled. "I think Harvard heard you."
Judith groaned.
Jake leaned back in his chair, thinking.
All of this attention, all of these offers—it was power. The kind of power most people never got in their lifetime. And he hadn't even made his move yet.
Now, he just had to decide where to go.