My Name Isn't Yours

I figured Dad had just blurted it out in a panic.

But no one else thought it was crazy.

Mom held Emily and rubbed her back, refusing to look at me.

Kenneth glanced between us.

"It could actually work. You're twins. Even our relatives couldn't tell you apart when you were kids."

Before I could even process it, they were already debating whether they could pull it off.

I stared at Dad. "Do you even hear yourselves?"

He didn't flinch. "Yes. We're saving this family."

According to him, Emily had always been the high achiever in our relatives' eyes. Everyone in the family expected her to get into Halston.

Now that she'd bombed the SAT, they had no way to explain it.

"What about me?"

Dad frowned. "Didn't you get in?

"You and Emily are both daughters of this family. Whoever goes to Halston makes the whole family proud."

I stared at him. "But I earned it."

His voice turned cold. "We're family. Stop keeping score."

Mom finally looked at me. "Amelia, Emily's never dealt with failure like this.

"You're older. More mature. Why can't you make one sacrifice for her?"

My throat tightened. "This is Halston, not a dress."

Her face hardened. "Are you seriously keeping score with your own sister?"

Kenneth jumped in. "Amelia, stop acting like this score is such a big deal.

"When have you ever beaten Emily before? You got lucky once.

"Emily's the real top student. She just had a bad day."

He gave a cold laugh. "You're really going to ruin her life over one lucky break?"

I stared at him. "How is me doing well ruining her life?"

He answered like it was obvious. "Because she needs this more than you do."

Still crying, Emily grabbed my hand. "Amelia, I'm sorry. I know this isn't fair.

"But I can't go to some school like that. Everyone will laugh at me.

"You're smart. You can start over anywhere."

She apologized again and again.

But she never once said, 'I can't steal my sister's life.'

I asked quietly, "So... you want to go to Halston as me?"

Emily went pale.

Then she looked down.

That was answer enough.

Dad got tired of waiting and decided for me. "Emily will go to Halston under your name.

"You'll apply to other colleges under her name and use her scores.

"If you want grad school later, we'll make it up to you."

I stared at them.

Mom frowned. "Don't make it sound so horrible. You're sisters."

Dad shrugged. "Is a name really that important?"

I laughed.

"No.

"I earned my spot at Halston.

"And Amelia Aerstall is my name."

The living room went dead silent.

Dad's face hardened. "Amelia, you think scoring a 1580 means you don't have to listen to us anymore?"

Kenneth shot me a cold look. "If you say no, don't expect another dime from this family."

Mom called me heartless. Emily buried herself in her arms, sobbing softly.

They all acted like victims.

And somehow, I was the bad guy.

Dad made the final call. "It's settled. Starting tomorrow, you're Emily. Emily is Amelia."

Back in my room, my phone lit up.

The family group chat already had dozens of new messages.

Dad had posted a picture of Emily.

[Amelia made us proud. She crushed the SAT and will go to Halston University.]

Someone asked:

[What about Emily?]

Mom replied almost instantly.

[Emily didn't do as well this time. She's upset, so please don't bring it up.]

I stared at the screen.

That's when it hit me.

They'd never wanted my opinion.

They were already handing Emily my name.