"Norma, it's been three years. Duane's scores have improved each time. This year he even got into Capital University. Are you really not going to let him attend?"
Norma's refusal was immediate. "Percival took his student registration. If Duane goes to college, won't Percival's identity fraud be exposed?"
"For Percival's sake, I can't let him attend."
——
"But Duane has been retaking the exam for three years now. Percival is graduating next year anyway. Why don't your father and I pull some strings and get Duane a new student registration?"
The elder Pruitts offered what seemed like a reasonable suggestion, but Norma's brow furrowed deeply.
"Get him a new registration? Have Duane take someone else's spot and sacrifice an innocent person's future? How could you even suggest that?"
"But we've watched Duane work so hard these three years. During the day he handles the school's affairs for you. At night he studies by lamplight while keeping watch, yawning so hard he can barely keep his eyes open."
"The first two times you hid his admission letters, I saw him crying in secret. He kept saying he was stupid, that he'd wasted two years for nothing."