Cute Cuddly Care was a school that liked to show off their qualifications. The headmaster had his Master's in Early Childhood Education in the middle of the front office, and every single teacher owned a polished Education degree that hung somewhere in their classroom. It made parents feel safer to leave their kids every day when they saw how capable the teachers and administrators were. However, there was a small problem in the K1 classroom.

Miss Kaylee didn't have a teaching degree.

It was a fact that would make the members of the PTA scream and pull their kids out of CCC faster than they could pull the hair out of their heads. The parents would throw a fit in front of the school board, and Miss Kaylee wouldn't be able to teach anywhere near the town of Snowcoast, even if she got a teaching degree. It didn't matter that she had PhD in child counseling. That was like a doctor having a nursing degree and still expecting to be able to perform surgery. Miss Kaylee had the qualifications to be a school counselor, but not a teacher.

Which meant the shiny diploma hanging on her wall was a fake.

She tried not to think about it much. She wasn't the one who had made it, and she didn't want to know who had. It had been given to her in a thick manila envelope along with a stack of papers. She stared down at one of those papers now, the paper that had convinced her to come all the way to Snowcoast and continue to stay there even though she was allowed to—supposed to—go back to Lexington, her home.

Kendall's full name was written in large letters across the top.

Underneath the name was Kenny's date of birth (November 13), sex (female), address (74 Sherwood Way), and level of schooling (Kindergarten). Then a list of things so numerous Kaylee had gasped the first time she had seen it. The first bullet stated that Kenny had learned to read at one and a half years old. The second said she had learned to write at two and a half, and the third informed her that the only reason it had taken Kendall so long to learn how to write was because she could not hold a pencil properly at such a young age. The bullets went on in a similar manner about Kenny's reading and arithmetic skills for almost a whole page. Most students Kaylee 'observed' only had one or two bullets to their name.

There was a loud knock that startled Kaylee, dissolving her train of thought. She looked up from the paper in her grasp. Mrs. Genevieve from the Toddler Threes classroom stood at the door. Her dark hair was tied up in a knot, and she wore a bright smile that reached all the way up to her dark, almost black eyes. She walked in with an ease that Miss Kaylee envied, an ease that told she had no troubles. Miss Kaylee flattened her own blonde hair and straightened her glasses in an attempt to make her look less frazzled.

"Genevieve!"

"Kaylee," the woman responded, still smiling, "how are you?"

Miss Kaylee sighed. "Just a little stressed."

Genevieve frowned at this. "Stressed? That's not good. I drink a cup of warm chamomile tea whenever I'm stressed. Usually does the trick."

"Thanks." Miss Kaylee gave the woman a weak attempt for a smile. "But I don't think I have the time for that." The teacher quickly changed the subject. "Do you need anything?"

Genevieve blushed and handed Miss Kaylee the envelope in her hand. "I'm sorry. I'm just here to drop off more work."

Kaylee groaned inwardly. "It's fine!" She forced a laugh as she took the small parcel from Genevieve. However, once she saw the return address on the back of her envelope, the young woman perked up. This wasn't just any letter. It was a letter from Kaylee's boss, Dr. Li Zhang. The principal of the Academy for Gifted Children.

"There's also one more thing," Genevieve remarked hesitantly. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "My son...he's working with a tutor, and he doesn't understand some of the problems she gave him. I was wondering if you could show him how to do them, just like you did last year when he needed help studying for his Physics exam."

Kaylee smiled at the woman. "Of course! I love helping James with his work. What is he taking now?"

"Calculus." Genevieve made a face. "Not my thing."

Kaylee laughed and took the paper from her. "Yeah, it's not easy. Well, I better get back to my work."

"Okay! I'll bring James on Friday. Is that good with you?" Genevieve started toward the door.

"Yeah," Kaylee replied, nodding. However, her attention was already focused on the envelope in her hand. She flipped it over and ripped the small flap on the back open. A single page was inside, folded in three. After glancing up to make sure Genevieve had left and throwing aside the Calculus questions, Kaylee unfolded the letter. It read:

Hello Dr. Anderson!

I hope you are doing well. The children want to know where you are, and I must admit, I am wondering the same thing. Haven't you gotten the plane ticket I sent for you? If not, I have sent you another. Call me if you have not received any of the previous tickets. I do hope I have the right address.

I read your letter concerning Ms. Kendall Annabeth Frodell. Though she is quite extraordinary, I don't think she's right for the Academy for Gifted Children. There are many geniuses in the world, and I have no doubt Kendall is one of them. However, AGC is not a school for advanced children. We are an institute for special, Gifted children. Unless you have evidence that she is Gifted, Kendall does not qualify to become a student. Perhaps you can write her a Letter of Recommendation to St. Thomas Aquinas School for the Academically Talented. I'm sure she would do well there.

I hope to see you back here in Lexington soon. I have a stack of work for you on your desk, and no one other than you is able to (or wants to) do it. Please do not forget your duties as our school counselor. The stack of papers and I are waiting for you.

Dr. Zhang

After scanning the page, Kaylee put the paper aside, groaning in despair. She had so much proof that Kenny was extremely gifted. But she had zero proof, zero, when it came to whether or not she was Gifted. For that, she would need an MRI scan of Kenny's brain, and she was certain that Kendall's parents (er, guardian) wouldn't allow the girl to get one without a medical reason.

Kaylee threw the envelope down, and something inside of it shifted. She frowned, picking the parcel back up and opening it wider.

Inside was a plane ticket to Virginia.

It was not the first ticket. Kaylee owned six in total, and they were all hidden in a drawer in her apartment. This, however, was the first time a letter had been sent with the ticket. The message was clear to Kaylee: Come back to work now, or there will be consequences. She checked the date on the ticket. The plane was leaving at 6:00 a.m. that Sunday.

Which meant Kaylee had until Sunday to prove Kendall was Gifted.

Kaylee stood and picked up the sheet with Calculus problems. She needed a distraction from her work. Little did Kaylee know, she was triggering a major set of events as she went to write the equations on one of the chalkboards. A set of events that would not only send Kendall to the Academy for Gifted Children, but also make the scientific discovery of the century.

The proof that Miss Kaylee needed was coming, and it was coming soon.