Chapter 53

For a moment, Egbert felt a whirlwind of emotions. After all those years in education, he felt like he had been outsmarted by a kid. It was as if he had wasted his life away. "Still, this doesn't really concern us. If the county merges the high schools, they'll be the ones with headaches over these issues," Josh said, shaking his head. "Never mind. I need to head to the city now. Dad, I'll be going now." As Josh turned to leave, Egbert instinctively grabbed his arm. Seeing the puzzled expression on Josh's face, he hesitated before saying, "Going to the city alone probably won't do much good." "Whether it's useful or not, I have to try. You can't give up so easily until the last moment," Josh replied. "Good point!" Egbert suddenly found himself appreciating Josh even more. Egbert said, "Actually, I know a few people at the Education Bureau. But to convince them to help, we need some leverage. Didn't you say you could score well?" "It's not just scoring well. I can become the top