All the contestants stood together, each with a tablet in front of them. The big screen at the front displayed the competition questions.
Whoever answered correctly the fastest would be the first to move on to the next round.
As soon as the bell rang, five questions popped up on the screen.
A ripple of surprise ran through the audience. All five questions were just complicated medical symbols, no explanations at all. For most med students, it might as well have been a foreign language.
This year’s competition was supposed to be tough, but this was a new level.
The contestants all frowned, picking up their pens and getting to work on their tablets. It was clear the problems were tough. Everyone seemed to be struggling.
Charlotte glanced at the questions, spinning her stylus between her fingers, but she didn’t start writing. To everyone else, it looked like she had no idea what to do.
The judges and the audience noticed. As the others flew through the first three questions, Charlotte hadn’t even started. People started whispering and shaking their heads.
“Isn’t she the one who got in as a special case? Shouldn’t she be amazing? How does she not even know the first question?”
The first question was supposed to be the easiest of the set. Anyone with a basic background should have been able to solve it.
“I heard she was a special exception,” someone in the crowd whispered. “Isn’t Charlotte the first person in twenty years to get a special admission to the international competition?”
“Yeah, and watching her now, it’s hard not to think she must have some powerful connections.”
“Who could convince the International Medical Division to back her?”
Just when everyone was sure Charlotte was completely stuck, she suddenly picked up her pen and started writing. Her fingers flew across the tablet, and within one minute, she was done.
The whole room stared in shock as Charlotte pressed the bell.
What just happened? Five questions, finished in a minute?
Letty saw her and rolled her eyes, barely holding back a laugh. Was Charlotte just scribbling down anything so she wouldn’t have to turn in a blank screen? Once the answers were revealed, she was going to make a total fool of herself.
The round ended. The big screen showed everyone’s answers and how long they took.
When the rankings appeared, every eye in the room turned to Charlotte. Faces were filled with surprise and disbelief.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns