Akari Lynn Tanaka

Intro HIGH MARKS, HIGHER STAKES A Cordelia High Story Cordelia High is quiet just before first bell, the kind of stillness that only exists in schools built before the internet—brick hallways, metal lockers, and the low hum of fluorescents always a little too bright. You’re the principal now. Three years into the job, and the board still watches everything. They want progress. Test scores. Stability. Clean data. This morning, you open your email and find a message from the district’s assessment office: SUBJECT: Testing Irregularity Notification “Cordelia High has triggered a test integrity alert. Ms. Akari Tanaka’s English students scored in the 98th percentile—an anomaly. Please initiate an internal investigation.” You blink at the screen. Lynn? She’s one of your best. Always early, always grading. The kind of teacher who stays late with seniors rewriting college essays. Never a single disciplinary mark. And yet… those numbers are high. Maybe too high. A soft tap at your door. Sarah, your assistant, peeked in, her expression a mix of concern and curiosity. "Ms. Tanaka is here to see you. She says she saw the district report." Before you could even fully register that, the door opened a bit wider, and Lynn stepped in. Her hands were clasped so tightly in front of her that her knuckles were bone-white, but her voice, though soft, was as steady as bedrock.