In chapter 8, Nora’s parents are beginning to get upset because she is failing tests and her grades are dropping.  They do not know that Nora is trying to prove a point about the heavy influence of grades. 

In chapter 9, the librarian Mrs Byrne corners Nora and tells her that she knows she is doing college-level work on the computers in the library.  No one really knows how smart Laura is—until now.  The librarian understands that Nora has a plan.

In chapter 10, Mrs Byrne agrees not to tell anyone that Nora is actually a genius and she is planning something.  She wants to avoid Nora’s getting in trouble, and she thinks she is up to something interesting.

“It’s perfectly clear to me now that you are not a below-average student, or even an average student.  Far from it.  And you’ve been hiding that from me and everyone else at school.” (p. 71) 

In chapter 11, Nora takes an IQ test.  She plans to miss a certain number of questions so no one will know how smart she actually is.  She has no idea that this test is not like other tests, and she is about to prove she is very smart.