# Earned Test — Chapter 20

id: earned_test | owner: codex | target: `output/chapters/chapter_20.md`

Target emotional peak: June refuses Tasker and chooses the materially worse New York path for self-knowledge rather than romance.

Criterion checks:
- Built before announced: Ch15 planted Tasker terms; this chapter rebuilds the left/right ledger before the no. Evidence: "$49,500," "GOOD," "left page won," versus "$340 room... no real heat."
- Opposition real: Nia is not villainized; she "wins the math," after-hours access is written, and the offer remains good.
- Cost survives after decision: "The clean answer was gone," "FEB = coat," and the back-of-hand crating note keep February unresolved.
- Emotional claim made in concrete terms: "deadline, a sink issue, a class roster" earns "I'd still be the person with keys."

Strongest announced-not-earned candidate: "The no is mine" states a thesis. It survives because the chapter has already shown Theo-independence, job-goodness, Asha consent, and June's caretaker pattern before the line lands.

Chapter verdict: `EARNED`.

REVISION ORDERS: none.
