Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life

Mr. Jurado let out a sigh of relief when they didn't draw Imperial College.

"Alright team, just give it your all. We've got this!"

"Yes!"

Ivan and the others nodded, brimming with confidence. As long as they didn't face Imperial College, they felt pretty good about their chances.

But in a buzzer quiz like this, having solid knowledge wasn't enough; you needed lightning-fast reflexes too.

If you were too slow on the buzzer, knowing the answer was pointless.

Maddox had the quickest reflexes on the team, so he was in charge of buzzing in, while Ivan, Brianna, and the others would handle answering the questions.

Brianna tilted her chin at Flora. "Hey, if you're not sure about an answer, don't just blurt it out, okay? We don't want any slip-ups."

"Flora, if you're not completely certain, better keep quiet. Once you speak up, it counts as our team's answer," Ivan added, carefully choosing his words to avoid hurting Flora's feelings. During the last written test, everyone saw Flora's scores were... well, pretty average.

So average that even Mr. Jurado didn't announce them.

her black

minutes left before the competition

buzzed in her pocket. It was a message

look up, three o'clock,

Cecelia beside them. Cecelia waved her arms excitedly, as if to say, "Look at

Flora, I'm here to cheer

smiled, feeling a mix of happiness and disappointment. Her dad and

Why hadn't he come?

her on, seeing Raul and Henrik there without Connor left her feeling a bit miffed. "Oh, right, phones off, folks. Hand them over," Mr. Jurado suddenly

the others obediently turned off their phones and handed

later, the competition

judges entered the

leading the group, clad in a sharp black suit, her eyes filled with

glanced at him, her

drew a later number, giving Flora and her team some

competitors were the best from various computer science departments, each with