Chapter 8

Latham strode into the classroom, his arrival predating the bell’s chime by mere seconds.

He dropped a stack of thick papers onto the desk at the front, Daniel, would you mind handing these out?”

A hush fell over the room as Cordelia, seated at the back, watched necks crane and bodies lean forward in anticipation. As the papers made their rounds, a cacophony of sighs and gasps peppered the air from every

comer.

Daniel, a slim figure with glasses that seemed too heavy for his face, approached Juliana and handed her the

paper.

Curiosity bubbled up from the desks, “What do you get?”

Juliana glanced at her score with a mix of ease and pride in her voice. “A”

“And you nailed that with these brain–busters? Impressive!”

Juliana feigned modesty. ‘Oh, it’s nothing. I’m still trailing behind Hanley”

“No need to compare with that guy who is been raking in math awards since he was in diapers. But you know, you’re two peas in a pod, academically speaking.

Amidst the surrounding exclamations of admiration, Juliana inevitably drifted her gaze to the back row

With a hint of teasing, she said, “Daniel, would you be a dear and check my cousin’s grade?”

Fumbling through the papers, Daniel didn’t find Cordelia’s but instead pulled out Hanley’s and promptly handed it over…

Before the commotion could settle, Latham announced from the front, “This math test, there’s only one perfect score in the entire grade, and it’s from our class!”

“Wow!”

“Hanley’s got to be the man, right?”

As the class buzzed with astonishment, Hanley quietly exhaled in relief.

few questions, but it seemed they were all

kudos! You’re a genius,”

lips into a smile at her words.

arranged for him to marry Juliana, a relief in itself. A guy like him deserved

too shabby.

as Daniel placed a

subconsciously glanced at the result. His smile froze, ‘A? Was there

pondered, a breathless Latham added, “Let’s extend our warmest congratulations to Cordelia! Her grasp of mathematics is remarkable. Despite the difficulty of this exam, her result was unexpected,

whispers and turned heads, all eyes on the

back row.

widened his eyes in disbelief, turning to see Cordelia slowly lift her head, her gaze sharpening on him. Then, with a

cheeks as if slapped by

equally frozen, her mind a loop of

“Class dismissed!”

just in time for

he gone than the room

“Screech!”

of a ragdoll, she leaned on Cordelia’s desk. “Hey, you’re Cordelia, right? I’m Merry,” she announced, her vibrant pink hair and dramatic makeup reminiscent of a cartoon character. She popped her bubblegumn and continued without waiting for a

a moment, replying simply, “Nice to

can cling to his top spot. I gotta say I’ve had it up to here with Hanley and Juliana, prancing around like they own the place just

responded with a

didn’t falter her chatter, “I heard the Foster family thought your grades were embarrassing, so they called off the engagement? Are you

her first impression of Merry being that of an

volunteer, collected the papers. The first thing was check Cordelia’s result. Upon seeing the grade,

approached Cordelia, paper in hand, just in time to catch Merry’s comment. “Hanley is no one–trick pony,” Juliana interjected. “He

she did

Cordelia her Literature paper, “B+. Cordelia, with this result, do you think you can take the top spot? Dream

I’m not sure whether Cordelia beats Hanley or not, but

sneered, “Considering you’re at the bottom, I suppose you have no room for pride.” Merry chuckled, “Oh, I

off,

end of the school day, posted on the wall for

She

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Comments ()

0/255