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.

night had been a toss–up on a few questions, but it seemed

genius,” came

curled his lips into a smile at her words.

marry Juliana, a

too

his eyes as Daniel placed

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

congratulations to Cordelia! Her grasp of mathematics is remarkable. Despite the difficulty of

still as a tableau, erupted into whispers and turned

back row.

eyes in disbelief, turning to see Cordelia slowly lift her head, her gaze sharpening on him.

cheeks as if slapped by

mind a loop of denial,

“Class dismissed!”

up the review just in time for

than the room erupted

“Screech!”

floor as Merry, Cordelia’s front–row neighbor, swung around in her seat. With the laxity of a ragdoll, she leaned on Cordelia’s desk. “Hey, you’re Cordelia, right? I’m Merry,” she announced, her vibrant pink

replying simply, “Nice to meet you.”

by Cordelia’s cool demeanor, Merry brandished her phone and chirped, “The whole school is buzzing on the forum about whether Hanley can cling to his top spot. I gotta say I’ve had it up to here with Hanley and Juliana,

responded with a noncommittal,

Foster family thought your grades were embarrassing, so they called off the engagement? Are

impression of Merry being that

the next class began, Juliana, playing her role as a volunteer, collected the papers. The first thing

time to catch Merry’s comment. “Hanley is no one–trick pony,” Juliana interjected. “He excels in

she did

“B+. Cordelia, with this result, do you think you

head at Juliana,” I’m not sure whether Cordelia beats Hanley or not, but she’ll definitely better than you. What’s there for you to

sneered, “Considering you’re at the bottom, I suppose you have no room for pride.” Merry chuckled, “Oh, I couldn’t be

off, fuming.

the end of the school

bother to look. Grades were just a number to her. She grabbed her bag and was

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