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 they were

genius,” came

lips into a smile at her words.

family had arranged for him to marry Juliana, a

too

as Daniel placed a

smile froze, ‘A?

Her grasp of mathematics is remarkable. Despite the difficulty of this exam, her result was unexpected, better

a tableau, erupted into whispers and turned heads, all eyes on the

back row.

her gaze sharpening on him. Then, with a slow and knowing smile, Cordelia whispered just loud enough for him to hear,

Hanley’s cheeks as if slapped by an invisible hand.

her mind a loop of denial,

“Class dismissed!”

wrapped up the review just in time for the bell and left the

had he gone than the room erupted into

“Screech!”

you’re Cordelia, right? I’m Merry,” she announced, her vibrant pink hair and dramatic makeup reminiscent

a moment, replying simply, “Nice to meet you.”

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

responded with a noncommittal, “Oh.”

thought your grades were embarrassing, so they called off the engagement? Are you gonna try and top the class

stayed silent, her first impression of Merry being that of an overfriendly

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

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

she did

her Literature paper, “B+. Cordelia, with this result, do you think you can

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

you’re at the bottom, I suppose you have no room

stormed off, fuming.

rankings weren’t out until the end of the school day, posted on the wall for all to

just a number to her. She grabbed her bag and was the

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