Chapter 12

Everyone simultaneously looked at Juliana and Hanley

Feeling the collective gaze, Juliana straightened up and flashed a smile at Hanley, asking, “What if Cordelial starts hounding you?”

Hanley lifted his chin with an air of finality. “Our engagement is set. It’s not changing for anyone.”

With that, Juliana relaxed,

She and Hanley had grown up together, their relationship always teetering on the edge of something more. Now, with their engagement on the horizon, she trusted that Hanley harbored no feelings for Cordelia.

Their conversation was neither hushed nor loud, but just enough for the onlookers to overhear.

A few snide voices began to mock Cordelia, “Being the top of the class doesn’t mean you can win Hanley’s heart, huh?”

“If I were her, I’d stay well away. How shameless can you get, always hovering around Hanley…”

Cordelia cooled her gaze but before she could speak up, Merry interjected, “Some folks really have nothing better to do than to poke their noses into others‘ business!”

Merry had a sing–song quality, even when she was hurling insults.

The teasers promptly shut their mouths.

Merry then glanced at Juliana and Hanley with a snort, “And some people really have the gall!”

The classroom fell silent. When it came to quick wit, no one could outdo Merry.

Seeing that Merry had defused the situation, Cordelia nodded to show her thanks and made her way to her seat, but Merry turned and headed for the door.

The class president called out, “Merry, class is about to start, where are you off to?”

Merry looked back, blowing a bubble with her gum, “Arcade.”

Cordelia blinked in surprise.

Merry didn’t return for the rest of the day.

time for the afternoon study period.

his tutoring session. Juliana stood up as well, heading to her

a glimpse of Cordelia rising a beat slower and heading in their direction. She couldn’t resist asking. “What

conflicted, “That’s

Η

they were at the stairwell. As they hesitated on

tracks, enveloped in an awkward silence..

to find only a handful of students

set the class to work on them before approaching Cordelia with a test in hand, “Try this out, I want to gauge

I

nodded and got to work.

seat, unable to keep from

Hanley, a seasoned math competitor, had gotten them all

one,

graded the test on the spot, announcing the result,

A

didn’t guarantee success in competitions, which were more complex and demanded higher logical reasoning.

day for him at the last test. He was sure to reclaim the top

three red wrong signs and asked, puzzled, “How could they be

the answers right, but in

her

sighed, “Calculus is a college subject. Where did you

replied,

he explained, “The high school math competition tests logical reasoning, which means you need to solve these problems with high school knowledge. Your answers are correct,

your

beyond the syllabus, not

filled

some notes for

this early. There’s still time.

he added, “If you have any questions, you can also ask

murmured, “Oh.” She glanced at the test

like calculus, they indeed seemed challenging, but she found them

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