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.

it was time for the afternoon study period.

as well, heading to her physics. competition prep

slower and heading in their direction. She couldn’t resist asking. “What if

seemingly conflicted, “That’s true…

Η

Cordelia caught up, they were at the stairwell. As they hesitated on whether to acknowledge her, Cordelia walked past them

Juliana stopped in their tracks,

to find only a handful of students had shown

the class to work on them before approaching

I

got

from a not–too–distant seat, unable to keep from monitoring her

Latham handed to Cordelia was standard competition level, Hanley, a seasoned math

finishing the two–hour test in one, causing

the test on the spot, announcing the result,

breathed a sigh of relief. A sense of superiority bloomed

all, excelling in regular math didn’t guarantee success in competitions, which were

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

hand, Cordelia stared at her test, marked with three red wrong signs and asked,

spoke in a low voice to not disturb the others, “You got the answers right, but in a formal competition, everyone will mark these as

her head.

“Calculus is a college subject.

simply replied,

math competition tests logical reasoning, which means you need to solve these problems with high school knowledge.

your

beyond the syllabus, not using

looked up, her misty eyes filled with

some notes for

this early. There’s still time. I’ll compile

“If you have any questions, you can also ask Hanley.”

at the test on her desk.

Without college knowledge like calculus, they indeed seemed challenging, but she found them

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

Comments ()

0/255