Chapter 5

On Friday afternoon during homeroom, Mr. Carter stood at the podium.

"Next Monday is the midterm exam. The results will be factored into the early-admission evaluation. Those of you hoping for the Harvard nomination need to lock in."

His eyes swept over our side of the room.

Chloe sat up straight, her chin lifting once again.

She was incredibly sensitive about the Harvard nomination. Six years of being rank one was supposed to guarantee that spot for her.

But that was in my past life. Right now, her name was sitting at rank 142.

After class, Chloe walked over to my desk, leaning down to whisper:

"You better start thinking normally during the midterms. That Harvard nomination is mine."

I put my pen down and looked up at her.

"If you're so smart, what are you panicking for?"

"Besides, for six years when I was stuck in second, I never came to your desk begging you to 'think normally.'"

Chloe’s eyes turned dangerously cold. She was leaning so close I could see her eyelashes trembling with rage.

I leaned back and met her gaze without flinching.

"Aria, stop playing with me. You know exactly how I got those scores."

I stood up, pushing my chair back, standing face-to-face with her. We were barely inches apart.

"And you know exactly how you got them, too."

"Six years, Chloe. Did you really think I’d just keep quiet forever?"

"Well, the forever ends now."

Chloe didn't reply, her lips pressed into a bloodless line.

She didn't dare make a scene in a crowded classroom.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked past her.

"Let's let the exam sheets do the talking, Chloe."

The next morning during study hall, Zach pulled me into the hallway near the water cooler, looking around suspiciously.

"Aria, Chloe’s telling everyone in class that you cheated on the unit test. She says you got the test papers in advance because you have a relative in the district office."

I closed my vocabulary binder.

"I got the papers in advance? Then why the hell would I have stayed in second place for six years?"

"If I had the cheat codes, why would I choose to be second? Do I look stupid to you?"

Zach blinked. "Right... if you had the papers, why wouldn't you just take first place earlier?"

"But she claims you told her yourself."

I scoffed.

"She claims? Tell her to show the receipts. Chat logs, audio recordings, notes—literally anything. Can she?"

Zach swallowed hard.

I tucked my binder under my arm and took a sip of water.

"Zach, use your brain before you help her spread this garbage."

"She dropped from rank one to 142. Instead of explaining her own pathetic drop, she accuses me of cheating."

"Does that sound logical to you?"

Zach stood there, his brow furrowing.

As I walked back to class, Chloe happened to be walking toward me, holding a stack of physics homework binders.

She paused when she saw me, her chin tilting up.

"What were you telling Zach?"

I didn't stop.

"Asking him if you've finished your sophomore physics homework."

Chloe gripped the binders so hard the cardboard edges bent.

"Cut the crap. You were talking about the midterm cheat rumors, weren't you?"

I stopped and turned around, a mocking smile on my face.

"Which rumors? The one where you fell to 142, or the one where you're crying 'cheater' because you can't cope?"

"Chloe, you've been spreading lies about me all week. I didn't even come after you, and yet you're putting yourself in my face."

The hallway went quiet. Several students stopped talking and looked over.

Chloe’s chin was up, but her voice was low and strained.

"Don't get too cocky."

"I'm not. I'm just asking for receipts. If you're going to accuse me of cheating, show the proof. Otherwise, shut your mouth."

"Just wait," she hissed, clutching the binders tightly as she stormed off.

During the next break, Chloe was still whispering to a group of guys, claiming I only stayed in second place before because "I was scared of getting caught," and that I "couldn't help but show off" this time.

Hearing this from Zach, I slammed my prep book onto the desk and stood up.

Zach tried to grab my sleeve. "Aria, what are you doing?"

"Clearing my name."

I walked straight to the front of the classroom and clapped my hands twice.

The chatter died down. Forty pairs of eyes locked onto me.

"Some people think my first-place score was a fluke or that I leaked the test papers."

"Fine. Let's settle this right now. I want our math teacher to write three random advanced calculus problems on the board. Right now."

"If I get even one step wrong, I'll admit I cheated."

The room was dead silent for five seconds. Then someone in the back whistled, and Zach muttered, "Holy shit."

Chloe was sitting by the window in the third row. Her knuckles were white from gripping her textbook.

Mrs. Gable, the math teacher, adjusted her glasses, stood up, and took a piece of chalk. She wrote three complex problems on the board.

When she finished, she put the chalk down. "These are from a college-level prep syllabus. I haven't even taught these yet."

I grabbed a piece of chalk, walked up to the board, and wrote out the step-by-step derivations for all three problems without hesitation.

I tossed the chalk back into the tray, wiped my hands, and turned around.

"All three are done."

"If anyone still thinks I cheated, come up here and check the math."

Nobody said a word.

Zach sat in the back row, his jaw practically on his desk.

A few girls in the front row started whispering. "They're all correct... and Mrs. Gable literally just made them up."

As I walked back to my seat, Chloe suddenly bolted upright.

She stood there, her chin high, staring at me with pure venom.

"Who’s to say you and Mrs. Gable didn't plan this? Maybe she showed you these problems beforehand!"

The classroom went even quieter. You could hear a pin drop.

Mrs. Gable’s face darkened, her grading pen halting mid-air.

"Chloe, I drafted these questions on the spot. I didn't even have them prepared."

Chloe ignored the teacher, her eyes still locked onto me.

I stopped walking, turned around, and smiled.

"Why don't you come up and write them then?"

"Aren't you the genius who always got first place? Come up here and solve them with me. Let's do a live showdown."

"Chloe, show us what a real genius can do."

Chloe’s face turned from pale to ash-gray. Her mouth opened and closed, but not a single sound came out.

Forty-plus pairs of eyes darted from her to me, then back to her.

She stood frozen for ten seconds before she abruptly slammed her notebook onto her desk and sat down.

The loud thud of her book echoed in the silent room.

I sat back down, unzipping my bag to grab my textbook for the next class.

Chloe sat next to me, her entire body tense, her breathing shallow and rapid.

She didn't look at me, but the corner of her textbook was completely ruined by her grip.

I flipped to the first page of my book and whispered,

"Next time you want to call me a cheater, bring receipts."

"If you slander me again, I won't be as nice as just solving problems on the whiteboard."