Rivalry (GirlxGirl)

05. Wordless Working

"YOU AND EMILY"

"You and Emily Rhodes? THE EMILY BITCHY RHODES?!"

"Oh my goodness, are you sure about it? "

Monica's friends were here, getting all worked up over the fact that she was going to compete against Emily Rhodes, that too for an Artificial Intelligence Project. They were as taken aback (if not more) as her, when she was first informed about her involvement in the competition. Well, isn't it pretty obvious?

There was not a single living soul, within the walls of Lady Queen High, that did not know about Emily Rhodes' evident hatred towards Monica and her friends. It practically radiates off of her whenever she's around Monica, that too, to an extent that it is easily noticed by the other people around them.

The way Emily, and her little group of minions, except Aria of course, sneer at them and glare daggers towards their direction, with no potential reason, is appalled.

Monica and her friends sometimes wonder-as to how, Aria Meadows got along with Emily Rhodes. Although, word goes around, that Emily, Aria, Meredith, and Adeline were best of friends, literally for birth, and that their families are sort of a confidantes since time immemorial- Monica still finds something off about them, but she couldn't figure out what it was... Not that she ever tried to though. Meddling in people's lives is utterly indecent, she believed.

Monica and her friends were closest to Aria from Emily's gang. And to say the least, Aria was a sweet girl and nothing like the rest of her 'best friends'. God knows why she sticks to them so much. It could either be the deep bond of friendship that they've shared over the years, or, it could also be family pressure and expectations. Personally though, Monica believed that Aria would've done way better without them.

Currently Monica had been recalling previous day's events to her friends who were just as excited and curious to know what the deal was. Especially Sienna and Angelina had been pestering her with questions again and again, and warned her to not leave out a single detail, no matter how petty that seemed.

Monica's POV:
Sipping my black coffee, between answering my friends' questions and doing my geography research was slowly starting to take a toll on my neurons as I kept writing the wrong words and cancelling them. I was never one to multitask, it just did not suit me well. I had tried though, multitasking, and everytime it ended up in a ruckus. So I simply stopped trying. As I believe, no one is perfect, except for 'I-am-the-best-of-the-best-Emily-Rhodes' of course. She is, as she believes, perfect. And, to be honest, I don't want to get into trouble for correcting her overly narcissistic assumptions.

"Tell me how she reacted, the facial expression? How was it? "

"No no no you first tell me if she rolled her eyes or glared at you when you arrived late? Wait did she even acknowledge you? "

"No no Mou you answer me first! Did Emily Rhodes sound happy when she was asked about the project or did she sound proud? Did she even allow you to speak before the headmaster? I highly doubt tha-"

"Okay okay guys stop! I am a human, incase it slipped your minds, I can only take in one question at a time, ughh, I need another coffee. God, exams are way more tolerable than your stupid interrogation. This is uncalled for you know,I have already stated every single detail, there is" I groaned stopping their incessant rain of questions.

"But you have to tell us what she-"

"Gosh guys give the poor girl a break now, you know, you both have been questioning her non stop since she's arrived. Mou you listen to me now, would you like another cup of coffee, should I get one for you? " Anastasia interjected, giving me a reassuring smile. God, she's such an angel.

" Oh thank you Ana, you're such a saviour. And yes I'd love one more cup of caffeine, since these two monkeys have scrambled my brain." I answered trying to sound angry but ended up smiling at them.

Sienna and Angelina playfully rolled their eyes and jokingly hit my shoulder as a sign of protest, as we all had a hearty laugh. God, I was so blessed to have my girls with me.

Monica's POV:
Classes had just ended for the day. They had been fairly well, or should I say tolerable, since exams were still a few months away from now. After bidding my girls good bye, I headed down the hallways,to our Science Lab. I had intended to start the research about my AI project today itself, since no time is enough time, and the competition was only two months away and I had to give my best to secure my spot against Emily Rhodes.

'Knowing' Emily Rhodes, even barely though, over all these years, has taught that she is a very hard nut to crack and very unpredictable too, for that matter. She won't let such a lucrative offer of international recognition, that too, in a scientific field, slip out of her hands.

However truth be told-Neither would I. Well, although that is my competitive nature popping out, but I can't just let go of this fruitful chance now, can I? I knew how strong of a competitor Emily was, and I was aware of her unfaltering determination, which, as a student, I wholeheartedly respected and appreciated. Hence, to win against her, would undoubtedly, be a tough job with many ups and downs, I had to survive. I was determined to.

With all these buzzing thoughts occupying my mind, I walked to our Science Lab and pushed open the door.

There she was Emily Rhodes sitting behind one of the tables, noting down something furiously in her notebook. I wasn't expecting to see her here, at all but I swallowed my shock and tried to remain unperturbed.

Emily looked up from her notebook and spared me a quick glance, probably due to the sound of the opening door, and resumed with her furious note-taking again.

Wow, she did not even acknowledge my presence. Well, not that it bothered me though. From what I had gathered from our previous encounter, I knew, that the lesser we interacted, the better.

I trudged to the table, set opposite to Emily's, predicting that it was perhaps mine, which was then confirmed by my name printed in bold letters on a paper strip, pasted at its bottom.

As our Headmaster had promised, all our equipments were stacked up carefully, at the left side of the lab, which was a rectangular room, so that both Emily and I could easily access those.

Pulling the chair in front of my alloted table, I settled down.

I switched on my laptop and logged into my browser searching for inspiration as to how I should plan my entire project. There were so many ideas, and it was basically getting overwhelming. I tried to looked into each of them, shortlisting some, while absolutely ignoring the others, whilst humming a tune, to keep myself occupied.

I didn't pay Emily a single glance while working when I heard an irritated tone.

"Could you please stop 'singing', it's disrupting my concentration"

I looked up to see Emily glaring daggers at me. Blood rushed up my cheeks, and I felt embarrassed but I still retorted saying, "I wasn't singing! and if that bothers you, I'm sorry" I completed, mumbling the last part.

Emily simply rolled her eyes.

Hours passed as we worked in silence. I looked at my watch, it was 7 already. I looked through the window, the sun had already set yet there were still sprinkles of light, glittered across the evening sky.

I shut my laptop, tired and suppressing a yawn as I packed my things. Emily was still deeply concentrated in her project and did not budge. I had made considerable progress, though, and had shortlisted a few innovative ideas, which I will research on further, before choosing one to be my final project.

As I walked to the door ready to leave, I mumbled Emily a short "Good Bye" , which obviously she did not return, and walked out of the door, sighing....

I could get used to this....

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