Freeze (The Jewel Project #4)

1.1|| Spoiled Rich Kids

It was strange how, in time, even after life-shattering experiences, the little things started to count again.

Clammy hands, rapid pulse, twisting stomach.

It's just an exam. Hell, he'd taken countless exams before. And it was just as worse every time. Except this time, Sam Grant thought it would be different. Because this time, it was different. So much had happened between his exam at the end of May and this one that it felt like two different lives lived by two different people.

He wasn't the same person he used to be back then. This Sam had faced death more times than he cared to count. This Sam was a leader, a fighter, a thinker. This Sam had a girlfriend and a large group of friends. Yet, this Sam was terrified of exams just like the last Sam. Sam 2.0. sucked just as much as the initial version.

As he watched himself in the mirror, he could swear he was turning green. It did not compliment his navy blue uniform at all.

"Move over, Sam," Tom said, nudging him out of the way. "It's my turn to see if I'm the fairest of them all."

Sam almost laughed, but it felt wrong. Just like the way Tom was wearing his uniform. Normally, Sam wouldn't have batted an eyelash at Tom's jeans and trainers, especially since the jeans were the classic straight instead of the usual loose and baggy. But ever since he'd started at Xavier Race High School when he was eleven, it had been an unspoken rule that during exam day, everyone wore their uniform. The entire one, from the navy blue pants and blazer, to the white shirt and crimson tie. And the shoes, oh the shoes.

Exams were the only time Sam wore the pants and shoes too, but seeing Tom breaking the rules had him feeling a bit nervous, as if divine retribution would befall his twin and cause him to fail every subject.

"Yuck," Tom said, sticking his tongue out at his own reflection. "And I'm not even wearing the tie yet." He had it around his neck but undone, playing with it mindlessly as if he couldn't decide whether to tie the knot or not.

"You should put it on. We're running late."

The fact that Tom didn't laugh at how high those simple two sentences had come out showed Sam that his twin was nervous as well. That and the way he kept fumbling with that tie.

"Do you think Mom can make a knot?" Tom suddenly asked.

Oh. Oh! Sam turned Tom to face him and started working on it.

"Wait, you can do it?" Tom asked in surprise.

"I've been going to that school for seven years. It became basic necessity at some point," Sam mumbled, straightening the knot and stepping back to look at Tom. Given the shade of his jeans, he almost looked like he was in complete uniform. Even his trainers were black.

Nerves and pride started a deadly battle in Sam's stomach. He'd never been up against Tom in an exam. Sure, they had almost the exact same classes and Tom did alright, but exams were something else. More pressure, more truth. Not just a smile, a wink and a lucky piece of homework.

"So tell me again how difficult the exams are," Tom said, finally looking away from the mirror and focusing on Sam.

"I won't lie. Probably the hardest exams you've ever taken."

"I hope so," Tom mumbled, "because I've never studied so much in my life. It'd better be worth it." And on that bombshell, he left the room.

Sam turned over his answer as he followed Tom out and down the stairs. He'd never seen things like that, but his twin had a point. Sam didn't think he'd ever studied harder either. It was maybe the guilt that he'd had other things on his mind as well, like the agency and his girlfriend, Christine. Or maybe it was the weirdness of being part of such a large study group.