Across the Adversaries

Chapter 5: Doom's Day

Miles thought he would feel so good, so free of all the pressure that was on him once he won the award. But that wasn't the case. Instead, he started to feel worse as he started to realize what he'd done to Margo.

Her eyes blurry with tears, Margo ran through the hallways, trying to get as far away from the auditorium as possible. After a few moments of running, her legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor. She leaned against the lockers and let out a sob, her world feeling like it was crashing down.

'How could I not have won?' She thought. 'I had the best record this school has seen in years. I worked so hard and aced our big test. I got a perfect score!'

All of the work she did in trying to psych Miles out had failed. Even though she beat him during the big test, he still won the award. He's still ranked first in their class. And now, he just made fun of her in front of the entire school. Margo may have won the battle, but Miles won the war. Margo will always be known as the girl who couldn't quite make it to the top. She brought her knees to her chest and sobbed into her hands.

After a few moments, she heard footsteps coming down the hall that stopped right next to her. The audience in the auditorium could still be heard cheering for Miles, but he ignored it and sat down next to Margo. He was silent for a few moments, processing everything that just happened. Finally, he looked at Margo and spoke softly. "Margo?"

Margo hid her face from him in her arms. "Congratulations." She said weakly, her voice cracking. "You got what you wanted. I hope you're happy."

Miles let her cry for a few seconds. He knew that Margo was hurting and a celebration like that didn't make her feel any better. He spoke softly, not wanting her to feel worse than she already did. "It's not what I wanted, Margo. I wanted you to be happy and proud of yourself."

"No, you didn't." Margo grumbled. "You wanted to beat me and embarrass me in front of the entire school. You knew you were going to win that award, and you just strung me along in your stupid game. You're nothing but a cold, mean-spirited person. I hate you."

Miles let her rant, not wanting to say anything as he felt Margo's anger. He stayed silent for a moment as he realized what she said was true. He spoke even more softly than before. "You're right, Margo. My actions were unfair and I knew that I was going to win the award the whole time...but I wanted you to realize it too."

He looked at Margo sincerely. "I'm sorry, Margo. I shouldn't have played this game."

Margo wiped her eyes and rested her cheek on her arms, still silent and still upset.

Miles looked at Margo and scooted closer to her. "I'm genuinely sorry." He wanted to make sure his apology got through, even if she never forgave him.

Margo sighed and finally turned to look at him, tears still falling down her face. "Why did you do it?" She whispered. "Why did you make fun of me like that in front of the entire school?"

Miles stayed silent for a few seconds. He was hesitant to speak, but he knew Margo deserved an answer. He took a deep breath and then spoke.

"I was insecure. I didn't want you to see yourself as superior to me. When you beat me on the test, you broke that barrier for a moment, and you scared me." His voice was still soft, but he was more sincere with his answer. "After that, I didn't want you to feel like you were better than me at something. That's why I acted the way I did in front of the whole school."

He paused for a few seconds. "I was being selfish. I thought you would win the award because I knew I wasn't good enough to beat you...so I was trying to convince you that you weren't good enough either." Miles sighed and was quiet for a moment. He looked away, trying to process what happened over the last few weeks. He spoke softly again, wanting to make sure he said everything right. "I know you don't want to be friends with me after what I did, but I want you to know that I am genuinely sorry." He was ashamed of what he did and he wanted Margo to know how sorry he was. It didn't matter what happened after this, he just didn't want Margo to hate him.