To Wish Upon a Fallen Star

Chapter 3: Just Like Snow

She turned away from her cousin and faced her mother, who was sitting on one of the couches while reading a book. She lowered it, beaming at her. And just like her smile, her striking golden eyes emitted a warm energy that let her feel more relaxed.

"Welcome home, Tala." She lifted her head, smiling at Laura as well. "Welcome home, Raya."

Laura waved a hand. "Evening, Auntie Raya."

"The teachers returned our midterms paper, by the way," Tala said when her mother faced her again. She could feel her lips forming a grin as she showed her mother those papers and passed them to her. "Obviously, I aced them all."

Her mother scanned them. Her brows rose as she scanned them one by one, and the smile on her face slowly widened. It was moments like this where she was glad her parents supported her in her academics. Her being a Starblessed did give her an advantage against everyone, but it was still them who gave her the extra push to continue this path.

There were only five out of ten papers returned today, and her mother took her time looking at all of them. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she placed her hands behind her back. She was a little nervous, even though she was the top in all of them.

Well, most of them.

But that didn't matter. That was a one time thing. It wasn't going to happen again.

As if her mother read her thoughts, she stopped at one paper. "These are all perfect scores apart from this one," she said as she grabbed that one, stupid, cursed test paper. "A forty-nine isn't that bad, though. I'm sure you still scored the highest."

"Actually..." Tala chuckled, fiddling with the ribbons on her blouse. A sigh left her lips. "D- Don't get mad, but someone actually scored higher than me. I- If it helps, I made a mistake on the essay part! Actually, now that I say that out loud, it's probably stupid I made the mistake on the essay part."

Her mother paused, one brow raised as she looked at that part of the test paper. She simply hummed and returned Tala's test papers back to her. She gave Tala a head pat before grabbing her book again. "Don't think too much about it. As long as you still scored high, that doesn't matter. So, who was the one who scored higher than you? Was it that one Flameblessed child who used to be second to you? Roxas, was it?

"Actually, Roxas has been the top three since junior first year. The secondtop two right now is Noctis Nakawaga. He's a Moonbleslsed." She scoffed and scowled. "An annoying prick, too. He's been nothing but a pest since I met him. I think I've mentioned him before."

As her mother drank her cup of tea, she froze. It was subtle, but Tala noticed the way her eyes widened. She slowly lowered her cup and book, brows furrowed down as if she was in deep thought. She turned to Tala. "Noctis Nakagawa?"

"Y- Yes." Her brows furrowed down as she took a step back. Behind her, she could hear Laura taking a step in the living room, reminding her that her cousin was still with them. "Mother, is- is something the matter?"

"Nothing," she replied. Maybe it was just Tala, but it felt like the reply was too quick. More of a snap if anything. "Nothing. I remember Nakagawa. You've talked about him before, yes. You said he's the one who scored higher than you?"

"Yes..."

She sighed and hummed. "I see. I'm sure it's just one test. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. You've been at the top since you were in first grade, right? I'm sure this one is just a single time and it wouldn't happen again. As long as you continue your studies, I'm sure you'll remain as the top student."

Tala frowned. Something was strange with the way she said those words. It was the same thing Tala would tell herself, sure, but it didn't feel convincing. Well, maybe it didn't feel convincing to her. It sounded like it was her mother trying to convince herself.