( double update today because it's @/infxnitestxrs's birthday. wattpad isnt letting me mention u </3 )
❝If you can't win, make the guy ahead of you break the record.❞
— Evan Esar
The day goes by in a rush. I sat with Jude and Ana for lunch, which made my head ache throughout the afternoon classes. Once the school day is done, I head back to my room immediately. I take a quick shower and change into my casual outfit. I'm wearing a black and gold coloured flannel shirt that's loose on me. My whole wardrobe is filled with shirts of all types.
Grabbing my phone, I walk out of the room. I don't get my bag, though, since I'm not really up to carrying it everywhere with me.
"Hey," Jude greets me. "Where're you going?"
"Cafeteria," I tell her. Before she has the time to say anything else, I walk past her and down the stairs as quickly as I can. On the way, I bump into someone I recognise almost instantly. Julian Lawrence. The one who's taken the place of the class representative since I refused.
"Sorry," he mutters and then looks up to face me. "Hey, you're-"
"Yes, I am," I say quickly.
He raises his eyebrows. His brown eyes rest on me for a few good moments before he chuckles and shakes his head. "So, you knew what I was going to say. Anyways, there's a get together in the common room tonight, actually. You should come."
Normally, I'd say something back but right now, I didn't really have the energy to have a long conversation with someone. "Sure. I'll try."
He flashes a small smile and walks past me quickly which makes me wonder whether he has something on his mind. Even though he has a kind face, it wouldn't turn out as a surprise to me if he does something that's not very kind in the future. A human brain works in ways that even humans themselves cannot comprehend.
I resumed walking. Outside, there are students talking to each other everywhere. I look around even though I'm not sure what exactly I'm looking at. After standing there for a good fifteen seconds or so, I walk out of Minerva and towards the cafeteria. There's no one really here right now since one of the counters is closed by now.
Walking over to the other one, I lean against it. I know there's a better area on the other half of the campus where you can buy stationary and fruits and chocolates. It's only for staff and students, though - no outsider can buy stuff from there. I'd go there right now but well, let's just say I'm a bit hungry right now.
"Strawberry snackbites, please," I tell the person behind the counter and she nods, going to the back to fetch them. She's very slow, though. Either it's that she's tired or she's just not interested in her job. Just then, I hear a pair of hands slam on the counter. I don't flinch from the sound but look next to myself anyways.
There are two guys standing here. The first one is just a little taller than me, wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He's pretty muscular and looks a little older for a high schooler, though I can already tell that he's a first year student like me. I saw him on the third floor in the morning. The other guy has a dark olive skin tone. His hair is dark and so are his eyes. He has a sharp jawline and a blank expression on his face.
Why do these high schoolers look this old?
I put that thought out of my mind.
"So you're Harley?" the first guy asks.
I'm honestly very tired of this question at this point. I just nod.
"And you refused to be the class leader?"
I nod again.
He clicks his tongue. "Damn, and here I thought I had a good competitor for the first time."
I look at him with a raised eyebrow. "I don't even know who you are."
He looks at the other guy and the two of them laugh lightly. "Oh, sorry. The queen here needs an introduction. I'm Rhett Carter. He's Atlas Elias. Ring any bells?"
Oh.
"Oh, so you're Red Carter. The second ranker."
Hearing my version of his name, he stops smiling. "It's Rhett. Not Red. There's a difference."
"Red," I repeat myself just for the sake of annoying him. "So, remind me why we're talking?"
"I like her," Atlas states and Rhett gives him a look. When he notices that, he just shrugs and turns away.
"I want to know how you managed to score that. As you may already know, no one in the history of this school has done that and even if you've paid someone to increase your score, you've got to be crazy rich. So which one is it? Are you actually that smart? Or is it just an act? Because you did refuse the leadership role."
I did expect a lot of speculation about my score. But me rejecting the role as the class leader had only increased the suspicions among the student body. It was funny, really. Even if I had accepted the role and brought the whole class down with me, I wasn't going to stay here a day past december. There was no point in me leading everyone to ruin and be responsible for it. If I wanted to do it, I could just pull the strings behind the shadow and bring them all down with me.
Unfortunately, I'm not that kind of person. I prefer to work alone and use people only when I'm in a desperate use of pawns and puppets. I will need them in the future but right now, I had to do what I had to do. Figure out the names. That's what I'm here for.
"I'd say speak a little slower since you talk very fast but judging by your expression, I already know what it is. Spare me the headache and don't waste your time."
"What's wrong with-"
Red's cut short when the lady who was standing behind the counter comes out with what I asked for. "There you go, sweetheart. Sorry for the delay."
"No worries," I say as I pay her and grab the snack, walking outside.
"Hey, wait, I'm not done talking to you!" Red calls out and I stop. I turn to face him with the most serious look in my eyes.
"What the hell do you want, Red?"
He tries to ignore the nickname and walks towards me while Atlas stands back, watching us both talk.
"I want to compete with you," he lets the words slip out of his mouth. I look at him with confusion even though I already know what he means. He takes it as a sign that I want him to elaborate and sighs, clearing his throat. "The first exam. I want to see who's better. In all subjects. Are you up for it?"
I pretend to think about it. "No."
His face drops. "What do you mean 'no'?"
"I mean, stop wasting your time on this." I turn around. "I'm not interested in competitions."
"You know, I've been considering what if you scored all that by yourself? But I can't. It can be fluke but it's not possible you can score that high without another party involved."
"I have no reason to say yes to you, Red."
There's a pause. I don't move though, since I know he's not done yet.
"If you say no, I'll begin making assumptions about your grades and you." His tone has a bit of an edge. That's great, he's getting mad.
"Do I actually look like the kind of person who cares about what you think? I'm not interested in this."
"Fine, then. I'm okay with this being totally one sided," he tells me and I almost laugh. "You just do what you gotta do."
I slightly turn. "And if I fail on purpose?"
"What kind of idiot fails on purpose?"
"I don't know. Maybe me?"
"That's bullshit, Harley." He sighs and runs a hand through his hair in frustration. Atlas doesn't say anything at all. He seems like the observant kind - the type who watches everything but doesn't get involved at all.
I let out a sigh. "If we're done here, I'm leaving." I begin walking and am almost at the door when I hear him call out to me again.
"The least I can expect of you is not to hold back. Can't you even do that?" There's a hint of desperation in his voice by now and I can't say that I hate it.
"Are you sure that's what you want?" I ask quietly. He hears it since the whole place is basically empty except for them and the counter lady, who was on her phone, totally not interested in what was going on.
He pauses again. "Yes," he says and I feel lighter as if I'm somehow happy about his answer. "Yes. I'm sure."
I let out a scoff. I tilt my head, my lips curled in an amused smile. I turn my head back, just enough for him to see it.
"Well, in that case," I say, my voice deadly serious, "I'll crush you."