I would like to dedicate this first chapter to @SchrijverSil because he really helped me a lot while working out the plot and details for this story. He is an amazing writer himself, so for the ones amongst you who can read in Dutch, please check out his story! 

Then now, welcome! Welcome to the world of my imagination. I hope you will all enjoy reading!  From now on, I will try posting a chapter on every monday, so stay tuned :)

***

He always knew everything. You could ask him any question in the world, and he would be able to answer.

"What is the name of the phenomenon of faster freezing of warmer water than cold water?"
Keep your face neutral, look smart, be confident. Be focused, wait for your cue-
"Mpemba effect" I heard Allison whisper in my ear.
-slam the button and give the answer.

I didn't hesitate at all before slamming the red button in front of me, my face neutral as I followed every single step. "It is the Mpemba effect, sir. It is an observation that in certain circumstances, warmer water can freeze faster than colder water. It is not yet known what it is caused by exactly." 

We had to practice this a lot, Allison and I. To be able to listen to new information and speak up at the same time proved to be one of the most difficult things in our plan, but so far all was going well. No one suspected anything. 

"Well done, miss Devoe, that is indeed the correct answer," the examinator said with a warm smile. "Miss Devoe and mister Shiroe are now tied in score, mister Lewis and mister Kandis are both three points behind. Last question now, for five points." The man looked up from his notes shortly to make sure the audience was quiet before starting to read out the last question. 

It was now or never.

As I put one hand on the red button already, my other hand found its way to my ear, where I fumbled with the small, almost unnoticeable device in my ear. 

"Don't do that Livia, I hear less when you fumble with it." 

Quickly I removed my hand from my ear, although not before carefully hiding the device completely with my dark blue hair, all the while twirling my dad's twirling my dad's wedding ring around my finger.

"A pharmacological question this time; Goodpasture's disease, an extremely rare autoimmune disease where autoantibodies attack an antigen on the basement membranes of organs, usually presents itself with which symptoms?"

Even before Allison had spoken to me, I had pushed the button already. I had absolutely no clue what the answer was, so as a little drop of sweat started forming on my forehead, I waited impatiently for Allison's help. 

"Almost, stall for a few seconds while I find it."

Stalling, distracting others, that was what I was good at. But this time I really felt the pressure. If I didn't manage to stall, the other persons here would definitely know the answer. At least one of them would know for sure. I was in the finals of the intelligence competition of the Fortis pack, after all. These people were the smartest of my entire pack, and the Fortis pack was one of the biggest packs on the continent. The winner of this competition would get to go to the Sapientiae pack to meet the actual Alpha of the Sapientiae pack, the Alpha of Intelligence, Vir. 

Of course, I didn't belong in a place such as the Sapientiae pack, but wouldn't it be super awesome to cheat myself into travelling to another pack?

Right, it would be amazing.

Now or never, Livia, I thought to myself. Now or never. 

"Well, ehm, as the autoantibodies attack the autoantigen on the basement membrane," I said very slowly, looking around while avoiding eye contact with any of the other competitors. While they were the smartest persons of this pack, all way older than me, they seemed twelve times more nervous than I, and my intelligence didn't even come close to their level. I almost laughed at all of their faces, until I remembered my mission. 

"Your answer, miss Devoe? No stalling please." 

"Of course," I said with a smile, my face calm, but in my head I was praying loudly to whoever would hear that Allison would find the answer.    

"The basement membrane is mostly present in the lungs and kidneys, therefore the disease will show with proteinuria, haematuria, and lung haemorrhages. If untreated, end-stage kidney failure will occur, which will lead to death in 80% of all cases." I finished my sentences, obviously relieved that Allison could find the answer to the question in time. 

I smiled politely at the jury and the audience as they decided if my answer was the correct one. Which it was, obviously, Google had never failed us before. It wouldn't fail us now, would it?

The examinator answered this unspoken question for me as he walked up to me with a broad smile. "Congratulations, miss Devoe, that is again the correct answer." 

From there on everything went really quick. One moment the entire audience was quiet, the next everyone stood up clapping and cheering for me. I smiled widely and shook hands with the entire jury and everyone else who wanted to congratulate me. In the following hours, I kept pretending to be extremely surprised that I had won. Which I was, to be honest. 

What intelligence competition didn't check for cheating? Not a very good one, obviously. Having someone whisper the correct answers in your ear via an electronic device truly was one of the most logical ways to cheat. Maybe that's why it worked, because it was so easy. No one thought people would try something this simple to cheat. 

Well, we did. And it freaking worked.

***

"I don't know how you did it, Livia," my mum said as soon as I got home that evening. "I'm absolutely sure you managed to cheat somehow."

I smiled innocently at her, batting my eyelashes at her. "Why would you think so?" 

Putting one hand on her hip, she tapped my nose with her other hand. "Below average grades in every subject in high school? Trouble with learning, cheating your way through your exams, suspension for fraud? I think those are reasons enough to believe you didn't do this on your own."

I sighed loudly. No matter how hard I tried, I could never seem to hide anything from her. Ever since dad died while fighting rogues eight years ago, my mum and I grew very close. Apart from Allison, she was my best friend in the world. She was my mum, my guardian, my sister and my best friend, and she knew everything about me.

So I sighed, frowning slightly.

"That doesn't mean I am not extremely proud of you, my little flower. Even with cheating, winning this competition is a huge accomplishment, and you deserve the trip to another pack."

Grinning, I stood up to hug her. "Thank you, mum. I love you."

"I love you too, my little flower, I love you too. Now tell me, exactly how was Allison in on this?"