The next day, I passed in front of Elena and Alieth. I had no choice; it was the only way to my locker. An unpleasant scene, of course. No one wanted to see their tongues go down their throats. Not me, especially. They had been in an open relationship for at least one year, and I would not complain. They were meant for each other: insufferable, horrible people go better together than not. But I still didn't want to see them kissing their souls out. I shook my head repeatedly and stopped thinking about them once I had everything I needed from my locker.

Elena and I were never very close. We were too different to be friends. She was docile, and I was too stubborn. She was perfect at convincing others she was the best person ever. And I didn't worry about what others thought of me. She was the perfect, outgoing girl for small talk, and I couldn't stand hypocrites with sweetened caramel smiles. And yet, despite all our differences, I believed that the friendship that united us would remain, but I was wrong. She lied with her respectable performance skills, and I was the object of her act.

The first subject on my schedule turned out to be gymnastics. I didn't care. I wasn't the best at sports, but I managed to keep getting straight A's. We were warming up and the team coach made us do five walking laps, ten jogging laps, and one at maximum speed. It was normal to us. Elena would compete with me in the sprint race, and I was aware of her speed. Still, the memories she had awakened that morning would be enough fuel to beat her. Sometimes, I could ignore what she did to me. Not now, though. Not when Alieth insisted so much on bothering me, and all the Insufferables seemed to be everywhere near me. Suffocating me.

"On your marks, set... Out."

I tried to maintain enough strength to give my maximum in the last section. She imitated me. We were even. Neither wanted to risk increasing speed more than necessary in a clear declaration of war.

"Nice book, honey," she gasped, but I ignored her. She was just trying to distract me, and I had to win the race, or I would have a lower score. I crossed the finish line just three-quarters of a second before her. "You know, we made a bet to see if you would give him a book or not before the game of tomorrow. I lost. It seems I don't know you that well anymore."

"We stopped talking years ago. It's normal." I stretched out my limbs without looking at her or showing the anger that bubbled up inside me. She kept daring to tell me things with the only purpose of making me angry. And I wanted to say that it didn't affect me anymore, but I wouldn't have been honest for 2%.

And that's why he was desperate to get one of my books. A stupid bet. The worst part is that he kept surprising me after what had happened. It didn't matter how many times he made something I knew was wrong... In the end, each of those times, I would end with a slight feeling of disappointment in the center of my being.

"You stopped talking to me," she complained mockingly.

"Because you lied to me." I finished my stretching and left. "I think we're even."

After checking that the coach had marked the grade correctly, I went to the girls' dressing room to change. And, for heaven's sake, of course, I had to run into the person I could have strangled just because disappointment is almost always easier to control with anger.

"Lend me a book."

I kept going, and he imitated me when I didn't answer anything. He had already gotten what he wanted. I was not going to lend myself to another ridiculous bet. I had enough with him in five of my classes and detention. He couldn't show up everywhere like we were the best friends in the world when we couldn't stand each other.

He grabbed my hand just before I could enter the dressing room.

"Don't touch me, " I said, using a fairly normal tone of voice and trying to wriggle out of his grip. As long as things were done calmly, nothing would happen.

"Oh, so I'm not a ghost," he replied wryly. "I almost believed it, I swear."

I pursed my lips in disgust. I met his eyes and looked at him so intently that if it had been anyone else but Alieth Harris, he would have run away in shock.

"No, you're not a ghost, honey," I remarked dismissively. "Tell me, did you make a lot of money?"

"What are you talking about?" He looked genuinely confused, but he wasn't fooling me. He and Elena were meant for each other. I was ok as long as they didn't put me in between whatever they were doing.

"I don't know, Harris. What do you think?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

I looked up into those smoky gray eyes and carefully approached him. I put my free hand on his shoulder and then looked down at his hand holding mine. He didn't move. It even seemed to me that he unconsciously stopped breathing for seconds. And to be honest, the scene could have been easy to misunderstand.

My goal was the simplest.

I hit his foot with all the force I could muster with mine, and in less than a second, I was inside the dressing room. A relatively safe place since Alieth, as far as I knew, still had some sense of chivalry and wouldn't burst in there for a foolish thing like that. I could hear his whining of pain, and it still did not give me any satisfaction. I decided not to think about it too much and changed quickly to get to my next class as early as possible, which, by miracle, I didn't share with any of the Insufferables.

A bit of peace and quietness had become a luxury that I could barely taste.

William saved me a seat in the chemistry lab as he always did. I thanked him with my eyes as I took a seat, and the teacher began with her class.

"Tired day?"

I decided to omit that I made small talk with two of the Insufferables. I peeked into the classroom. By now, many of them must have been pointing a finger at me, or talking about me. However, I didn't notice any signs that this could be happening. Nothing. I guessed that luck had not entirely abandoned me.

"Athletics in the early hours."

"I wouldn't want to be you," he teased, as he usually would. "How do you bear so many courses? I would go crazy."

"I like to be busy," I shrugged. "I feel useless when I have free time."

"Siena, you shouldn't be burdened with so much work..." he began with that usual sermon between us. I took his hand, always cool, and gave it a gentle squeeze. He stopped speaking in an instant.

"Don't worry, I'm fine, Will. Let's finish with this as soon as we can. Four chemical reactions, if I'm not wrong."

"Actually..."

Will didn't continue because the principal's voice began to resound throughout the lab. I looked at the speaker with some discomfort while I listened to it.

"Miss Siena Grant, come to the principal's office. I repeat. Miss Siena Grant, come to the principal's office."

Period. Total silence.

And everyone started gossiping. Goodbye, last trace of luck. I got up slowly, trying to ignore how everyone observed me. Will looked at me in confusion from his seat, and I couldn't help but share it. At times, I wasn't really sure if I liked being such an honest and correct person, but I was aware enough that it benefited me. People trusted me because I was transparent. They knew it would not fail them. And they were correct.

Never in my life had I been called to the principal, and it felt like a walk of shame. They were all looking at me and pointing at me now. However, lowering my chin would do me no good. First, because I wasn't guilty of anything they could have discovered. And second, because my parents didn't raise me that way.

I sighed as I pushed open the door to his office. He had his back to me, sitting in his navy blue office chair. I took a deep breath.

"Good morning, Principal Jones," I greeted. "Have you requested my presence?"

The director, or supposed director, turned around and looked at me with a devilish grin.

Holy heaven, this is not happening.

"I really don't have time for this," I mumbled and opened the door again to leave. The problem was that he managed to catch me before completing the action. I took another deep breath: a mistake. His uniform jacket was impregnated with a cologne... I thought it was a mixture of rosemary, smoked wood, and something else. I closed my eyes and tried to center myself. 

I didn't like him bothering me. I liked it even less when he was this close to me.

How had he imitated the principal's voice so well? And where was the real one?

"Voice effects, Declan's work is perfect. And to satisfy your curiosity, Christopher has him busy. We only have a few minutes before he realizes it."

Of course.

I would have liked a group of sidekicks to grant me all kinds of whims, but I worked well alone. The few times I'd tried to work with someone else, I'd been disappointed. Everyone is different, right? I was not made to be with more people. Individualism above all.

"And that's why I'm leaving," I replied. "I'd give you an A for the joke."

I tried to turn around to face him and stop perceiving his scent.

"And I would let you if it weren't for the stomp this morning," he argued in a serious voice. All traces of mockery or amusement were gone. I guess I should have expected something like that. Alieth was used to getting what he wanted, but I wasn't far behind.

"You deserved it," I lifted my chin proudly. I still hadn't forgotten that he had bet on me. With Elena to top it off. "Now, keep your promise and leave me alone."

"I never promised you anything, Jane," he remembered tensely. I got even more defensive. "Also, I told you to lend me the book, not to give it to me."

"What's the point of this?"

I raised one of my eyebrows, totally misplaced. This was losing all meaning.

"I wanted to give it back to you," he rolled his eyes. "Isn't that the point of lending something, getting it back?"

A mocking snort left my lips without my being able to catch it. That was... Childish. I looked at him again, expecting him to say it was a joke, but he stayed that way. Head cocked, hands holding me back, lips gently pressed together.

"Then do it and stop trying my blessed patience, Harris. I seriously can't stand your little game."

"I cannot return a gift. It's rude."

"It is impolite to set me up in such a vile trap like this," I replied as fast as him.

"It's vile that you ignore me for no reason."

"And it is illogical for you to continue bothering me."

"Lend me your book," he asked quietly, and a gasp escaped me at how close our faces were.

"You don't want another stomp or worse," I mumbled, wishing my hormones could disappear right then and there. He was cruel and vile, and narcissistic, but my body wouldn't let me ignore how attractive he was.

"I bet you won't," he challenged, caressing my cheek with electrifying softness.

And I would have. I would have dared to do something that I would surely regret. I dared because I didn't like backing down, but I knew it wasn't sensible. I had to choose the battles I fought well because that was what it was about with Alieth. This battle was one I would lose if I continued. So I set my jaw and slipped into a gap he'd inadvertently left between us. I looked out the window and seriously considered jumping out of it. Alieth was still blocking the only decent escape route, after all.

He put his hands on his hips and looked me over from head to toe as if I were the most difficult problem he'd ever been given to solve.

"Can I go now?" I asked reluctantly.

"You know the answer." He looked at me like I was talking nonsense.

"What do you want from me?" I asked a second time. I wouldn't get tired of asking the question until I got a satisfactory answer.

"Stop being so annoyingly perfect. Don't you ever make mistakes?"

Oh, for heaven's sake. Was that why he was so intent on making me lose my temper?

"You, Alieth, have no right to test me. Just because some people adore you, it doesn't mean you have the power to do whatever you want every fucking second."

He was about to answer. Something hurtful, for sure, because his cheeks had turned red with anger just like mine. However, his cell phone, opportunely, vibrated with a notification above the principal's desk and he went over to see it.

"We have to get out of here, Jones is less than a minute away." He insulted Declan under his breath for not telling him sooner and grabbed my hand before opening the door and running out like the devil himself was after us. We hid behind a column when we saw Jones go by and immediately stopped to breathe.

"I thought you had complete immunity from the principal," I scoffed because he didn't and he never did. If it had been otherwise, he would have faced the director with one of his manufactured smiles for each situation and would have filled his head with stories until the director was convinced that Alieth had done nothing wrong. I would not waste the opportunity to irritate him as much as he did with me.

"Don't be ridiculous. I thought you'd know better than to believe all the gossip."

"Oh, forgive me for being human. Happy? I've made a mistake."

I smirked. There was something refreshing about the fact that I also had the power to annoy him, even if it was once in a while.

"You did it on purpose," he frowned. "It doesn't count."

"There's no remedy with you," I sighed, shaking my head.

"Lend me your book."

I heard a slight smile at his words. The intonation of his voice, the light caress of the whisper.

I gave him the middle finger as I walked away.

***

Second round. I brought Sawyer his favorite coffee with whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg. Sometimes, trivial conversations were useful, I couldn't deny it, as suffocating as they were.

That aside, I was hoping this might be a good incentive for him to reconsider the grade from the oral lesson the day before if I wasn't going to get exonerated from detention.

I arrived when everyone was already taking their places, but detention time had not yet begun. I went up to the desk where Sawyer was signing some papers, ignoring Alieth's mocking eyes resting on me and his habit of passing a pen through his fingers to annoy others. I still didn't understand what he was still doing there. He, more than anyone, could have escaped punishment because of his influence in the institute.

"Grant, I thought you wouldn't make it," Sawyer commented without looking up. "I don't like the idea of ​​extending the punishment because you were late."

"Well, Mr. Sawyer, I was dying for a coffee, and I thought you might want one." I smiled sweetly when he decided to look at me this time and then at the glass of freshly brewed coffee. The eagerness in his eyes announced my success.

"I don't know what you hope to gain from this," he took the glass, eyeing me warily as if my innocent face was fake. "But I think you know that once I've made up my mind, there's no way I can change my decisions."

I tried not to show any sign of satisfaction. It was enough for me Sawyer had accepted the peace offering.

"You know that grade does not benefit me. I only want an opportunity. I will not fail you."

Sawyer was watching me closely, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms. Just the fact that he considered my request was a victory. I only needed him to agree.

"Fine," he relented, and I felt the triumphant smile slide across my lips until it was impossible to hide. That had been easier than I'd expected. "You and Harris have until detention is over to present me with the best presentation of your lives. Include statistics, comparative tables, conclusions, and feasible recommendations for the drug problem. I want a job at your level."

I blinked once, twice, and three times, frozen in place. A presentation? With Harris? Didn't he understand that together the only thing we caused were problems?

"Take it or leave it ?" My history teacher asked.

"You don't have to ask," I answered, my tone of voice was controlled because, in my heart, the only thing that fit was the tantrums typical of a six-year-old girl. I turned around to take my place and drank my coffee in one gulp to regain my composure.

Well, of course, I took it. Anything was better than an F in my file. Even if it meant teaming up with the worst of mates.

I looked at Alieth, and it didn't take me more than two seconds to know that he would do everything possible to make me fail. Fortunately, I had an idea of ​​how to tame the beast.

"But what do we have here?" He said as he moved his chair closer to mine, exactly as he had done the day before. "You just made a horrible deal."

"Shut up and read with me," I took out the copy of The hating game of my sister, and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. I wanted to laugh. I even think a little mocking sound escaped my throat. He listened to me. The small, methodical, and orderly Sienas in my head made a party. Another small victory.

There was no need to throw the truth in my face. The deal was one of the worst I'd ever made, but Alieth didn't have to care about it. I didn't have enough time to do the flawless presentation Sawyer wanted. And I knew that Alieth was aware of this, but there was a possibility that my plans could turn out as I wanted. I was hoping it would work after what just happened.

"Someone is in a bad mood, I wonder why," he sneered after a while, making his breath hit my neck deliberately. I breathed a tad harder than before.

"I suggest you stop fooling around and listen to me. I promise you it will be worth it."

"What will I gain by helping you with that presentation?" He now asked curiously, putting aside his annoying facet. I ignored him. Instead, I just opened the book to the page we'd left off on.

He, for the second time, obeyed. He did not insist on keep talking.

I had the upper hand.

Let the game begin.