Ivy Blake

I pick at the nail polish on my thumb, only little bits of it left to chip away. Perhaps once I get home I can apply a new coat— a blue colour this time. Mother isn't really a fan of the yellow.

My stomach churns in this soundless classroom, and I very much regret not eating breakfast this morning. I was too busy worrying about the result of my chemistry test.

I don't think anyone else in this class cares about it, if I'm honest. They seem so...calm, and I'm not sure how that's possible.

Actually, maybe he isn't that calm. I watch as Aaron watches the teacher, his eyes glued to the stack of papers on Ms. Pierce's desk.

"Nervous?" he asks, his hand supporting his head as he looks at me with a smug look.

"Not at all," I lie. "You should be, though."

"Yeah, we'll see about that, Blake," he snickers. Each day my patience gets tested more, and more.

Ms. Pierce clears her throat, and my annoyance turns into nerves all over again. Please, tell me I did better than him.

"Aaron got the highest grade," she says. My heart drops. It seems like all those hours were for nothing.

"What happened?" he asks. "I thought I should be worried. Turns out you should be."

Don't get mad. Don't get mad. Don't get mad. Our tests get handed back to us, and I see a 93% circled in large red letters, a 95% circled on Aaron's page.

Great. A stupid two percent difference is going to have him antagonizing me for weeks.

"I did better on the last test, so this doesn't matter." I put on a confident smile as I speak, but he sees right through it.

"Yeah? You definitely won't be studying all night for the next test then," he says in a snarky tone.

"I won't, but I bet-" Just as I'm about to respond, the bell rings, and having had enough of him for one day, I walk toward the door instead.

"You know, if you ever need a tutor..." he starts, and I stick up my middle finger as I leave the classroom.

I can tell that she's anxious, chipping her nails, and staring at her table for far too long to be comfortable.

"Aaron got the highest grade," Ms. Pierce says to the class.

I watch Ivy scowl at my success, but when she looks at me, she tries to hide it.That just makes this all the more amusing.

"What happened?" I antagonize. "I thought I should be worried. Turns out you should be."

I smile as I watch her brows narrow in frustration. She makes this too easy.

"I did better on the last test, so this doesn't matter."Oh, but I know it does matter. To her it definitely does. Ivy Blake's the only person I know that might be more competitive than I am, and that's a huge feat.

"Yeah? You definitely won't be studying all night for the next test then," I tease her, and before she can respond, the bell rings.

As Ivy reaches the classroom door, I have to say one final thing. "You know, if you ever need a tutor..." And I can't help but laugh when she flips me off.