Chapter 116
The exam proctor strode into the room, delivering the test papers with an efficiency that spoke of years of experience.
It was English Literature in the morning. Mirabella stared at her paper with a sense of dread. Of all the subjects, English was her least favorite. The sight of those densely packed words always dragged her back to her childhood, to the days when the old sticklers of her family tormented her. Those dusty tomes of Shakespeare and Chaucer were the stuff of her childhood nightmares.
Ever since she arrived in this new body, she’d had an innate aversion to English, leading to an unsurprising neglect of the subject.
With a silent sigh and resistance coursing through her veins, Mirabella picked up her pen and began to write at a snail’s pace. When it was time to hand in her paper, it looked complete, but as for accuracy… that was anyone’s guess.
The afternoon brought Mathematics, which was much more Mirabella’s speed. Effortless and straightforward, it hardly required a thought. Having learned her lesson from a previous deduction for answering beyond the syllabus, she was careful not to repeat the mistake.
Post–exam, everyone in class was flipping through textbooks, trying to estimate their scores.
“Queen Mira, don’t you think today’s math test was brutal?” Jenna asked, her face downcast after calculating she’d barely scraped through. But as soon as she’d posed the question, she regretted it. After all, she was speaking to the national competition’s reigning champ–wasn’t this just asking for trouble?
Mirabella cocked her head, letting out a rare, long sigh, “I found English to be the real difficult
↑ beast.”
Jenna was floored. “Am I hallucinating? Did I just hear you use the word ‘difficult?“” Not just the use of the word ‘difficult,‘ but with an emphasis.
“I may be top–notch, but that doesn’t mean I’m omnipotent,” Mirabella replied with a playful flutter of her eyelashes, her tone infuriatingly nonchalant.
Jenna clutched her chest, feeling the sting of another ego blow. “Isn’t English the easiest, though?” Jenna quickly steered the conversation back to safer waters.
Mirabella shook her head, her frustration evident. “For me, it’s the toughest.”
Sensing her sincere distress, Jenna realized she’d stumbled upon a bombshell. “So, what do you think you scored in English?”
“I finished all the questions, but whether I pass will be a matter of luck,” Mirabella mused, resting her chin on her hand, the image of despondency. She missed the simplicity of the BrainSpark Nationals–it was so straightforward compared to the hair–pulling complexity of English.
12:19
Chapter 116
Jenna’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, “Queen Mira, don’t tell me you’ve got a weak subject!”
Mirabella gave her a sidelong glance. “Doesn’t every normal student have at least one?”
“That’s true, but since when are you a normal student?” Jenna’s question was a piercing one. With two national competition victories under her belt, Mirabella was anything but average.
Yawning, Mirabella pulled her English textbook from her desk. “I know you’re just jealous of my brilliance.”
Jenna’s smile twitched, her eyes rolling as she suddenly flashed a mischievous grin, her voice laced with schadenfreude. “Imagine if you fail English, what will happen to your ranking this month… Oh, the horror!”
Mirabella raised an eyebrow. “Jenna, you seem to be taking far too much pleasure in this.”
Jenna cleared her throat, quickly masking her glee with a serious façade. “Not at all. I’m just eager to get the exams over with and see the results.”
Mirabella chuckled lightly, a knowing glint in her eyes.
“Hey, wanna hit the mall after school?” Jenna touched her nose, swiftly changing the subject.
Mirabella shook her head, declining softly, “No, I’ve got some personal matters to attend to.”
2
Jenna didn’t press further and settled back into her seat.
