Chapter 311
The buzz of anticipation filled the staff room at Parkside High School. Every teacher leaned in, hanging on Mr. Hammond’s next words.
Clearing his throat, Mr. Hammond decided to cut to the chase, “Folks, two of our students from Parkside High have made it to the finals.” He paused, letting the suspense thicken before dropping the bombshell, “And topping the preliminary round with the only perfect score is our very own Mirabella.”
The declaration sent a wave of excitement through the room. The International Competition was no ordinary exam. It was a beast of its own. Mirabella wasn’t just talented; she was a phenomenon.
Sitting among her colleagues, Annette felt her eyes well up with pride. When Mirabella had first joined her Advanced Class, she worried the girl might struggle to keep up. But Mirabella had proven her wrong, time and again, shattering expectations.
While Annette was visibly moved, Morgan, sitting beside her, kept his gaze down, his right hand trembling slightly on the desktop. First place in the national round, now a top finish in the international preliminaries, and likely the same in the
finals–bitterness tinged Morgan’s thoughts. If only he hadn’t let his prejudices cloud his judgment.
Elsewhere, in a différent kind of silence, a plush villa basked in the evening light.
“Mirabella’s preliminary scores are in,” announced Curtis, balancing a laptop on his knee. Its screen displayed the official results of the international contest.
Wyatt leaned in eagerly, “How’d she do?”
“First place,” Curtis replied, lips tightening, “with a perfect score.”
Wyatt’s face went slack with awe. “Man, I used to think I could match her grades.”
Curtis shot him a disdainful look. “In your dreams.”
“Right… some people are just on a different level,” Wyatt murmured.
Closing the laptop, Curtis shelved the topic as James descended the staircase. Wyatt and Curtis straightened up as he approached. Wyatt cleared his throat and spoke up, “Sir, Mirabella aced it again–a perfect score and first place. She’s something else.”
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10:57
Chapter 311
James shot him a glance. “Don’t you have better things to do?” He slouched onto the sofa, exuding an air of nonchalance.
Wyatt shot up, “Oh, right! I’ve got that tea date with the neighbor–gotta talk real estate. Will catch you later, Sir.”
With that, he was gone.
While seizing the opportunity, Curtis stood up too, “I’ll go check on… things.”
James had been acting a bit strange lately. Every time he and Wyatt talked about Ms. Mirabella, the gaze James would shoot them was enough to send shivers down their spines. It was best to avoid him when possible.
As soon as they were gone, James fished out his phone and opened Messenger. Swiftly, he typed. [Congrats on first place.]
At her hotel, Mirabella raised an eyebrow at the message and replied. [Thanks.]
After a moment, she sent another. [How have you been feeling lately?]
Since concocting that remedy for him, she’d been swamped with competition prep, courtesy of Mr. Hammond, and hadn’t checked in on James‘ health.
Back in the villa, James‘ fingers hesitated on the screen before he typed. [Not great.]
Mirabella’s brow furrowed, [What happened?]
James shifted in his seat, his handsome features relaxed. [It’s my chest… feels kind of tight.]
