Chapter 57
Uh huh Mirabella replied nonchalantly, making it eat the had erased to wonder who had signed her up for the
Jenna Bimbed, skeptical. She didn’t doubt Murales had gotten into Parkside High School on her own merits, but she wasn’t quite convinced her friend was top of the class material
The tst of students participating in the BrainSpark Tationals was a wher’s who of academic titans, the too ten from each made Mabella’s name on that list was likes landstils in the midst of a pristine forest, no thatter how shiny her Bades, were they would be eclipsed by the brillanes of these scholarly gards.
Unless, of comise, she could snag a state ranking.
“Are you up for this, Queen Mira? This competition is no joke, and you know how many people are just waiting to make you the butt of their jokes, Huh?” Jenna tried to talk her out of it. It was, after all, better to bow out now than to face the humiliation of flunking the prelims
Perhaps tired of Jenna’s nagging, Mirabella opened her eyes, propped herself up on the edge of the desk with a hand. and leaned in augressively. Her eyes, dark and sparkling with a mischievous glint, met Jenna’s. Her voice was husky. “Don’t ask if someone’s up for it. Just don’t.”
Jenna, faced with Mirabella’s alluring daze at such close quarters, felt her heart racing uncontrollably. The laid–back, almost wicked charm in that usually androgynous voice was unfairly seductive.
“Holy smokes,” she thought, “my heart’s about to burst out of my chest.”
Under Mirabella’s intense gaze, Jenna embarrassingly covered her face with her hands, and then slumped back into her seat. “Oh my gosh, Queen Mira, don’t look at me with those beguiling eyes again. I’m afraid I will fall in love with you!”
With a light chuckle, Mirabella found reprieve from Jenna’s chatter and sprawled out on the desk once more, even going so far as to cover her head with her chemistry textbook.
Jenna was flabbergasted, “You’re gonna scare off all your friends like that, Queen Mira!”
Elsewhere.
“Summer,
- can you belleve how delusional Mirabella is?” Madeline gossiped excitedly to Summer, who was quietly working on homework.
Summer paused, with a pen in the hand, and finally set it down to look at Madeline with curious eyes. “Hmm?
“She actually signed up for the BrainSpark Nationals. Madeline said. Her voice was filled with thrill and mockery. “I don’t know where she gets her confidence from. Everyone’s laughing at her.”
Summer’s delicate eyebrows raised slightly. She tilted her head and said calmly. “It’s an open competition. What’s there to laugh about?”
Madeline scoffed lightly. “Oh, you haven’t heard? The rumor is she got into Parkside High School through the back door. With her barely passing grades, It’s hilarious that she’d even consider competing.”
After a brief silence, Summer looked up again, with a probing tone in her voice. “Madeline, you didn’t start the rumor about Mirabella’s getting into Parkside High School through the back door, did you?”
Madeline’s eyes flickered guiltily, but she replied firmly. “Of course not. I would never say that.”
Summer smiled softly. “Good to hear. Mirabella is my friend, after all. Even if she’s not the best student, I don’t want people talking or laughing about her.”
Madeline’s eyes betrayed a sense of “I knew it,” and she quickly added, “You’re also in the competition, Summer. Make sure you do well and aim for a state ranking!”
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