The weekend had zipped by in a blur, and before anyone knew it, Monday rolled around with all the subtlety of a freight train.


    At the break of dawn, the school bulletin board was swamped with students eager to see the results ofst week’s exams. The monthly assessment had been notoriously tough. It was a ten on the difficulty scale. The heads–up for the tests came out of nowhere, so scores across the board had taken a nosedive.


    But that was old news. The real buzz was Mirabe from The Advanced ss. Rumors had been swirling about her dismal performance in English, of all things.


    Around the bulletin board, a crowd had gathered thick as thieves, all jostling for a peek at the rankings. But when the top name came into view, a collective gasp cut through the morning air.


    In first ce, with a whopping 692 points, was none other than Mirabe. Trailing by a hair’s breadth in second, was Vincent with 691 points. And not far behind, in third, was Peter, with 683 points.


    “Shut the front door! Who was the joker spreading rumors about Mirabe’s English gradest week? She’s scored top of the ss for crying out loud!”


    “Seriously, who’s the sour grape that spread that nonsense? Jealous much?”


    “Vincent’s been king of the hill for two years <b>running</b><b>, </b>and now he’s been dethroned by a single point? By a transfer student, no less? That’s some seriouspetition.”


    “Between you and me, I heard Mirabe’s English really was in the gutter, and she got a right earful from her teacher. We all saw it go down.“,


    “So let me get this straight… she can bomb English and stille out on top? Does that mean she aced everything else?”


    “Suddenly, it makes sense why the school put Mirabe in thest exam room. They knew she was special.”


    “I wonder if all those folks who said she got in by pulling strings or cheated in thepetitions feel like eating crow right about now.”


    …


    Amidst the chatter, Summer stood rooted to the spot, her gaze frozen on the bulletin board. The chill in her eyes could’ve frosted over the Sahara. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides. Again, it was Mirabe! Why did everything have to change the moment she came back?


    “Summer, you okay?” Madeline asked, catching a glimpse of Summer’s dark expression after checking her own scores.


    Snapping back to reality, Summer’s eyes softened as she turned to Madeline, feigning nonchnce. “How’d you do on the test?”


    Madeline hesitated, convinced she’d just seen a glimpse of something unnerving in Summer’s eyes. “Oh, it was brutal. I only got 615. Dropped out of the top fifty. I’m freaking out about getting kicked out of Prodigy ss.”


    Summer offered a half–heartedfort. “That won’t happen.”


    “Fingers crossed!” Madeline nced at the name at the top of the list again, wisely choosing not to mention Mirabe in front of Summer. “You’re still doing great, though. You scored 670, That’s nearly twenty points up fromst semester.”


    Madeline was at a loss for words. She had been ready to see Mirabe fall t, expecting to relish in her downfall. But the tables had turned.


    Summer’s lips twisted in a fleeting sneer. What did it matter if she’d improved <i>by </i>twenty points? Inparison to Mirabe, it was like she hadn’t moved an inch.