Summer didn’t just withhold Aiden’s phone. She actually took a step back, defiance etched on her face. “Give me back my study notes, or you can kiss your phone goodbye.”
Aiden stared at her<b>, </b>his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief. “Study notes? I’m an eighth–grader. Why on earth would I want your notes? Are you kidding me?”
With a scoff, Summer shot back, “y dumb all you want, Aiden. Who else would swipe mypetition prep if not you? Remember how you suddenly turned all saintly at the Education Association and offered to walk me out? Was it then that you hatched this little plot?”
“usations without evidence? That’s low, even <b>for </b>you,” Aiden sneered, clearly irritated. “I told you, I didn’t take anything. And since you’re so high and mighty, why would you even need those notes?” He added impatiently, “Now give me back my phone.”
As he advanced to reim his device, Summer, livid, hurled the phone towards the doorway with all her might. It shattered into pieces upon impact.
Aiden’s face went ashen<b>, </b>his fists clenched in a brief moment of rage, but he managed to rein in the urge to strike back. With a venomous tone, he spat out a single word, “Scram.”
Summer’s confidence faltered under Aiden’s intimidating re. She bit her lip and demanded onest time, “Where are my notes?!”
He watched her coldly, then unexpectedly, his lips curled into a mocking smile. “You want to know where your precious notes are? Apologize to <b>me</b>, and admit you were nning to cheat in thepetition.”
At his words, Summer huffed, “I knew it was you.”
Shrugging nonchntly, Aiden’s rebellious smirk returned.
Taking a deep breath, Summer faced him, her pride unshaken as she dered, “You just want to see me humiliated, don’t you? Well, I’ll never give you the satisfaction!”
With that, she strode toward the door. Pausing at the door, she tossed a scornful look over her shoulder. “Even without my notes, I’ll excel.”
“We’ll see about that,” Aiden retorted dryly. His gaze then fell on the remnants of his phone, and his expression soured once more.
“Women,” he thought bitterly, “are truly an infuriating species.”
The next day, thepetition was still set at the local Education Center.
Shawn and Delh took a break from sprucing up their new vi<b>, </b>and decided to apany their daughter, just like they had for the previous round.
Before leaving, Delh opened the storage cab to grab some things and noticed an
13-25
unopened package. Curiously, she picked it up. “Oh, honey, there’s a package here for you,” Delh called out to Mirabe<i>, </i>who had just finished putting on her shoes at the entrance.
Mirabe nced up. Her memory Jogged. She remembered Man had picked it up for her a couple of days ago, but it had slipped her mind. “It’s probably from a friend,” Mirabe replied nonchntly.
“Alright then,” Delh said, cing the package back in the cab before taking her own belongings and heading for the door.
Half an hourter, the family arrived at the Education Center. This round was more intense than thest city–level preliminaries, and the crowd of students and parents at the entrance was noticeably thinner.
After watching Mirabe enter the examination hall, Delh and Shawn nned to wait at a nearby café. However, they’d barely taken a few steps when someone blocked their path.