Life returned to its normal rhythm. Juniper found herself counting the days, wishing the final exams would just hurry up and arrive so she could finally get to college and officially start cking off.


    One day, she walked into her ssroom, yawning, to find her ssmates huddled together, buzzing with excitement.


    "I heard Era High invited Wilder to perform at the school to cheer on the students!"


    Wilder was a hot new rising star-handsome, a great singer, and a talented actor. He was the dream husband of countless young girls.


    "Wilder? It must have cost a fortune to get him."


    "Apparently, Yelena''s family pulled some strings to make it happen.”


    The news made all the other schools in the area green with envy.


    "I wonder if our school will even have a year-end party," one girl sighed, wiping a bit


    of drool from the corner of her mouth. “It would be amazing if we could get Jimmie Tate."


    Herment was met with stunned silence. Everyone turned to stare at her.


    "Are you okay?"


    "Get a grip!"


    "We''re talking about the superstar actor, Jimmie Tate!"


    Wilder wasn''t even worthy of carrying his shoes. Aurora High could barely afford to hire a street performer, let alone Jimmie. That wasn''t just a dream; it was a full- blown fantasy.


    "If Mr. Tate shows up, I''ll chop my own head off!"


    "If Mr. Tatees, I swear I''ll study until I drop. As long as it doesn''t kill me, I''ll study myself to death."


    "We''re just one street over, but I can already imagine how ecstatic the Era High students are going to be."


    "Era is going to be so smug about this."


    "Sigh, at the end of the day, there''s just a huge gap between our school and the others."


    The entire ss slumped over their desks, sighing in collective despair.


    "Is Jimmie really that big of a deal?" Juniper asked, leaning against the wall with her


    long legs casually crossed, a mango-vored lollipop in her mouth.


    "Of course!" Queenie nodded vigorously, her homework


    "I can," Juniper said honestly, blinking. If he weren''t her brother, she probably wouldn''t even be able to remember what he looked like.


    "Well, of course," Queenie whispered, leaning closer with a mischievous grin. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Compared to Mr. Schwartz, I guess Mr. Tate does fall a little short."


    "Tsk," Juniper clicked her tongue, nonchntly. "I guess. He''s just a bit taller than Jimmie, a bit leaner... and has better stamina."


    "Stamina?" Queenie froze, her cheeks instantly turning beet red. "Y-you even know about his stamina?" she stammered.


    "Yeah,” Juniper admitted breezily, her voice light andzy. “Shanley has amazing stamina. He works until three in the morning every night."


    "Ah-!" Queenie squealed, covering her flushed face. Her mind was racing, and the way she looked at Juniperpletely changed. They''d only been together for a short While, but they were already moving that fast And Juniper was stikso young, a delicate girl. Three in the morning... Oh my god. Wasn''t Mr. Schwartz being a little too aggressive?


    "What''s wrong?" Juniper asked, raising an eyebrow at Queenie''s shocked expression. She slowly. moved her lips. “You guys have so much homework. You don''t stay up until three doing it?"


    “What?” Queenie realized her misunderstanding, and her face grew even redder. "You''re talking about... homework?"