"Him?" Juniper leaned back, her tone dripping with the casual confidence of someone who feared nothing. "He''s a loser I''ve already beaten. Hardly worth mentioning. If he dared to stand in front of me now, I''d destroy him."


    "Good." Her words were enough to ease Shanley''s immediate fears. "If you need me, just say the word. I''d go through hell and high water for you."


    His earnest promise made Juniper''s heart skip a beat. Her eyes crinkled with pleasure as she leaned slowly toward him.


    The distance between them shrank until Shanley could smell the faint, clean scent of her shampoo and feel the warmth of her breath on his skin.


    What was she doing? He pressed his lips together, his hands clenching into fists. His brain screamed at him to pull away, but his body betrayed him, inching forward ever so slightly. Her face was so beautiful. Her lips... looked so soft. What kind of lip balm was she wearing? It smelled like strawberries.


    Just as Shanley''s internal battle between reason and desire reached its peak, Juniper stopped, a mere millimeter from his lips. A yful smile touched her eyes as she whispered, "Then thank you in advance, Mr. Schwartz. I won''t be shy about asking."


    With that, she pulled back just as quickly as she''d leaned in and went back to her game.


    Shanley froze, a mixture of colors shing across his face. Fine. He had clearly been overthinking things. For a moment there, he''d actually thought she was going to... kiss him.


    Less than a week remained before the university entrance exams. The seniors were all frantically cramming, so stressed they could barely sleep. The principal, Salma, couldn''t bear to watch it anymore and asked Juniper if she could hold a review session to help calm everyone''s nerves.


    "Fine," Juniper agreed. Salma''s request, coupled with the giant fruit basket she''d brought as a bribe, made it hard to refuse.


    Given the size of the senior ss, Salma gathered all the students in therge, multi-hundred-seat auditorium. Juniper sat at the podium on stage, with Salma beside her, asionally pouring her water or handing her a book. The rest of the teachers and students sat below, a sea of anxious faces, pens poised over notebooks, looking up at her like hungry baby birds.


    "From today until the day before the exam," Juniper began, her voice low but clear "we''ll cover one subject a day I''ll go over the key points pay attention."


    "Yes!" the entire auditorium responded in unison, the sound echoing like a military drill.


    "Let''s begin." Juniper opened a textbook and started her lecture. Halfway through, there was a knock on the door.


    "Excuse me," said Jolene, clutching her backpack and looking flustered as she stood in the doorway,te.


    Get


    Juniper nced at her. Right. The girl who was always picking fights with her the one who had used her of cheating. She remembered now.


    "Hurry up and find a seat," a teacher said disapprovingly. "The exam is just around


    the corner. What''s with the tardiness?"


    "Yes, ma''am." Jolene looked up, her eyes meeting Juniper''s knowing gaze.


    "Who does she think she is?" Jolene


    thought bitterly. "Acting all high and


    mighty She clenched her fists and


    walked stiffly to an empty seat,


    refusing to give Juniper so much as


    nce


    "What is wrong with her?" Queenie muttered in disgust. "She''s the one getting free tutoring, and she still has the nerve to pull a face."


    "No ss at all," Dolce added. "But Juniper won''t stoop to her level. She''s not worth the trouble."


    "Ungrateful leech," Qadir snorted, clenching his jaw. "She''d better stay in line, or I''ll deal with her myself."


    After sitting down, Jolene opened her phone. A single text message was disyed on the screen.