[Seed, and you''ll get 500,000 dors.]


    Jolene stared at the number, then at Juniper speaking on stage, her heart hammering against her ribs.


    Half a million dors. For her family, earning that much money would take years! With that thought, Jolene switched off her phone, her resolve hardening.


    Two days before the exam, Jolene stood on thending of a staircase she knew Juniper would have to take, her forehead slick with nervous sweat.


    The instructions were clear: make sure Juniper couldn''t get to the exam. A little physical injury would be best. A fall down the stairs was the most direct method.


    For the money, and for revenge, she had to try.


    Just then, she heard Juniper''s voiceing from the top of the stairs.


    "Your brain has actually been making some progresstely. Go home and get some rest, you''ll do fine."


    "Really?" Qadir was bouncing around Juniper like an excited monkey. "My dad said if I can get into a good university, he''ll buy me a car!"


    "Is that all you care about?" Juniper shot him an amused, exasperated look.


    To his credit, Qadir was a good kid. His family was wealthy, but he wasn''t a spoiled brat and didn''t waste money. He was alright.


    "Juniper, the exam''s the day after tomorrow," Qadir said. "We won''t see each other tomorrow since it''s a study day, so how about we grab dinner? I''ll call Queenie and Dolce. There''s this new wild mushroom and chicken fondue ce that opened on the east side. I heard it''s amazing."


    "Sure," Juniper agreed without hesitation.


    School had just let out, and the hallways were swarming with students. Juniper kept to the side of the crowded staircase, but suddenly her path was blocked.


    She looked up. It was Jolene.


    "Hey, watch where you''re going!" Qadir snapped. There was plenty of room on the stairs, so why was she deliberately trying to bump into Juniper?


    "Why don''t you move?" Jolene retorted coldly. "You don''t own the staircase. I''ll walk where I want."


    Standing two steps above her, Juniper had a perfect vantage point. She could clearly see the guilt and anxiety on Jolene''s face. This was no ident. She was intentionally trying to run into her. What was she nning?


    "You—" Qadir''s face flushed with anger, and he looked ready to start a fight.


    "Let''s go," Juniper said, stopping him with a calm, dismissive tone.


    "Fine." Qadir, ever obedient to Juniper, immediately backed down. The exam was right around the corner; he didn''t want anything to mess with his focus.


    With that, Juniper started down the stairs with Qadir, resuming their conversation about dinner.


    Seeing them about to pass, Jolene knew this was her chance. As nned, she pretended to stumble aiming her left foot to trip Juniper''s right the move would send Juniper off bnce tumbling down the entire flight of stairs. If she was


    lucky, she''d break a leg. If she was


    unlucky... she might not survive.


    The thought sent a chill down Jolene''s spine, but she pushed it away, and as no one


    was looking, she stuck out her foot.


    Just as her foot was about to make


    contact, Juniper, who had been looking straight ahead, suddenlyunched herself forward in a single fluid leap. She cleared the remaining stairs entirely,nding perfectly on the t ground below.


    "Ah!" Jolene never imagined Juniper could dodge her. Her foot met only air. In her haste, she overextended and stammed her ankle hard onto the edge of a step. Her body furched sideways, and losing her bnce, she pitched forward down the unforgiving concrete stairs.