“Notte?” Byron''s anger finally erupted. From behind his sses, his eyes shot daggers at Juniper. "The bell rang, and you weren''t in your seat. What is that if notte?"


    "What''s the matter?" Byron sneered from the lectern, looking down at her contemptuously. “You think because your professor got lucky and won the championship, you can ride his coattails and act all high and mighty?"


    At that, the students below rolled their eyes. For a respected professor, he had a nasty mouth. It was a wonder how he''d ever be "renowned."


    "Got lucky and won the championship?" Juniper was fiercely protective of her friends, especially the old professor whose snacks she''d eaten so many of. Her defenses shot up instantly. "In that case, why wasn''t it you, Professor Byron, who had the ''idental'' win?"


    The question left Byron speechless, his face flushing a deep red.


    “Late iste,” he finally snarled, his expression grim. "You get a zero for your participation grade."


    A zero for participation meant she would likely fail the course and have to retake it. And with him in charge, even retaking it would be an uphill battle. He was doing this on purpose.


    "I have no problem with losing points for beingte,” Juniper said, her expression unreadable as she pulled at the corner of her lip. "But the thing is, I wasn''tte."


    "You"


    "Let''s check the security cameras." Juniper took out her phone and began tapping the screen with azy calm. "ss starts at nine. I arrived at the ssroom door at eight fifty-nine and fifty seconds. If you hadn''t stopped me, Professor, I would have been in my seat by the fifty-eighth second. So, I ask you, is eight fifty-nine and fifty- eight seconds consideredte?"


    Byron was dumbfounded, unable to process what she''d just said.


    "Holy crap," one student whispered. "As expected of the top scorer, her logic is wless."


    "I didn''t see her check her phone at all. How does she remember the time so precisely?"


    "Down to the second... that''s insane."


    "But can she actually get the security footage?"


    “No way,” another student refuted. “If they release the footage and it proves she


    wasn''tte, Byron will be embarrassed. The university wouldn''t allow that."


    Byron hadn''t expected the girl to be so sharp-witted and quick on her feet. He knew he had, in fact, wrongly used her, but admitting it would be a huge blowto his ride. Besides she''d never get her bands on the footage...


    "Here''s the footage," Juniper announced suddenly, turning her phone screen towards Byron.


    Disyed on the screen was the live feed from the hallway camera. In the video, Juniper could be seen jogging toward the ssroom arriving at the door at precisely o:59:50 Then, Byron appeared, blocking her path.


    "She really wasn''tte," the students craned their necks to see the screen, confirming it with their own eyes.


    "Where did you get that footage?” Byron demanded through clenched teeth, his hands balled into fists.


    "That''s not your concern. Just tell


    me, was fate or not?" Juniper gave her phone a little shake, her expression t. "If I wasn''t, maye in pow? It''s ss time, and I''d rather not waste everyone''s day."


    Byron looked from Juniper to the students watching him. Finally, he swallowed his pride and gestured for her to enter.


    But his resentment toward her had only deepened. First the old one, now the young one was causing him trouble. Fine. He had plenty of time. He''d see who came out on top against a mere girl!