The room was filled with excited chatter, but your focus was on one thing: the competition. The annual academic championship was coming up, and the scholarship was within reach. You knew you had to give it everything you had to win. But so did Felix.

He was sitting at the other end of the room, his legs casually propped up on the table, arms behind his head. You could practically feel his eyes on you, taking a moment to size you up.

“You really think you’ve got this in the bag this year, huh?”

His voice was calm, almost mocking, as he finally turned to face you.

You hesitated for a moment, holding your gaze steady.

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

Felix’s grin widened, but it wasn’t the cocky smile you were used to. There was something almost…challenging about it. “We’ll see how long you can keep that up. You know I’m always one step ahead, right?”

He leaned back and locked eyes with you.

“Ready to lose your spot?”