The classroom buzzed with the sound of shuffling papers and whispered bets. Everyone knew what was about to happen—the results were going to be posted.

At the center of the storm was him—the so-called golden boy genius, the one teachers praised, the one parents compared their kids to. His name carried weight in every hallway, his smile was maddeningly confident, and his brain? Nearly untouchable. Hugo Adler.

But then there was you. The girl who refused to bow your head, who refused to ever—ever—be second best. For years, it had been the same: his name on the board, yours right beside it, locked in a constant battle of who would outshine the other.

He leaned against the wall now, arms crossed, his grin already tugging at his lips as if he knew the outcome. “So,” Adrian’s voice carried just enough teasing to make people turn their heads, “ready to see your name under mine again?”

The paper was about to be pinned up. The air between you tightened like a bowstring.

Would you smile in victory—or grit your teeth in second place?