She had always wanted to sit in front of Zayden, but due to Sarah, she had never dared ask. Now that Elena had offered, she couldn’t be happier.
The rest of the class looked puzzled.
Everyone knew that Elena had always liked Zayden.
Why was she suddenly switching seats?
Zayden listened to Elena’s nonsense and couldn’t help but laugh in anger.
He had known her since childhood-how could he not know that she had excellent eyesight, yet she now claimed she couldn’t see the board?
Who would believe such a ridiculous excuse?
“Zayden…” Scarlett shyly attempted to strike up a conversation with him, but she noticed he wore a cold expression. Zayden replied coldly, “I don’t like being disturbed, so please don’t turn around during class.”
With that, her smile stiffened.
It was clear that Zayden only ever smiled at Sarah.
Just as morning class was about to start, all the students had arrived, except for Sarah.
It was then that Sarah rushed in from outside the classroom, her hair slightly disheveled from being in a hurry.
Zayden asked, “Why are you so late today?”
“I…” Sarah faltered. She was about to question Elena but then noticed that her seat was now occupied by Scarlett.
Elena was sitting in the front row.
Sarah’s face darkened.
Every morning, it was Elena who woke her up and made breakfast for the family. But today, she had no idea why Elena left without saying anything!
This caused her to oversleep and almost be late.
“What’s wrong?” Zayden asked, frowning with concern.
“Nothing, I just woke up late,” Sarah quickly covered up her emotions.
She had always been a self-disciplined girl in front of Zayden.
She would never want Zayden to know that she needed Elena to wake her up every morning.
Sitting in the front row, Elena wasn’t afraid of Sarah complaining to Zayden. After all, she no longer cared about these two.
Besides, Elena knew very well that even if Zayden had asked, Sarah would never admit it.
After all, everyone knew that waking up early was just a matter of setting an alarm, but Sarah insisted on having Elena wake her up every morning like a maid. This was because she enjoyed treating her as a slave.
If others found out about this, Sarah’s disguise would crack, and Zayden’s image of her as the perfect first love would no longer exist.
Class had already started, but Zayden’s gaze kept drifting toward Elena.
She happened to be sitting in the front row-right where he could see her clearly.
Today’s Elena felt different.
She used to be insecure, always trying to imitate Sarah by wearing her hair down.
But she didn’t know how to manage it, so it always looked like a tangled mess.
Today, though, Elena had tied her hair up, and it changed her entire vibe.
She looked more mature. More composed.
Sarah, sitting beside Zayden, noticed he had been staring at Elena all morning. The uneasiness in her heart grew.
Of course Elena didn’t wake her up this morning. So this was the plan-to get to school early and flirt with Zayden.
Sure enough, Sarah placed her worksheet on Zayden’s desk and asked sweetly, “Zayden, I’m having trouble with this question. Can you help me?”
Zayden’s thoughts, interrupted by Sarah’s voice, refocused on the paper. One glance told him it was from the last pop quiz.
“Sarah, did you read this wrong?” he asked.
“Huh?” Sarah looked down at the worksheet. “No, I didn’t.”
“This was on the last quiz.”
“But I just don’t get it,” Sarah said, sounding a little pitiful.
Zayden didn’t say anything.
He remembered clearly-Sarah had practically gotten a perfect score on that test.
The only change in this question was a single number. There was no reason she shouldn’t understand it.
Sarah sensed his silence and, though she didn’t understand why, suddenly felt flustered. Trying to cover it up, she feigned annoyance and snatched the paper back. “Fine, whatever. I’ll figure it out myself.”
Even Elena, sitting in the very front, could hear Sarah’s whiny tone.
Sarah loved to act pouty around Zayden-and he indulged it.
Zayden had always been drawn to girls who were a little clingy, a little spoiled. Meanwhile, in her past life, Elena had kept everything bottled up, never said a word even when she was hurt.
To Zayden, her silence had been unbearably dull.
Dying once had taught Elena the bitter truth: spoiled girls get what they want.
The bell rang, and the class finally relaxed. But instead of the usual change of teachers, the homeroom teacher walked in alongside the math instructor.
His face was serious-something big was coming.
His eyes landed on Zayden and Sarah.
“Zayden, Sarah,” he said, “there’s a city-wide math competition coming up. Each class gets to send two students. Based on the scores, I think you two are the best fit. Fill out this form after class. You’ll be doing weekend prep-this award carries a lot of weight.”
The words math competition made Elena’s heart skip.
In her past life, this had happened at the exact same time.
The city-level competition had been prestigious-great for boosting an SAT application.
Back then, she and Sarah had switched test papers during the monthly exams, which led the teacher to believe Sarah was the stronger student. Sarah ended up going to the competition with Zayden.
But Sarah didn’t have the math skills. To cover it up, she begged Elena to wear a mask and compete in her place.
In the end, Sarah got all the glory. She and Zayden stood together on the winners’ podium like some kind of dream couple.
That math competition had been the turning point in both of their lives.
This time, Elena wasn’t about to let that opportunity slip away.
Before Sarah could respond, Elena stood up and said, “Teacher, I’d like to be considered for one of the spots.”
A wave of whispers spread through the classroom.
“Elena’s lost it. This is a city-wide contest-what makes her think she can do it?”
“Right? Sarah got perfect scores in the last two math exams. Elena barely scrapes by.”
“She’s really willing to do anything to chase Zayden. Doesn’t even care if she embarrasses the whole school.”
The class made no effort to hide their scorn.
The teacher looked troubled. “Elena, I understand this is an important opportunity, but it’s meant for students who are ready. Sarah’s math grades have been much better than yours. If you want to try next year-“
“Sir,” Elena interrupted, “I know my recent test scores haven’t been great, but I used to consistently rank top three in the grade for math. I believe I have what it takes to earn that spot.”
Her eyes were steady, filled with determination.
The teacher hesitated.
Her historical performance was more stable.
But Sarah had stood out in the most recent exams.
As he weighed his options, Sarah suddenly stood up.
“Teacher,” she said, “Elena’s performance is more consistent than mine. I only did well the last two times because I got lucky… I think she deserves the spot more than I do.”
Sarah had always been the teacher’s favorite.
Elena had expected this.
Sarah knew she wasn’t capable of handling the competition. In their past life, she’d only turned to Elena to cover for her when there was no other way out.
Now that it had come up so suddenly, she had to back out early-put on a show of generosity to leave a good impression.
This way, she avoided the risk of failing in front of everyone.
The teacher looked touched. “That works too. But Elena, if your performance in the next two weeks doesn’t meet expectations, I’ll still reassign the spot to your sister.”
“Understood, sir. I won’t let you down.”
Math, English, and French had always been Elena’s strengths.
She’d forgotten most of it over the years, but that just made the weekend prep sessions even more important.
Zayden stared at Elena’s profile, eyebrows furrowing even deeper.
More Kickass Romance Reads
Dive into irresistible romance stories packed with possessive heroes, forbidden passion, billionaire obsession, mafia intrigue, and heart-stopping twists. One chapter is never enough—your next addiction starts here.