Nolan’s gaze sharpened on her from across the table, like he was trying to see through her.
“I’m Henry. He’s Lewis. That’s Colton. And-“
Before Henry could finish, Colton cut in. “No need for introductions. No one said she belongs to Class Six.”
Colton stood around six feet tall, eyes sharp like a hawk, tanned skin, and buzzed red hair-he radiated wild energy.
Lewis, on the other hand, looked like a soft-spoken gentleman.
Elena silently took note of each of them.
Hayes. Gray. Foster. Goodman.
In the future, these families would be top players in Westbrook’s business world.
The last thing she wanted was to make enemies now.
She had to build ties with them early-especially with Nolan.
“Come on, Colton,” Henry said cheerfully. “She’s just a girl. No need to be cold.”
He turned to Elena with a grin. “Don’t worry about him. That’s just how he is. From now on, we’re desk buddies-if you’ve got a problem, come to me. I’ve got your back.”
Henry thumped his chest in promise.
A flicker of warmth stirred in Elena’s chest. “Thanks.”
With someone like Henry on her side, Class Six might not be so hard after all.
During study period, Elena pulled out her workbook-full of past math competition problems.
She was halfway through the thick packet, but still had a long way to go.
Henry glanced over and his eyes widened. “You’ve already made it this far?”
Elena paused her pen.
Even Colton, sitting by the window, turned to look at her workbook.
Page after page, questions already solved.
“Wait a minute,” Henry said. “If you’re this diligent, why are you even here? What did you get on your last monthly exam?”
“…Five seventy-four,” Elena said.
“Five seventy-four? No way!”
Henry grabbed her workbook.
He’d watched her solve a tough paper earlier-almost every answer was correct. This kind of accuracy and pace didn’t come easy.
“How much did you score in math?”
“…Barely passed.”
“Get out of here.”
Henry stared at her in disbelief.
With problem-solving like this, math had to be her best subject.
How could she have barely passed?
Elena felt a chill on her back.
From the moment study period began, she had sensed that icy gaze on her.
Now, it felt sharper. More dangerous.
She quietly pulled her workbook back.
Henry looked puzzled. “Didn’t you almost outscore our Nolan a few tests ago? I remember the math teacher saying you were close.”
Elena blinked, remembering.
Before she started switching tests with Sarah, she had outscored Zayden once.
Missed a perfect score in math by a single point.
She’d placed second in the entire grade.
But after Zayden got scolded at home for slipping in rank, she started purposely tanking her scores.
She hadn’t known then-
That Nolan had gotten full marks in every subject except language arts.
“I… was slacking off,” Elena casually brushed off the question, hoping to end the conversation.
But the moment those words left her mouth, she felt the air behind her go colder. That gaze-already sharp-had turned freezing.
Ding-ding-
The bell rang.
Elena let out a breath of relief. She stood up, shoved her workbook into her bag, and used the bathroom as an excuse to slip out of the classroom.
Behind her, Nolan watched her leave.
He got up.
“Nolan, wait for me!”
Henry called, thinking they were headed to the restroom together.
But instead of following, Nolan picked up Elena’s workbook from her desk and flipped through it with detached curiosity.
“Hey! That’s her stuff-how can you just-“
Henry shut up the moment Nolan gave him a look.
Right. My bad.
If Nolan wanted to look at something, he didn’t need permission.
He wasn’t exactly the polite type.
Nolan studied the problem sets and notes carefully scribbled along the margins. After a few moments, he tossed the workbook back onto her desk without a word.
…
During P.E.
The whole school had come down for exercises.
Class Six, as usual, shuffled into place at the very back.
It was already fall, and the weather had turned chilly.
Elena pulled her sleeves up over her wrists. With her ponytail bouncing and her smaller frame, she was quickly lost among the tall boys in the lineup.
They naturally ran faster, and Elena had to push herself to keep up.
“Didn’t think you could run this well,”
Henry grinned, slowing his pace to jog beside her.
As class rep for sports, Henry had top-tier stamina. He’d been planning to hold back for Elena’s sake-but to his surprise, she ran like a pro.
“It’s nothing. I’ve just done a lot of running.”
In the past, Sarah often made sure to leave school just ahead of her-taking the family car and leaving Elena to walk home alone.
Afraid of missing dinner, Elena would often run all the way home.
If she got home too late, Sarah would tell their parents she’d been out goofing off.
Behind them, Zayden-leading Class One-watched Elena laugh and talk with Henry.
Something twisted in his chest.
Sarah noticed.
“Zayden, it looks like Elena’s getting along with Class Six really well.”
Zayden’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Right? She never acted like that with us,” someone else added. “But with those Class Six guys? Suddenly she’s Miss Social.”
“Guess she just likes hanging with boys. Remember how hard she used to chase Zayden?”
“Ugh, talk about downward spiral. Elena belongs with those lowlifes in Class Six. Just don’t bring that stink back to our class.”
Their sneers rang out loud and clear.
Because Class One and Class Six were running close together, the mocking wasn’t hard to hear.
Henry heard every word.
He stopped running and turned around, eyes narrowed at the group behind them.
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