When Skyler saw the spark in Elijah's eyes, she froze for a moment. Then it hit her—this was a chance.
Of course, she wanted to take credit for the solution. But she was a total slacker when it came to academics. If she told Elijah she'd solved the problem, he'd never believe it.
But Amelia was also a top student. Skyler figured that if she said Amelia had done it, the story would actually hold water.
Sure enough, the second the words left her mouth, Elijah turned to Amelia, and for once, there was warmth in his eyes.
Rendered speechless, Amelia was caught off guard and looked at Skyler in surprise, thinking, Why would she lie like that?
As she glanced at Skyler, Elijah's gaze slowly dropped to her hands.
Amelia had beautiful hands—slender, well-defined, and perfectly neat. Elijah's eyes flicked to the half-used piece of chalk still sitting on the podium, and his expression instantly shifted, turning cold. Her hands were way too clean and didn't look like they'd touched chalk at all.
He thought, Did Skyler actually lie to me like that? Do I look that stupid?
Elijah turned and dashed out of the classroom, figuring whoever had solved the problem probably hadn't gone far. But the hallway was empty.
He wondered, Who was it? Who solved that equation?
His chest was buzzing with adrenaline, his heart pounding. Without hesitation, he rushed off to check the security cameras.
Amelia frowned. "Skyler, why would you say that? I didn't solve that problem."
Now that Elijah was gone, Skyler wasn't happy either. "Well, you didn't deny it, did you?"
Amelia was utterly annoyed, thinking, I just didn't get the chance to deny it. Claiming someone else's credit? I'd never stoop that low.
Blair had just found her way to the classroom for Class 15, Senior Year.
Langford Academy followed an elite academic model. The high school division had sixteen classes total—eight Humanities Track and eight STEM Track, with thirty-six students in each. Blair's Class 15 was part of the STEM Track—and the most advanced among them.
Blair had lingered a little too long at the Math Lab. The evening study period was about to start, and by the time she got to class, most of the students had already arrived.
As the lowest-ranked student in Class 15, her seat had been pushed to the very last row. Everyone else sat two to a table, but Blair sat alone.
She took her seat and flipped open her math textbook. She already knew the material inside out.
Suddenly, her desk jerked forward—someone from the row in front had slammed into it hard. Her book slid off and hit the floor.
"Well, well, look who's cracking open a textbook. Did hell just freeze over?" The boy laughed way too loud, his tone full of mockery and disdain. "Bottom of the class hitting the books? That's hilarious."
Blair stared at his irritating face, and memories from over a thousand years ago slowly started coming back.
The guy was Zach Poole, one of Amelia's many admirers. Because of that, he'd always had it out for Blair.
He'd pick fights for no reason, constantly stirring up trouble. He thought if he bullied Blair enough, he could swoop in and take the spot as Amelia's fiancé.
Blair's gaze turned icy. "Pick it up," she said coldly.
Zach blinked, then burst into exaggerated laughter. "What was that? What'd you say, you wuss? Speak up, would you? You sound like a damn girl. And you still got the nerve to call yourself Amelia's fiancé? What a... Ouch!"
He had leaned in way too close, and Blair, knowing full well how cocky he was, didn't waste her breath. She grabbed the back of his head and slammed it down onto her desk, her hand pressing down hard.
"Ow! Blair, what the hell are you doing? Let go!" Zach shouted in pain.
He struggled to break free, but no matter how hard he fought, Blair's hand stayed locked in place like a slab of stone pressing down on his skull. The pressure was sharp and merciless.
He bellowed inwardly, What the hell? This soft-looking freak's got strength like a damn linebacker?
The commotion made the whole class turn their heads. All they saw was the towering Zach being slammed against the desk by Blair, who was at least half a head shorter than him—
And she was doing it with one hand. Her short hair framed a lazy, almost bored expression, like she wasn't even trying, yet Zach couldn't move an inch.
Everyone was stunned.
Someone whispered, "No way. Blair's got Zach pinned? I thought Zach bullied him all the time."
Another voice chimed in, "Even the quiet ones will fight back when pushed too hard. Zach went way too far this time."
Someone else said, "Is Blair crazy? Messing with Zach? Zach's gonna make him pay for this."
Blair didn't care about the chatter. Her voice was cool and sharp as she spoke, "Are you picking it up or not?"
"Like hell I am." Zach hadn't expected to actually get pinned by Blair. The humiliation burned hot in his chest and there was no way he'd back down.
Blair's face remained blank. "I'll give you one more chance. I'm counting to three. One—"
"I said I'm not picking it up!" Zach still tried to act tough.
"Two." Blair suddenly pressed down harder.
A wave of pain shot through Zach's skull. It felt like she was about to crush his head. He instantly gave in and yelled, "Okay, okay! I'll pick it up!"
Blair let out a faint scoff, the sharp curve of her lips laced with mockery. See? You would've saved yourself the pain if you'd just done it earlier, she thought, and let go.
As soon as her hand lifted, Zach threw a punch straight at her with a snarl. "Pick it up, my ass!"
At six feet tall with a basketball player's build, Zach was no weakling. Fueled by rage, that punch had more than enough force behind it to hurt. The class let out a collective gasp. A few girls even covered their eyes in fright.
But Blair caught his fist, steady and unshaken. Her fingers were slim, and though her palms weren't exactly small, they were definitely smaller than any guy's. She couldn't even wrap her hand fully around his fist—but that didn't stop her from shutting him down completely.
She squeezed, and a sickening crack echoed from Zach's hand.
"Ow! I get it! I'm sorry! I surrender, okay?" Realizing he wasn't a match for Blair at all, Zach backed off instantly, waving the white flag.
Blair then let go of his hand. Zach didn't dare make another move. He quietly bent down and picked up the textbook he'd knocked off her desk.
The arrogant, dismissive look in his eyes had been completely replaced with caution and unease—all within just a minute or two.
Someone said, "Damn, that was kind of hot."
Another added, "Blair looks so skinny, not even as tall as Zach, and somehow still has that kind of strength? That's impressive."
And another voice gasped, "Oh my goodness, how did I never realize Blair was this fine?"
Blair paid no attention to any of it. She sat back down without a word and pulled out a pack of sanitizing wipes she always carried with her from her bag, wiping the fingers that had just touched Zach over and over.
Elijah walked into the classroom right then, catching the tail end of everyone praising Blair. His cold eyes swept toward the last row. He had checked the security cameras. In the evening, the only people who had gone into the Math Lab were Blair, Amelia, and Skyler. The one who solved that equation wasn't Amelia or Skyler.
So it had to be Blair.
But that was impossible, at least in his mind. Blair was known for being dead last in class. Elijah would sooner believe a ghost had solved it than believe Blair had.
Blair felt the weight of his stare and casually lifted her eyes, meeting his gaze head-on.