Chapter 29

Bianca smirked. "This is going to be a walk in the park," she thought. "Elysia's got some serious guts, competing with me. She's way out of her league."

Leaning toward Elysia with a mocking grin, Bianca said, "Since we're having a contest, there should be a prize. If you lose, you're out of Class 1! Are you in?"

The crowd perked up. Elysia seemed doomed.

Justin frowned. He wasn't sure about Elysia's academic abilities. Her performance on the Language and Composition test hadn't been promising.

Leon whispered, leaning close to Justin, "Think Elysia's got a shot?"

Justin shook his head, as clueless as everyone else.

Elysia's voice was steady. "I'm in! What about you, if you lose?"

"I'm not going to lose!" Bianca retorted firmly.

Elysia's eyes twinkled. "You're tripping. It's more like you can't take me down!" She grinned slyly. "How about this? If you lose, you have to do frog jumps around the track for twenty laps, yelling that I'm a loser."

Bianca hesitated, scrunching up her face. She was pretty sure Elysia couldn't win, but that confident smirk threw her.

Elysia raised an eyebrow. "Chicken?"

Bianca thought, Elysia didn't even finish elementary school. There's no way she's beating me. She's bluffing. She nodded. "I ain't scared of nothing!"

The competition began. One of the top students posed a sequence problem. Bianca immediately started scribbling, but Elysia stared at the question. Seeing this, Bianca taunted her, "Stumped, are you?"

Elysia replied, her voice sharp, "Ten-second head start for you!" The crowd was surprised; it was a clever insult.

Bianca's resolve hardened. Just you wait, she thought, you're going to be crying soon.

When Elysia finally began writing, near the end of her head start, everyone was sure she was finished. Then, their eyes widened as they watched both girls work.

"Whoa, she's actually catching up with some slick math moves!" a student exclaimed. Everyone was flabbergasted.

Justin and Leon were also surprised. They realized Elysia had been hiding her abilities.

Bianca noticed Elysia had already written the final answer – meaning Bianca had lost. Her chalk slipped, cracking on the floor. She couldn't believe it.

Elysia, hands in her pockets, smirked playfully. "Time to pay up! Don't forget to yell that I'm a loser while you're jumping."

Bianca stood stunned. The audience was speechless and shocked. They'd considered Elysia a slacker, and they wondered if she'd cheated.

Elysia said, noticing Bianca's dazed expression, "It's not that you're dumb. You just picked the wrong opponent. You can never beat me, so don't get down on yourself."

She turned to leave, but Bianca called out, "That round didn't count. Best two out of three."

Elysia raised an eyebrow. "Even best three out of five, you still can't win! And you won't get lucky again!"

Elysia laughed. "Figuring things out isn't about luck. It's all up here," she said, tapping her head.

Bianca, offended, argued, "I wasn't ready for that last round. Give me another chance. I'll let you pick anyone in the class to compete against me. If they win, you win. Cool?"

Bianca asked, her voice shaking slightly, "Are you for real?"

Elysia kept her tone light. "Do I seem like I'm joking?"

Bianca knew Elysia's offer was insulting, implying she wasn't worth competing against directly. But losing again meant the frog jumps. Humiliation in front of the class was worse than frog jumps.

She scanned the room, deciding Justin was her best bet. Justin's the top student. With him, we'll definitely win. I hope he agrees.

She turned to Justin. "Justin, I'd like to ask for your help." Inside, she was nervous he'd refuse.

Everyone looked hopefully at Justin. Leon nudged someone, whispering, "What do you think? Gonna help or what?"

Justin furrowed his brows. He hadn't expected this. Have I been too friendly? he wondered.

Bianca panicked. Is he going to turn me down?

Justin replied coldly, "Sorry." The classmates gasped. He was still the top student, aloof and unapproachable. Bianca had chosen poorly, and their hopes of removing Elysia were dashed.

An awkward silence fell. Then, someone said, "I'll do it!"

Everyone turned to see Robert. Someone exclaimed, surprised they'd overlooked him. He'd been training in Jorlandia and had just returned.

Robert was second in the grade and a math competition winner. With him, defeating Elysia seemed easy. Hope surged.

Bianca asked, "You really mean it?"

Robert said, his words slightly lofty, "We're all classmates. It's only right to help each other out." He knew helping Bianca was really about getting Elysia out of Class 1.

Everyone understood his meaning but didn't comment. They were all in this together. Robert was far better than the distant Justin.

Elysia watched Robert. Alright, she thought, as your former teacher, it's time for another lesson. She raised an eyebrow. "What do you want to compete in?"

Chapter 30