Chapter 63

“Impossible! This can’t be. Aurora must have cheated!” Alison’s eyes widened in disbelief, her hands trembling slightly as she held her phone.

Maura quickly checked her phone. Seeing Aurora’s name at the top, her initial thought mirrored Alison’s. It had to be a glitch in the school’s network. There was no way this could be real.

Maura rubbed her eyes vigorously, opening and closing them repeatedly, but the name remained at the top: Aurora. How could this be? Wasn't Aurora from the countryside? How could a rural education possibly match Mereida High School's standards? Were the questions she solved as difficult as those at Mereida? She must have cheated.

Suddenly, Alison smiled smugly. Pointing at Aurora, she shouted, “I was in the same exam room! She always hands in her paper early—I even saw her finish the math and science papers in just an hour! She must have memorized the answers beforehand.” Even with her private tutor, Alison had spent the entire three hours on math alone and still hadn’t finished. There was no way Aurora could have finished so quickly without cheating.

The difficulty of the exam was best known to the students in Class F.

Hearing Alison’s accusation, the Class A students, unwilling to admit defeat to someone from Class F, quickly joined in.

“We don’t accept a first place earned by cheating,” one said.

Another added, “You want to be number one? Do it fair and square.”

Erik didn’t argue. He quickly pulled up the class rankings, skipping the individual subject averages, and focused on the final overall scores. A burst of laughter erupted from him. “Class A lost! Their average score is 1260, while ours is 1275. We beat them! Class A, get ready to scrub the toilets!”

The other Class F students, having seen the scores, joined his boisterous laughter. “Class A lost! You lost! A bet’s a bet. Go clean the toilets!”

Students from other classes gathered, their earlier hostility replaced by amused smirks, especially the Class B students, long-time rivals of Class A. Their delight was palpable.

Margaret clapped loudly, producing two colorful streamers. Spinning them around Aurora, she cheered, “Rory, you’re the best! The very best!”

Aurora remained motionless, unaffected by the fanfare. The streamers glittered, highlighting her cool demeanor. She seemed untouchable, like a distant moon.

Alison, incensed, snapped, “Idiot, you have no right to speak here!”

Class F immediately retaliated. “Who do you think you’re talking to? Are you sure your mouth didn’t just come out of a toilet? You’re spewing garbage!” one student shot back.

Alison trembled with rage, shrieking, “Say that again, I dare you!” No one had ever dared insult her like that.

Aurora, disinterested in further argument, swept her gaze over Maura and the other Class A students. Her tone was dismissive and superior. “Anyway, you lost the bet. It’s time to go clean the toilets.”

This set off a wave of howls from Class F. Phones came out to record this historic moment. Class F had always been looked down upon, considered hopeless. Now, they had beaten Class A. This proved their teachers had judged them unfairly.

Alison’s face hardened. “You only got that score because you cheated! I don’t accept this. I’m going to the administration office to report you!” She pushed through the crowd and stormed off. Even with ten years, she thought, Class F would never outperform Class A. Once Aurora was exposed, Alison vowed to throw her belongings into the toilets and “wash her mouth out” before getting her expelled.

Several other Class A students followed, also intending to report Aurora.

Aurora shook her head, her gaze disdainful. “Class A, if you couldn’t afford to lose, you shouldn’t have made the bet. Now you’ve lost, and you’re throwing a tantrum. Tsk.”

Damon, remaining behind, glared at her. “Why don’t you go to the administration office? Are you scared?”

Erik, a frequent opponent of Damon, instantly retorted, “Only sore losers are afraid. We’ve got nothing to hide. Today, we’ll prove you wrong.” He gestured for the rest of Class F to follow him. “Let’s go to the administration office too. Let’s make sure those with dirty minds don’t tamper with the results.”

The other students followed, eager for the continuing drama. Who didn’t enjoy a good farce?

Maura bit her lip, clinging to a sliver of hope. What if the administration had made a mistake?

Unknown to the students, the administration office was already in chaos. Ruby, Class A’s homeroom teacher and a renowned educator, couldn’t tolerate their defeat by Class F.

“Where are the Class F students’ papers? I want to go through them one by one. They must have cheated!” she demanded, storming into the office.

Frank handed her a stack. “Here, take your time.”

Ruby frowned. “Why are there so few? Only a dozen?”

Frank gestured towards the student union sorting the papers. “Start with these for now.”

Ruby examined the papers, her expression darkening with each one. By the end, she was furious. “How could Class F students possibly answer these questions? Someone must have leaked the answers!” Her eyes narrowed. “I want to see the surveillance footage.”