I don't suck up to Rina," Rhea muttered.
"Uh, yes you do. You're always doing what she says like an obedient puppy," Ava rolled her eyes.
"She's my sister."
"Do you really think she feels the same way?" Ava asked, arching a brow. Rhea hesitated before nodding. "Alright then, tell me—who gave you those ugly glasses?"
"Rina," Rhea admitted, scratching her nose.
"And who was the reason you wore a cast last semester?"
"That was an accident."
"And who caused that accident?" Ava asked, miming air quotes.
Rhea sighed. "Rina."
Ava stepped closer, holding Rhea's shoulders. Her tone softened, but her words struck deep. "Rhea, just because you share a face doesn't mean you have to share her darkness. Don't let her dim your light. She might lie about you, compete with you, try to break your confidence or steal your shine—but you? You fight back. Not with her games, but with your growth. With your silence that speaks louder than her noise. You don't have to stoop to her level. You rise. Don't just take it."
"But she…"
"Enough buts!" Ava snapped, turning away. "What's the use of talking if you never listen?"
"Wait, Ava—" Rhea chased after her down the hallway. They stopped at the lockers as Ava grabbed her calculus textbook.
"Are you still mad at me?" Rhea asked.
"Why would I be? Rina's the one I'm mad at."
"Thanks, Ava—ahh!" Rhea crashed into someone and fell flat on the floor. She looked up, dazed. Her jaw nearly dropped.
It was Aries Mantle.
"You should watch where you're going," he said, his deep voice brushing her ears like velvet and thunder. He stepped over her without offering a hand.
"You okay?" Ava asked, helping her up.
Rhea nodded slowly, still stunned.
"I know that look," Ava smirked. "Tell me, how do you know him?"
"I don't."
"Really? Then why did you say his full name the first time you saw him?"
"I might have seen it on social media..."
"Aries doesn't have a single social account," Ava said flatly.
"I just guessed. Coincidence."
"Rhea. I'm not stupid."
They walked into class. The bell rang and students shuffled in. Even Aries and Stacy arrived early, sitting at their designated desks. Rina entered the room. Rhea smiled and waved—but was completely ignored.
'Maybe she didn't see me,' Rhea told herself.
"Hey guys," Alvin greeted, sliding into the seat next to Rhea.
"Hey, Alvin," the girls said together.
"Where's Lisa and Danny?" Ava asked.
"Right there." Alvin nodded to the door as Lisa and Danny walked in.
"Ugh, I hate math," Danny groaned.
"It's calculus," Lisa corrected.
"What's the friggin' difference?!"
"Stop being dramatic and learn for once."
"Says you."
Suddenly, the classroom fell silent.
A tall man in a red dress shirt, black pants, and a matching tie walked in. His posture was commanding, and not a single hair on his head was out of place. His presence alone was enough to freeze time.
"Good morning," he said with firm authority.
"Good morning, sir," the class responded.
"For those new here, I'm Mr. Michael Hanshaw—your Calculus teacher."
"Who's that?" Rhea whispered.
"Calculus teacher. Ex-army sergeant too," Ava replied.
So that's where the command voice comes from, Rhea thought.
"There are rules in my class," Mr. Michael continued. "First, I don't tolerate nonsense. You're all young adults. Act like it."
"Uhm, I'm still seventeen," a girl in the back raised her hand timidly.
"Leave my class."
"What?"
"I said—leave."
She quickly packed her things and left. The air grew colder.
"Anyone else want to interrupt me?" he scanned the room. No one moved. "Good."
He wrote on the board:
"Find the area under the curve of a function f(x) between points a and b."
Danny leaned to whisper, "He's hot. Totally my type."
"You two," Mr. Michael suddenly pointed. "You—yes, the whisperer—and you beside him. Come forward."
"Who, me?" Danny asked, wide-eyed.
"Yes, you. And you," he pointed at Rhea.
They walked to the front.
"We're doomed," Danny whispered.
"You two seem talkative. Let's see if your brains work as fast as your mouths," Mr. Michael said, handing them markers. "Solve this."
Rhea's stomach turned. This was exactly what Rina hated—Rhea drawing attention to herself.
"If you can't solve it, both of you get an F and a week off my class."
"I can skip class, but my parents will kill me for that F," Danny mumbled.
"Begin," the teacher ordered.
The classroom buzzed. Rina's eyes were on her. So were Aries'. Even Stacy was smirking.
Rhea stared at the board.
Just breathe.
She stepped closer.
"I—I think to find the area under the curve, we use integration," she said. The class quieted, watching.
"It's like…adding up tiny slices under the graph between point a and b."
"You're not shaking," Alvin whispered.
"For Rhea," Ava replied proudly, "the fear of an F awakens the beast."
"If we find the antiderivative of f(x), we just plug in the two points and subtract. So—F(b) minus F(a). That gives the total area."
Rhea moved confidently as she wrote. Each word brought her strength.
Mr. Michael folded his arms, observing.
"That was excellent," he said finally.
"Unbelievable," Stacy hissed. Her fake nails digging into her palm.
"She's a beast!" Alvin clapped. The class erupted in applause.
"Go girl!" Ava cheered.
Aries turned to Rina. "Is your sister always this smart?"
"I—I guess." Rina answered, her jaws clenched tightly.
"Hm," he said, leaning back.
Even James muttered, "Wow. She made Mr. Michael say 'excellent.'"
But Rhea's joy faded as soon as she met Rina's eyes across the room—cold and sharp like glass.
Danny hugged her. "You saved me, angel!"
Rina stood up, glaring, and stormed out.
Rhea followed, her stomach tight with dread.
"What's going on?" Lisa whispered.
"Don't ask," Ava muttered.
Even Mr. Michael seemed puzzled but clapped his hands. "Settle down. Back to the next question."
The door slammed as the twins exited.
Inside the restroom, Rina finally let go of her sister's arm.
"Rina—"
"Don't you dare say my name, you fake!" Rina snapped.
"I didn't mean to—Mr. Michael gave us a choice—"
"So you couldn't just take the F? Would it have killed you?!"
"My grades are my future, Rina," Rhea said softly.
"And I'm your sister!" Rina shouted. "Or does that matter less?"
Rhea fell silent.
"Thought so," Rina spat. "Our deal was simple: Don't steal my spotlight. Just that one thing. But you couldn't even do that."
She turned to leave, but paused.
"One more thing," she said, voice like ice. "From now on, you don't have a sister at this school. Stay away from me."
Rina return to class and shortly after Rhea did too.
"What was that about?" Ava asked in a whisper but Rhea shook her head feigning a smile.
After thirty-five more minutes of grueling calculus, Mr. Michael's class finally ended. The moment he left, the room exploded with chatter.
"Finally! Stacy Ross has some competition. I knew my girl could kill that question!" Ava squealed.
"Stacy Ross?" Rhea asked.
"Mhm. Smartest in the class. She always ranks first—even though she's glued to her phone."
"She never answers questions in class, and we never see her papers… but she tops every test," Danny whispered, suspicious.
"Maybe she's just private," Alvin shrugged, pushing up his glasses.
"She's a freakin' influencer. How is that private?" Danny shot back.
"Look at Rhea—nobody knew she was smart until today," Alvin countered.
"Yeah, but at least we saw her solve the question," Danny said pointedly. "Don't let your crush on Stacy cloud your brain."
"Wh-what? I don't have a crush on Stacy!" Alvin protested.
"Mhm," they all chimed in unison.
"I'm serious! I don't like Stacy."
Danny scoffed. "Bro, I caught you jerking off to a picture of her back. Her. Back."
"That was one time—and you can't deny she's hot!"
"Okay, this is getting weirder by the second. Let's go watch the hotties on the football field," Ava said, standing up.
"Now that… I'm down for," Danny agreed. "Better than this gossip garden about Stacy Ross."
Meanwhile, across the room—
"Where are you going?" Stacy grabbed Aries's wrist as he stood.
"To finish my assignments," he said coolly, peeling her hand off and walking away.
"You're so lucky, Stacy," Natasha sighed. "Aries is so hot."
"Who, Aries? He's not my boyfriend," Stacy said, running gloss over her perfect lips.
"Huh?" Chloe blinked.
"Wait, what?" Rina asked, leaning in.
"Who even are you?" Stacy turned to the unfamiliar girls hovering around.
"I'm Cassie! We're your classmates—we wanna be just like you!" Cassie beamed.
"Wannabes… how exciting," Stacy said flatly.
"And we're Rina's friends too, right Rina?" Cassie asked.
"Uh… y-yeah… but back to Aries—not your boyfriend?" Rina pushed.
"Aries and I? Childhood friends. Yeah, we got intimate a lot… but he wanted serious. I didn't," Stacy said, glossing her lips again.
"Serious with Aries Mantle? That's like… every girl's dream. Who wouldn't want that?" Rina gaped.
"Me."
"Why?"
"Because she still likes—" Harriet started.
"Shut the hell up, Harriet!" Stacy snapped. Harriet clamped her mouth shut.
"But trust me," Stacy said, eyes glinting, "no girl will dare look at him twice. If they do… I'll make their life a living nightmare."
Harriet glanced sideways at one of the freshman girls walking past their table — a shy-looking brunette with glasses.
"Like that one over there," Stacy said casually, nodding toward the girl. "She had a crush on Aries… until she suddenly dropped out of school last semester."
The group went quiet.
"Why?" Rina asked, curiosity mixed with unease.
Stacy twirled a strand of her hair. "Let's just say… a few fake rumors, a hacked Instagram account, and a minor scandal involving a teacher were enough to make her disappear."
Rina swallowed hard.
"I don't bluff, Rina," Stacy smiled sweetly. "Not when it comes to Aries."
"Seriously? You're just friends-with-benefits. Don't you think he deserves real love? Not to be treated like some prize?" Rina asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Aries is complicated. He's cold to everyone but me—and I'd like to keep it that way."
---
"Go ahead, I'll catch up," Rhea told her friends, slipping her calculus textbook into her locker. As they walked off, she shut the door—and froze.
Aries leaned casually against the locker beside hers, eyes locked on her.
"A-Aries," she stammered.
"Good. You know who I am—saves me the intro," he said smoothly.
"I-I should go. My friends are waiting," she muttered, trying to sidestep.
He blocked her way. "I could be your friend."
He flashed a killer smile—and Rhea's body refused to move.
"I don't offer that to just anyone… so consider yourself lucky."
Rhea blinked… then squared her shoulders. "No."
Aries's smirk faltered. "No?"
"I've got enough friends. Now, please move."
She walked off, leaving him blinking after her.
Rejected? That… never happened. Except with Stacy—who still chased after that Damian King loser. But this girl? He needed her. Smart, sharp—and maybe dumb enough to do his assignments if he played his cards right.
Hard to get?
Let's see how long that lasts, he thought.
---
Rhea's POV
Aries's smile was like a spell—and I almost fell under it.
'From now on, you don't have a sister in this school…'
Rina's words stabbed through my mind.
She freaked out over a math question…
What would she do if I became friends with him?
I stepped outside the building and exhaled a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
On the field, Ava and the others were already cheering for the half-naked football players warming up.
"They're not even playing yet—why are you cheering?" I asked.
"Because their shirts are off, duh!" Ava grinned. "Woo! Go team!"
"I'm bored. Let's grab something to eat," I said.
Ava suddenly turned, her playful grin gone.
"Is this about what happened in the hallway?"
I froze.
Like I'd been caught doing something I shouldn't.
---