Chapter 2: The Surrender of the King
The flickering fluorescent light above the beverage aisle hummed with a sharp, irritating buzz that seemed to vibrate inside April's skull. For a long, suffocating moment, time didn't just slow down; it stopped.
Jaden Sterling, the boy who looked like he belonged on a pedestal made of gold and ivory, was standing in the middle of a dingy 'Seven-Star Convenience' store at 11:45 PM. His expensive streetwear hoodie was damp from the light drizzle outside, and his fingers usually so steady when holding a fountain pen were trembling slightly as they gripped a case of gold-colored energy drinks.
April didn't breathe. She didn't blink. She just watched the way his pupils dilated behind his glasses, the way the cool, arrogant mask of the "Golden Boy" cracked and fell away to reveal a teenager who looked like his entire world was about to explode.
"Jaden?" April's voice was a low whisper, barely audible over the sound of the refrigeration units, yet it hit him like a physical blow.
Jaden flinched. He actually stumbled back half a step, his heel catching on the edge of a floor tile. He quickly pulled his hood lower, his voice coming out in a muffled, desperate growl. "You've got the wrong guy, Mendoza. I'm just... a customer. Let me pay and get out of here."
April felt a surge of electricity run through her veins. It wasn't the caffeine from her earlier coffee; it was the sudden, intoxicating realization of power. She stepped out from behind the counter, the squeak of her cheap sneakers echoing in the empty store.
"A customer?" She tilted her head, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across her face. "A customer wearing the exact same limited-edition silver watch Jaden Sterling was wearing in Calc today? A customer with the same voice, the same height, and the same annoying habit of looking down his nose at everyone?"
She stopped three feet away from him, crossing her arms over her neon-green work vest. "And what's with the headset, Jaden? I didn't know the Sterling Group's heir spent his nights as a pro-gamer. Or should I call you... JD-Zero?"
The color drained from Jaden's face so fast it was as if someone had pulled a plug. He went completely still. The "JD-Zero" name was the killing blow. It was the name of the most mysterious, high-ranking streamer in the region a player known for his lethal reflexes and a total refusal to show his face.
"Shut up," Jaden hissed. He dropped the energy drinks onto the floor with a heavy thud and stepped into her personal space, his eyes flashing with a mix of fear and fury. "Don't say that name. Not here. Not anywhere."
"Why? Because your father would disown you?" April challenged, refusing to back down. "Because the perfect, academic-focused legacy of the Sterling family can't be tarnished by something as 'low-class' as professional gaming? My god, Jaden. If the school found out... if the Dean found out..."
"What do you want?" Jaden interrupted, his voice shaking. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a leather wallet that probably cost more than April's monthly rent. "Money? How much? I'll write you a check. I'll give you cash. Just give me your phone and tell me you didn't take any pictures."
April looked at the wallet, then back at his desperate eyes. A week ago, she would have taken the money and run. She needed it. But as she looked at him, she realized that money was a temporary fix. What she needed was a permanent change in her destiny. She needed the one thing Jaden had been stealing from her every single semester.
"I don't want your money, Jaden," she said, her voice turning cold and sharp. "I've told you before: some things can't be bought. Like the #1 rank."
Jaden froze. "The rank? You want me to... what, cheat for you?"
"No," April said, leaning closer until she could smell the sandalwood and the faint scent of rain on his hoodie. "I want you to lose. I want you to calculate your next few exams so that you fall to #2. I want that Excellence Scholarship, Jaden. And I'm going to use your secret to get it."
Jaden stared at her, horrified. "You're insane. My father... if I drop to second place, he'll take everything away. He doesn't accept second best. He'll put me in a boarding school in Europe. I'll never be able to stream again."
"Then I guess you have a choice to make," April shrugged, turning back toward the register. "The European boarding school, or a deal with the scholarship girl you love to mock."
Jaden followed her, his footsteps heavy. He looked like a man walking toward a gallows. "Even if I did it... people would notice. Marcus is already looking for a reason to claim I'm 'slipping.' If my grades drop and you suddenly take the lead, the school will think something is wrong. They'll investigate. They'll find out about this place."
April paused, her hand on the barcode scanner. He was right. The social vultures at St. Jude's were relentless. They needed a cover story. A reason for Jaden Sterling's "distraction" and April Mendoza's "ascent."
She looked at him really looked at him. He was handsome, wealthy, and currently at her mercy. A plan, brilliant and terrifying, began to take shape.
"Then we give them a distraction they can't ignore," April said.
"Like what?"
"We date," she stated simply.
Jaden actually choked. "Dating? You and me? April, that's... that's impossible. No one would believe that. We're rivals. We hate each other."
"Exactly," April said, her eyes gleaming. "It's the perfect scandal. The Golden Boy falls for the Scholarship Girl. You're so 'distracted' by your new, secret romance that your grades suffer. Meanwhile, I'm 'motivated' by your influence, so mine go up. It explains everything. The secret meetings, the late nights, the change in the rankings. Nobody looks for a gaming secret when there's a juicy romance to talk about."
Jaden looked like he wanted to vanish into the floorboards. "It's social suicide."
"It's better than your father finding out who JD-Zero is," April countered.
Jaden lowered his head, his hair falling over his eyes. The silence stretched out for a full minute, broken only by the rain starting to lash against the store window. Finally, he looked up. The "King" was gone. Only the "Rebel" remained.
"Fine," he whispered, the word tasting like poison. "We date. But it's a contract, April. No real feelings. No touching. And the moment graduation hits, we're strangers."
"Deal," April said, her heart hammering with a mix of triumph and fear. "Welcome to the fake life, Jaden."