The Calculus of a Bluff
The morning sun at St. Jude's Academy was too bright, too clinical, reflecting off the white marble floors like a searchlight. April walked through the gates with her usual defensive posture, but inside, she felt a strange, humming warmth. She was thinking about the way the violet light had hit the sharp line of Jaden's jaw, and how, for one heartbeat in that dark booth, the rivalry had felt like a distant memory.
She expected to see Jaden at his locker, perhaps with his usual bored expression. Instead, she found him already standing there, but his posture was rigid like a wire pulled to the point of snapping.
"You're early," April said, trying to sound casual as she reached for her locker handle.
Jaden didn't look at her. He was staring at his phone, his thumb hovering over the screen. He looked like he hadn't slept at all. "Marcus knows," he whispered, his voice so low it was almost drowned out by the chatter of arriving students.
April froze. "What?"
"He didn't see you," Jaden said, finally turning to look at her. His gray eyes were dark, shadowed with a mix of exhaustion and a protective fury she hadn't seen before. "But he saw my car. He sent me a text at 2:00 AM. He's fishing, April. He doesn't have proof, but he's smart enough to know that a Sterling sedan in the Old District means I'm hiding something."
April's heart plummeted. The safety of the darkness in the PC cafe suddenly felt like a lie. "Did he say anything about me?"
"No," Jaden said, stepping closer to shield her from the view of the hallway. "He thinks I'm there for the 'gritty' thrill. He doesn't know about JD-Zero yet, and he hasn't connected you to the location. But he's going to use the Physics quiz today to rattle me. He wants to see if I break."
Before April could process the panic rising in her throat, a shadow loomed over the lockers.
"Well, well. The star-crossed lovers are whispering early today," Marcus drawled. He looked immaculate, his blazer buttoned perfectly, but his smile was like a razor. He leaned against a pillar, tossing a silver coin and catching it with a rhythmic clack.
April felt Jaden's arm slide around her waist. It was a possessive, grounding weight. He was playing the part, but she could feel the slight tremor in his hand.
"You seem awfully obsessed with us lately, Marcus," Jaden said, his voice returning to that smooth, aristocratic chill. "Is your own life so dull that you have to track my car's GPS in your spare time?"
Marcus's eyes flickered to April, then back to Jaden. "Just admiring the view, Sterling. I saw a black sedan your specific limited edition parked near a very... interesting establishment in the Old District last night. A PC cafe, I believe? It's a strange place for a guy who claims to spend his nights studying 'Advanced Theoretical Physics.'"
April felt the blood drain from her face, but she forced a laugh. It sounded sharper than she intended. "He was with me, Marcus. Not that someone like you would understand why a guy might want to get away from the 'ivory tower' for a night."
Marcus tilted his head, his gaze piercing. "With you? In that neighborhood? I didn't realize the 'Scholarship Queen' took the 'School King' to the slums for a date. Is that your idea of romance, Mendoza? Or are you just his alibi?"
"Believe what you want," Jaden interrupted, his grip on April tightening. He leaned in, his face inches from Marcus's. "But if you spend the next hour thinking about my car instead of your equations, you're going to find yourself in fourth place. And we both know your father doesn't tolerate anything below the Top Three."
The bell for the Physics exam rang a harsh, metallic toll that sounded like a war horn.
Marcus smirked, leaning back. "Let's see whose focus is better, then. Good luck on the quiz, 'lovebirds.' I'd hate to see such a beautiful distraction ruin a perfect GPA."
As Marcus walked away, April felt the strength leave her legs. Jaden didn't let go of her waist; if anything, he pulled her closer for a split second, his breath hot against her temple.
"He's trying to get into my head so I fail 'accidentally,'" Jaden whispered.
"Will it work?" April asked, looking up at him.
Jaden looked toward the Physics hall, his jaw set in a hard, determined line. "No. Because I'm not going to fail accidentally. I'm going to do it on purpose. I'm giving you the #1 spot, April. Just make sure you're ready for the target that comes with it."
The Physics Hall: The Silence of the Sabotage
The Physics hall was a tomb of high ceilings and heavy silence. Students sat at individual desks, the only sound the scratching of pens and the rhythmic ticking of the clock on the wall.
April sat three rows ahead of Jaden. She could feel his presence behind her like a magnetic pull. She opened her test booklet, her eyes blurring over the first few questions.
Question 1: Calculate the angular momentum of a rotating satellite...
She knew this. She had studied this until her eyes bled. But every few minutes, she found herself glancing at the reflection in the window. She could see Jaden. He wasn't rushing. He was staring at his paper, his pen hovering.
She watched him pause. He was looking at a question a simple one, one he could solve in his sleep. She saw him deliberately circle the wrong variable. She saw him skip an entire section on thermodynamics.
He was dismantling his own legend, piece by piece, just for her.
Across the aisle, Marcus was working feverishly, his eyes darting toward Jaden every few minutes, looking for the crack, the panic, the sign of a breakdown. He didn't see a boy failing; he saw Jaden Sterling looking as calm as a god, even as he committed academic suicide.
By the time the final "Pens down" was called, April was shaking. She had aced it she knew she had. But the cost was sitting three rows behind her.
As they filed out of the room, Jaden caught up to her in the crowded hallway. He didn't say a word. He just bumped his shoulder against hers, a silent, secret signal.
"Did you do it?" she whispered as they reached the stairs.
Jaden tucked his hands into his pockets, a dark, complicated smile on his face. "I calculate I'll land exactly at a 91%. You should be at a 99%. By tomorrow morning, the rankings on the board will change for the first time in three years."
He stopped, looking out the window at the school gates. "But Marcus isn't going to stop at a car sighting, April. We just gave him the biggest clue of all: I 'failed' the moment we started dating. He's going to come for you."
"Let him come," April said, her voice stronger than she felt. "I have the King on my side, don't I?"
Jaden looked at her, and for a moment, the "fake" part of their deal felt like a thin, transparent veil. "You have JD-Zero on your side," he corrected softly. "And he doesn't like to lose."