Chapter 9

Jacqueline

I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose and reached for the chalk.

The question… I knew it. I’d solved questions like this dozens of times before.

So why…why couldn’t I remember the first step?

I stared at the numbers.

My mind had gone completely blank.

Think, Jacqueline. Come on…

I slowly wrote the first step. Then paused.

No. That didn’t look right.

A few quiet whispers drifted through the room.

I erased it. Tried again.

My hand tightened around the chalk. “Still wrong.”

Heat crept into my cheeks.

Mrs. Bennett watched patiently.

Behind me, the classroom was silent.

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. Especially him

My palms grew damp around the chalk.

Mrs. Bennett frowned ever so slightly.

That wasn’t like me. I was one of her best Physics students.

Normally, I’d have solved the question before she’d even finished writing it.

Today…my brain had chosen the worst possible moment to betray me.

I took a slow breath and tried again.

Nothing. Not a single formula came to mind.

Mrs. Bennett softened her voice. “Miss Carter… are you feeling alright?”

I blinked. “…Yes, ma’am.”

“You don’t seem like yourself today.”

A few students exchanged puzzled looks.

Even Alma looked surprised. She wasn’t expecting me to struggle.

Neither was I.

“I…” I forced an awkward smile. “I just need another moment.”

Mrs. Bennett nodded. “Take your time.”

I turned back to the board once more, closed my eyes for a brief second.

Then…the formulas came rushing back.

“Oh…” I quickly wrote the first line. Then the second.

By the third step, my confidence had returned.

Within seconds, I reached the final answer.

I stepped aside.

Mrs. Bennett studied the board before smiling. “Excellent.”

She looked at the class. “This is the Jacqueline Carter I know.”

A faint chuckle spread through the room.

Heat rushed to my cheeks.

I hurried back to my desk, avoiding everyone’s eyes.

As I sat down, Ethan glanced at my work on the board before looking at me.

“Nice one.”

“…Thanks.”

That was all he said. But somehow…it was enough to make my heart race all over again.

The rest of the lesson passed in a blur.

Before I knew it—the bell echoed through the classroom.

Chairs scraped against the floor as students pushed them back. Zippers echoed all around the room as backpacks were opened.

Across the aisle, a group of girls pulled compact mirrors from their bags, touching up lip gloss before the next class.

“Does my lip gloss look okay?”

“It looks fine.”

“No, be honest.”

“You’ve asked me that five times.”

Near the windows, a guy casually leaned against a girl’s desk, one hand resting on the edge.

“So…” he said with a grin, “are you finally saying yes?”

She zipped up her backpack without looking at him. “I already told you.”

“You said ‘maybe.’”

“I said, ‘I’ll think about it.’”

“That’s basically a yes.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “You really hear whatever you want to hear, don’t you?”

“Only when it’s about you.”

She rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smile. “You’ve got way too much confidence.”

“And yet…” He took a step closer. “You still haven’t told me to stop asking.”

She bit back another smile before playfully tapping his chest with a notebook. “You’re impossible.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

“By who?”

“You… in about five minutes.”

She laughed as she walked past him. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

He watched her leave with the biggest grin on his face before his friends immediately started teasing him.

“Ooh… somebody’s in love.”

“Shut up.”

“Nah, she’s definitely got you.”

“Mind your business.”

The room buzzed with conversations, laughter, and teasing.

I quietly zipped my backpack.

Maybe if I left now…

“Dude.”

Three boys wandered over to Ethan’s desk as if it were their usual meeting spot.

One of them grinned before throwing an arm around Ethan’s shoulders.

“You almost got detention today.”

Ethan laughed. “I made it, didn’t I?”

“Barely.”

Another boy dropped into the empty chair in front of him, spinning it around backwards before sitting.

“You still coming to practice?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

“You better not,” a third boy chimed in. “Coach already thinks you spend more time talking to girls than training.”

“That’s because I do.”

The boys burst into laughter.

One lightly shoved Ethan’s shoulder. “Man’s got priorities.”

“Unlike you.”

“Jealous?”

“A little.”

They continued talking over one another, teasing each other the way close friends always did.

I stayed exactly where I was. Unfortunately…that meant I was still sitting beside Ethan.

Should I leave? Can I leave? Without drawing attention to myself?

I carefully reached for my backpack.

A sweet floral perfume drifted through the air.

I looked up.

Alma.

She approached with effortless confidence, two girls following half a step behind like loyal shadows.

Her perfectly curled blonde hair bounced with every step.

One friend leaned close to whisper something into her ear.

The three of them giggled.

Alma stopped beside Ethan’s desk and rested one hand casually against it.

“Hey, Ethan.”

He looked up. “Hey.”

“I heard Coach announced the starting lineup.”

“Yeah.”

A bright smile spread across her face. “I knew you’d make it.”

“Thanks.”

One of her friends nudged another. “I told you he’d start.”

“Obviously.”

Alma tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before laughing softly at something Ethan said.

Her friends laughed too. Not because it was funny. Because she did.

The entire conversation flowed around me as though I didn’t exist.

I tightened my grip on my backpack. This is my chance…

I slowly stood. Before I could take a single step—

Claire appeared beside me. “Come on.”

I blinked. “Huh?”

“Come on. We need to return those library books before lunch.”

For a second, I stared at her. We don’t have library books…

Then I caught the look in her eyes. She was rescuing me.

I adjusted my glasses. “ Right.”

She gave my arm a light tap before turning toward the door.

I followed. I had barely taken two steps.

Behind me…Alma’s smile faded.

She watched me from the corner of her eye.

Her gaze dropped briefly toward the aisle.

Then…almost lazily…she stretched one foot into my path.

It was so subtle no one paid attention.

One of the girls beside her noticed. The corner of her mouth lifted ever so slightly.

I never saw it. I was too busy trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

My shoe caught. “Ah—!”

Everything happened too fast.

I stumbled forward. My hands slammed against the floor. Pain shot through my palms.

My glasses flew from my face, sliding across the polished tiles.

They struck the metal leg of a desk. The frame split cleanly in two.

Silence.

Then—a sharp whistle echoed across the classroom. “Damn…”

One of Ethan’s friends let out a low laugh. “Smooth landing, Four Eyes.”

The classroom erupted with laughter

“Oh my God!”

“Did you see that?”

“So embarrassing!”

Heat flooded my face.

“No…”

Without my glasses…the room dissolved into a blur. I couldn’t make out anyone’s face.

I dropped to my knees, desperately feeling across the floor. “My glasses…”

I couldn’t see them.

“Jacqueline!”

Claire spun around at the sound of my fall.

The moment she saw me on the floor, her expression changed.

She hurried back and immediately knelt beside me. “Are you hurt?”

Before I could answer, another figure bent down and picked up my broken glasses.

Ethan.

He turned the cracked frame over in his hand. One of the lenses had shattered completely. “…I think these are beyond fixing.”

He held them out.

Claire took them from him before I could.

My heart sank. “They’re broken…” The words barely escaped my lips.

Claire looked from the broken glasses…to the exact spot where I’d fallen.

Then her eyes slowly lifted. They settled on Alma.

Alma simply adjusted her handbag and smiled at one of her friends, looking as innocent as ever.