There has always been Mona and there has always been Scaramouche. And one thing for certain was that they despised each other.
With a burning academic rivalry between them, piled by tons of denial and petty bickering, both scholars find themselves...
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Mona tried her hardest to prevent her hands from fidgeting.
As the moment she did, it would be a testament to her wavering confidence. And she was much too stubborn to accept that. Mona had always been confident. Ask anyone who knew her to name one of her defining traits, and they'd always emphasize how secure in herself she was. However, for some reason, this trait was slowly slipping away from her.
It was surprising how something so prominent could be so easily faltered.
The class would be dismissed in a few minutes, and the history teacher announced that he would start returning the graded exams.
Scaramouche pulled on one of her twin tails to attain Mona's attention. "You seem nervous." He commented, and she hated how it was an observation instead of a question. He knew she was nervous.
"I'm not." She affirmed, pushing her bangs behind her ears. "I never am."
"Well, now I'm sure you are." He said, tilting his head a little. "Is the great astrologist doubting her abilities?"
"Ha! As if– the stars would all have to die out before I doubt myself." Mona scoffed, exuding carelessness in an attempt to convince him. Yet she felt her voice quiver a little. She hated how her voice contradicted her words; standing meekly behind her pride was the truth.
Scaramouche spent a few seconds inspecting Mona with an attentive eye.
"You're trembling."
Forcefully and without delay to his words, Mona stilled herself. Scaramouche noticed this small display and chuckled. "I never thought I'd live to see this day. Honest."
"Let's see if you'll continue to live any longer." She jabbed back and Scaramouche seemed amused, the corners of his mouth curving a little. He liked giving her hell, didn't he?
Mona pressed her mouth to a thin line. She could still feel the taste of him lingering from the flesh of her bottom lip.
The teacher finally returned her test and placed the graded exam paper on the desk, and Mona sucked in her breath. Her fingers would usually lurch out to flip the packet around and reveal her grade without missing a beat, however, this time she was hesitant. Currently, as she was, she hadn't seen her score officially and it wasn't confirmed and therefore still left ambiguous. But the moment she read the mark, her failure would be finalized.
She could either keep hiding from it or face it head-on.
Mona clenched her jaw and took a deep breath. She had to remember her already far-reached accomplishments and feats. Top student of her prestigious and famously competitive school, taking several college-level courses alongside her regular high school ones, and founder of the school Astrology club. She was this close to surpassing the old hag at the ripe age of 17, and she already had a few of her articles published in the Steambird; a world-wide popular magazine funded by Fontaine.
