𝐄𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝟳

Following the quiz, Fox's eyes widened in astonishment as she glanced at her score.

"How did you fare?" inquired Micheal with a hint of concern.

With hesitation, Fox disclosed her grade to us—a rather disheartening C-.

"Rest assured, it's not as dire as it seems," I offered reassuringly.

"My mother will surely have my head for this!" lamented Fox. "Could you both assist me in concealing this misfortune?"

"Regrettably—" began Micheal, before swiftly amending his response. "—we shall abstain. Instead, we shall be spectators to your tribulation."

"In that case, your presence is not requested," retorted Fox.

"Regardless, Fox..." I interjected, "We may find a way to attend surreptitiously."

"Not!" exclaimed Fox. "And what of your performance, Dante? I anticipate an exemplary result from Micheal, naturally."

"Quite correct!" affirmed Micheal with a gleam of pride.

"As for myself, I secured an A-," I divulged.

"Then it appears I hold the title of the intellectual," quipped Micheal.

With a disdainful scoff, Fox departed from our midst.

(...)

Me, Fox, Micheal, and Noah attended the sports event the following day. Unfortunately, Evangeline couldn't join us as she had to work on a presentation on Chemical Neuroscience. The match was between our campus and another school from Toronto. As we settled into the bleachers, we noticed Crissie near the stadium, leading the cheerleading practice.

"What's Crissie telling them?" Fox inquired.

"It seems like she's giving them an earful," Noah observed.

"Guys, you're not getting it right!" Crissie's voice carried over the field. "Didn't we practice enough?"

"But we're following the script," Marianne, one of the cheerleaders, defended.

Without a word, Crissie snatched the script from Belle and tore it in half.

"I've made some updates," Crissie announced. "We all need to step it up."

She distributed the new script to the team and then made her way up to our seats in the bleachers.

"Hey, you guys made it!" she greeted us.

"That wasn't cool, Cris," Fox interjected.

"That script was subpar," Crissie defended. "I hate to admit it."

"Noah mentioned Evie wrote it," Fox continued. "She shouldn't be involved with sports, according to you?"

"What's gotten into you, Cris?" Fox pressed. "Why are you acting this way?"

"I fought with Evie, okay?" Crissie confessed.

"Was it necessary to take it out on Fox?" Fox demanded.

Before anyone could react, Crissie slapped Fox hard across the cheek.

"This has gone too far," Micheal intervened.

"I didn't mean to," Crissie protested. "I'm just not in a good mood today."

"Enough excuses," I interjected firmly. "Evie wrote that speech with dedication. How did a disagreement lead to you attacking Fox?"

With that, I gathered my bag and walked away. After facing death three times, witnessing this altercation was jarring. This fight should never have happened.