Defender's Heartbeat 2

Chapter 54

Ava

I woke up early that morning, eager to get to school. Today was the day we received our final exam results, and I couldn't wait to see mine. I was sure I'd be at the top of the class. The school required us to come in person to pick up our report cards, though they'd also send a hard copy to our home address and post the results on the online portal later. But who could wait that long to find out?

When I arrived at school, some of my classmates were already there, including Mia. She looked happy, so I guessed she'd passed the exam. Mia was never concerned with getting the highest marks; she was just satisfied with passing and earning decent grades. But I wanted to be at the top. I rushed to the notice board to check my results, and I was stunned. This wasn't what I'd expected at all. I was in second place. Lorenzo Perez was in first.

I was furious. While everyone else in class seemed pleased with their results, I was the only one who felt both sad and angry. This wasn't fair. Why did these things always happen to me? I'd studied so hard, aced every test over the past few months—how could this happen? Enzo only excelled in Math and a few other subjects. And to make things worse, Mia had taken third place. I didn't like Mia. I didn't like the vibe she gave off. How did she manage to get everything she wanted, while I got nothing?

And Enzo—he already had everything anyone could ask for. Now he'd become the top of the class too? Why didn't I deserve any happiness in my life? I was boiling with anger.

When I went back to the classroom, Enzo and his friends were already there, and he was kissing Mia—right there, early in the morning. Mia must have been thrilled. She had a rich boyfriend, her boyfriend was at the top of the class, and she'd taken third place without even wanting it. Evan Tristan had worked harder than Mia.

Tristan and I weren't together anymore; I'd broken up with him the day before the exam. I didn't feel any different after the breakup since I'd never loved him, but I think he'd been upset the whole time. Honestly, I'd wanted to distract him a bit before the exam, hoping he wouldn't score better than I did. I wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone; they were all happy, celebrating their results. No one had failed.

Suddenly, I saw Enzo leave the classroom alone, and I followed him. I grabbed his shoulder, turning him to face me with all my strength, since he was stronger than I was. He looked at me with surprise. Oh, those eyes.

"You cheated the entire time, pretending you didn't study!" I yelled at him.

"Surprise!" he said, smirking.

"Why did you do that? You know I'm the one who's supposed to be at the top of the class!" I screamed.

"Do I need your permission to be at the top of the class?" he asked.

"You didn't even want it," I shouted back.

"Yeah! But you changed my mind by talking crap about my parents. Remember?" he said and tried to walk away. I grabbed his hand again, but he shook it off.

"Don't touch me," he said angrily.

"Or what?" I challenged, giving him a shove—and then another.

"I said, don't touch me," he repeated, his voice filled with anger.

"Why? Are you scared of me?" I shot back, attempting to push him. Suddenly, Mia appeared out of nowhere and shoved me away from Enzo. She must have heard me yelling, as I noticed other students were watching us.

"What's wrong with you, Ava?" Mia asked with her fake sweet voice.

"What's wrong with me? You saw what your freaking boyfriend did to me! Don't pretend like you don't know!" I snapped, pointing at Enzo furiously.

"What did he do to you?" Mia asked, genuinely surprised. Seriously? Did she really not know how hard I had worked to be at the top of the class?

"He became the top of the class! Didn't you see that?" I yelled.

"What's wrong with that?" she replied, her tone irritating me further.

"It's wrong because I'm the one who's supposed to be at the top!" I shouted, and as Enzo took Mia's hand and left, she stared back at me in shock.

"Ava, why are you screaming?" Mrs. Kim approached, her expression one of concern.

"I got second place," I said, tears welling up in my eyes.

"What's wrong with being in second place? You should be proud of that," Mrs. Kim said, trying to comfort me.

"I'm not happy about it. I wanted to be first. And Enzo ruined that for me," I said, feeling a surge of frustration. I was determined to ruin Enzo's happiness too. He deserved it.

Mia

"She acted like a crazy woman," I said to Enzo about Ava. I was surprised to see someone like her behave that way. I knew she was mad at Enzo because he had bullied her before, but he had stopped completely. Now she was bullying him, and she was furious that Enzo had scored higher than she did on the last exam. How ridiculous.

"Don't worry about her. I need to go to the washroom. Wait here; I'll be back," Enzo said before heading to the boys' restroom. I waited for him, and since there was no one around, I just stared at the flowers nearby.

"Mia, can I talk to you? I really need to talk to you," Ava approached me, her voice calm.

"I'm waiting for Enzo," I replied.

"Please, just for a few seconds. I know you're mad at me, but I'm sorry. I just want to talk for a moment," she pleaded, looking sad and guilty. Against my better judgment, I decided to go with her.

We walked to a quiet spot where we wouldn't be disturbed.

"I'm sorry about what happened before. I got angry because I didn't expect that," she said.

"It's okay," I replied.

"You might think I'm just jealous," she continued, meeting my gaze.

"No, I'm not," I said, though I wasn't sure what she was jealous of—me or Enzo.

"But what he did was wrong," she started again.

"Why do you think that?" I asked, a bit angrily.

"Because I'm the one who's supposed to be at the top!" she shot back, her voice filled with frustration.

"You can't change it now. It's already happened," I replied.

"Your boyfriend ruined my life," she accused.

"How? How can your life be ruined just because of a few exam marks? You're still in second place!" I exclaimed. Seriously, I didn't understand the mentality of this girl.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to talk to you anymore. I'm leaving," I said, getting up to walk away.

"I'm not done talking to you!" she yelled, grabbing my hand and pulling me back—really hard.

Ava

"Mia... Mia... are you okay? Oh my gosh!" I cried, shaking with fear as I saw her on the ground. I hadn't meant to hurt her, but when I pulled her, she lost her balance and hit her head hard against the stone bench. Now she was lying there, bleeding and unmoving.

I looked around, panic rising in my chest. No one was here; I guessed no one had seen us come to this secluded spot. I turned and ran away, my heart racing. I needed to grab my bag and leave the school right now.

As I walked away, my hands trembled uncontrollably.