Chapter 5

What I didn’t notice at all was that the three guys lying on the ground looked absolutely miserable. But since they’d already committed to playing dead, they had no choice but to keep pretending.

Aaron looked at me for a long moment, as if he could see straight through me.

The next second, his lips curled into a smile.

I froze. My heart immediately spun out of control.

His face already resembled my idol Wayne, but I’d always admired him the way one admires a pretty face.

This feeling was different.

My heartbeat jumped like a startled fawn and even the tip of my tongue tasted sweet. I had never felt this way before, not even the day I lined up for eight hours just to see Wayne at a fan signing.

Aaron had smiled before, but never like this. Never this bright.

“Alright,” he said softly.

Night fell deeper and deeper…

---

Faculty Office

The homeroom teacher handed a stack of exam papers to Aaron, all respectful and deferential.

Aaron took a red pen and pulled out one sheet titled Ivy Fisher.

Three minutes later, he gave a quiet laugh, a warmth flickering in his eyes that even he didn’t seem aware of.

He murmured, “How can someone be this hopeless… Not a single question right.”

---

The Next Day

The teacher entered the classroom with the score sheet.

“Lily, sixty-one.”

Lily sagged in relief.

“Summer, sixty-five.”

Summer smiled faintly.

“Wendy, fifty-six.”

“Jennifer, fifty-eight.”

Both girls turned ashen.

“Ivy…” The teacher’s expression shifted, and she glanced at me.

I ducked my head, already mourning my dignity.

“Seventy.”

I nearly slammed my hands on the desk from excitement.

Seventy!

I scribbled nonsense and still managed a seventy!

Turns out I didn’t completely forget the math I learned in freshman and sophomore year. My college professors would be so proud.

Lily stared at me as if I had committed a crime against the natural order.

Then the teacher approached, pulled a blue key from her pocket, and placed it on my desk.

“This is your reward.”

I picked it up, grinning.

This had to be worth money too.

Aaron sipped the milk I brought him, his eyes warm and gentle.

My heart melted. This was the first time he ever drank something I gave him—though only because his water bottle broke and he couldn’t get water from the dispenser. Technicality, whatever. It still counted.

---

When I got back to the dorm building and was about to enter 206, Lily stepped in front of me.

She demanded the blue key.

I laughed. “Why would I give it to you?”

“If you don’t hand it over,” she snapped, “you won’t be leaving this place alive!”

I gave her the ‘are you out of your mind’ look and said, “Does this game run on whatever rules you make up?”

I turned and walked off. I didn’t even bother arguing with her.

---

Early the Next Morning

When I woke up, my neck felt strangely sore, but I brushed it off.

When I entered the classroom, I was stunned. Only Lily and Summer were there. All the other girls were missing.

I told Aaron about it.

Aaron bit into a snow cake cookie and said flatly, “They all withdrew from school.”

“What? Why?”

“If you don’t pass the exam, you leave.”

My eyes went wide.

What kind of school was this?!

“If we have another exam, I don’t even know if I’ll pass. What if I fail next time? Will I have to leave too?”

There was the faintest hint of amusement in Aaron’s eyes. It flashed too fast for me to be sure.

“You won’t,” he said.

---

One Week Later

That day, Aaron didn’t come to class.

After school, I went to the convenience store to buy snacks.

Recently, he finally stopped refusing them.

I’d also discovered his favorite snack was snow cake cookies, so I started buying them for him every day.

Since he wasn’t in class today, I decided I’d just bring the snacks straight to his apartment.