Chapter 5

Besides, we didn't even know who the real bad luck charm was!

After my mother and I were sent away, Wendy lavished Millie with advice and encouragement, pinning all her hopes on her. "Millie, do your best! You've practically got this year's top score in the bag!"

Her classmates crowded around her, eager to flatter her.

"Hey, genius, shake my hand! Let some of your good luck rub off on me!"

"Oh, mighty scholar, bless me with the wisdom to answer every question and guess correctly when I don't know the answer!"

Meanwhile, everyone kept their distance from us, afraid our bad luck might rub off on them.

Millie was so smug that she could barely contain her grin.

While everyone else ignored us, Brenda Williams, one of the teachers, approached.

She came over and gave my shoulder a gentle pat. "Ella, just do your best! Don't be nervous. Focus on what you can do! No matter how you perform, you'll always be one of my best students!"

Brenda had become my teacher after I transferred to the regular class. She was always gentle and patient whenever I needed help with a question. She never hesitated to praise or encourage me, a stark contrast to my former teacher, Wendy.

I smiled at her. "Thank you, Ms. Williams. I'll make sure to bring home the top score for you!"

Wendy overheard me and sneered, "You? The top scorer? Don't make me laugh! You really don't know your place!"

With that, Wendy casually thrust Millie's pencil case into my hands, her voice laced with a thinly veiled threat. "Carry Millie's pencil case for her. She's a future Hargrave student! Once you're inside, make sure you look after her. Got it?"

Brenda couldn't stand it any longer and stepped in to defend me. "Ms. Anderson, Ella has an exam to take, too. Don't you think it's inappropriate to order her around like this?"

Wendy whipped her head around and glared at her. "Brenda, you're nothing more than a glorified pack mule for your students! What gives you the right to lecture me?

"Don't forget, I teach the honors class, and Millie is a future Hargrave student! If anything happens to her, can you afford to take responsibility?

"Someone like Ella was born to be a workhorse. I'm just preparing her for the real world! You should be thanking me instead of interfering!

"Keep running your mouth, and I'll report you to the principal!"

Wendy was notorious for her vicious temper.

I couldn't bear to watch Brenda endure any more abuse, so I accepted Millie's pencil case without protest.

Millie looked even more pleased with herself, her expression saying, "Come on, my little sidekick! All your hard work means nothing compared to my natural talent. But if you keep at it, maybe one day you'll reach the level I started at..."

Just before I left, I overheard Wendy mutter to herself as she watched Millie walk away. "My promotion and pay raise are riding on you!"

Well, Wendy was in for a rude awakening. Without her system's help, Millie was completely useless!

...

As luck would have it, Millie and I ended up in the same exam room.

She looked supremely confident and even mouthed a taunt at me. 'I'm going to be the top scorer!'

So, she wanted to be the top scorer, huh?

I clenched my fists. The moment the exam papers were distributed and we received permission to begin, I immediately called upon my system.

"System, block Millie's system."

[Confirmed!]

Let's see how she planned to become the top scorer without her system!

With her system blocked, I calmly turned my attention back to the exam.

Without Millie's system interfering, my mind was clearer than ever. My fingers flew across the keyboard and mouse as I worked through the questions, one answer after another.

Thanks to my strong academic foundation and the countless hours I'd devoted to studying, I completed the entire exam with ease.

I reviewed my answers one last time and smiled with quiet satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Millie occupied herself with examining her nails, fiddling with her eraser, and doodling on her scratch paper. She hadn't entered a single answer.

She could afford to be so carefree because she trusted her system to steal my total score and swap our exam results at the very last moment.

What she didn't know was that I'd already blocked her system.