Chapter 3

I took three weeks of sick leave and locked myself in my room. Mom assumed that something had set me off, and knocked on my door after some time.

"How about we just call off the transfer, honey?"

I didn't even lift my head. "Give me three days' time, Mom. In three days, I'm going to shut everyone up."

I'd long forgotten all the knowledge I'd learned in high school, but fortunately, my foundations were still solid.

I spread out texts on Amerasian and Borisian literature, as well as some writing guides. Then, I used the Lakernel note-taking method to reorganize the key points. The study methods I'd picked up while preparing for my GMATs were now coming in handy.

Literary analysis was the simplest—I created an outline for theme, symbolism, and character development in one night.

Essay-writing, on the other hand, was a little troublesome. I read up on the structure of argumentative essays and rhetorical devices while practicing my writing.

Critical reading skills were practically at my fingertips—those analytical skills were much easier to get the hang of than GMAT reading comprehension.

As for history, well, Amerasian history was nothing much. Ezelian history was slightly more complicated but not too challenging to grasp either.

Although mathematics wasn't my strong suit, scoring a B was no problem at all.

Three days later, I was sitting in the exam hall, unable to keep the smile off my face as I looked at the liberal arts proficiency test paper.

Was this it?

Two weeks later, the results were announced. I not only scored a B but an A- grade, and even Amos looked at me in a different light.

"What exactly have you been up to in the past two weeks, Emma?" he asked.

"Studying," I replied matter-of-factly. "What else?"

The transfer process went very smoothly. When I returned to my science class to collect my things, the entire class watched with interest.

Jack leaned against my desk and commented in a passive-aggressive manner, "Well? Are you really going to leave? You'd better not come crying back to me when you end up at the bottom of the rankings in the liberal arts class."

I stopped what I was doing and turned around slowly. "Do you perhaps lack volume in your vocabulary, Jack? Do you know any terms other than 'loser' and 'bottom?' Do you want me to recommend a mobile app to you?"

I picked up my phone. "Look. This is a thesaurus. 'Trash', 'garbage', 'idiot', 'brainless'—these are terms that can all be used to describe you. Don't always repeat the same two words. You'll only look uncultured."

The whole class burst into laughter.

Jack's face turned bright red. "Emma!"

Then, I pretended to remember something. "Oh, by the way, I heard that your father's been getting in touch with his connections lately. I recall something about him wanting to send you to Swairoo?

"What's wrong? Is even Ezelia unwilling to accept a terrible student like you?"

This was a fact I learned in my previous life. Jack's grades were so poor that he couldn't even gain admittance into a third-rate university. In the end, he could only get himself a diploma in Swairoo to scrape by.

Jack's expression changed instantly. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

I smiled. "Nonsense? Is it? Do you want to make a bet? Let's bet on whether you'll be able to score 1200 points on your SATs. Whoever loses will have to bark like a dog over the school broadcast."

"You—"

I arched an eyebrow. "Are you too much of a chicken to take the bet? I suppose that's true. With these grades of yours, you'll only lose even if you go ahead with the bet."

Sarah tugged on Jack's arm. "Don't fall for her trap, Jack."

I looked at her. "I heard that your physics exam scores have been dropping lately, Sarah. You went from third-place to tenth-place in class, didn't you? Are you already flagging that quickly?"

I clicked my tongue.

Sarah's face turned pale. "What does that have to do with you?"

I slowly packed up my books as I replied, "Nothing. I just wanted to remind you not to stare at others all day. Where do you get the nerve to mock others when you can't even maintain your own grades?"

As I walked to the door, I turned to look back at her and Jack. "Also, don't play petty tricks on Instagram next time. Otherwise, don't blame me for what happens next. Apart from you guys, who else would resort to unsophisticated methods like making anonymous posts?"

I promptly left without looking back.

The sound of objects being smashed rang out from behind me.

I laughed inwardly. That felt great!

After transferring to the liberal arts class, I put all my focus into studying.

I would get up at 5:00 am every day to memorize terms and only go to bed at midnight. My current body was young and healthy, so I wasn't afraid of pulling all-nighters.

In the first monthly exam, I placed 35th in my class and 89th in my grade.

Although the results were nothing to boast about, they were pretty good for a student who'd just transferred classes.