Chapter 2: Exams, Eyes, and Enemies

It was later that day, as Shylie walked by the music room, when she first heard the gentle notes of a piano coming from within. Her fingers twitched almost instinctively at the sound. She hesitated outside the door. The song was familiar. She had heard it many times before. Shylie remembered the fluidity of the notes, the intricate path they wove. She had played it herself, not once, not twice, but many times over.

Shylie smiled slightly. Let's see if they remember me.

No longer would she be the wallflower of her past. Inconspicuous and unremarkable. This time, they would not forget. She was Shylie Reed, and this time, she was going to play to win.

The smell of freshly printed test papers was heavy in the air. Room 204 of Rooseville Academy's oldest building. The clock ticked by one second at a time as Shylie Reed sat with her pencil poised. Every ounce of her energy was focused on this exam. Every ounce of her attention was locked on to the page. Like a laser, Shylie's mind cut through the fog. The seemingly endless parade of questions answered one after another.

She had done it before. College, corporate warfare, the markets, all of it. She had been through it, and yet, in her 16-year-old form, Shylie had never felt more invincible. The rest of the class, they were nothing compared to what she had already seen. She finished the final question with a soft sigh of relief. No careless mistakes. No wasted time. Perfectly executed.

Shylie was the first to her feet, the first to leave the classroom with a clean sheet of paper. She left the room with the same quiet confidence she had always honed.

Everyone else? They were not so quiet.

"Did you see Shylie's score on the math test?" One of her classmates breathed in the hallway.

"You know, she got full marks, right? Perfect? No one's ever done that before." Another gasped in disbelief.

Shylie didn't need to hear their praise, she already knew. She had come to Rooseville to play the game, and this was only the start.

The school's weekly mixer was like any other. Seniors and juniors were invited to an event where, for a few hours at least, they could talk and have fun without the ever-looming presence of academia. For others, it was a night to dance, flirt, and forget about their studies for a while. It wasn't the same for Shylie. If she were honest, she was out of her comfort zone, but in a good way. It was time to lay the groundwork for the next version of Shylie.

The gymnasium was bustling with chatter and laughter. Glasses of punch clinking as people talked and laughed. The usual noise. Shylie stood in the corner, unbothered yet fully present. She scanned the room indifferently to the various cliques.

But then, she saw him.

Darren Tan.

Two years older, and part of Rooseville's golden boy. Friendly, attractive, athletic. All the hallmarks of a popular man. Girls swooned as he effortlessly floated through the crowd. Shylie couldn't help but think of how the air seemed a little lighter around him.

His eyes met hers across the room and for a split second, something unspoken passed between them. Something akin to interest, perhaps. Darren made his way towards her with a casual air, like people clearing a path for him were nothing new.

"Hey, you're Shylie, right? Heard you're a force of nature when it comes to numbers." He smiled amiably as he sat beside her, leaning against the wall.

Shylie didn't give away her true feelings. She was cool. Composed. "That is what they say"

Darren laughed, and sat without waiting for an answer. "Mind if I join you?"

Shylie hesitated. In another life, in another time, she would have avoided this at all costs, hidden from the lights and attention. But this was different. She wasn't who she had been. She was new. This was her chance to show that. She wasn't here to fade into the background. "Sure."

The two of them talked, easily. They discussed projects, midterms, final exams and the stress of being a Rooseville student. Darren was refreshingly sincere, interested and even-keeled. Shylie couldn't figure out what he was after. This felt different from everything else she had experienced. It was honest, raw, and he wasn't bad looking either.

For a moment, Shylie had the urge to let go, let Darren be her first, to have him make her a real teenager. But no. She reined in her true feelings. The Shylie they all knew was a projection. This version of her would remain a secret to all but Darren. She was on a mission, and Shylie wasn't in the business of teenage infatuations or easy banter. She had bigger plans.

The night passed, and as Darren and Shylie said their goodbyes, Darren looked back at her. "You're different, Shylie," he said. "Not like everyone else."

She smiled faintly. "Maybe because I've seen more."

Midterms descended on Rooseville Academy like a wave. To most of her fellow students, it was a time of all-nighters, last-minute cramming and the usual stress that came with exams. To Shylie? It was just business as usual, just another milestone on the path to her goals.

Shylie was no longer a shadow of a girl in the back of the room. She was front and center. Her hand moved with the speed and precision of decades of experience, solving exams at a level she had not approached since before her birth. She finished exams with speed that made her teachers pause, furrow their brows, and whisper to one another in disbelief as she left the classroom long before anyone else. The rumors only built from there.

"Is she cheating?" A classmate whispered under his breath.

"No, impossible. She finishes her exams before the others. And she was the one who solved that bonus calculus problem, the university-level one!" Another gaped, speechless.

The rumors swirled around Shylie, all-consuming and relentless. She let them. She had more important things to focus on.

The only person who didn't need to whisper, though, was Leah.

Leah was watching Shylie with a look of pure jealousy in her eyes. Her usual easy, confident smile had faltered, threatened by the ascent of Shylie Reed. It was hard for Leah to process, having Shylie outshine her in the midterms. It didn't help that this new junior was already making moves that not even a senior like Leah had made yet. Shylie was a junior. Leah was a senior. The balance was about to be tested.

Shylie had long made a habit of the cherry blossom tree outside of the cafeteria, where she spent her lunch hours away from the clatter and din of the other students. It was her way of resetting, refocusing and strategizing. She was well aware of Leah and Darren, however, and was happy to take advantage of a found opportunity.

"You always eat lunch by yourself?" Darren appeared next to her, a box of bento in each hand, voice warm and teasing.

Shylie rolled her eyes in response. "Don't you have a fan club you need to entertain?"

He smirked and took a seat beside her without waiting for permission. "They can hold up their end for a bit."

Shylie eyed the additional box. "That's not my order."

"I made it," Darren said casually. "Figured you might not be eating with all the exams coming up."