CHAPTER 14 - "Secrets Taste Sweeter When They're Sharp."
Navira's POV
Mock exam results drop the next morning.
And the school?
Instantly turns into a zoo.
People crowd around the bulletin board, shrieking, screaming, crying like kindergarten kids who lost their crayons.
I don't rush.
I stroll.
Calm. Slow. Quiet.
Because the thing about being ten steps ahead is that you don't need to run - everyone else does.
When I get close enough, the crowd parts without being asked.
My name sits at the very top of the list.
RANK 1 - NAVIRA AURLINE
Score: Perfect.
All subjects.
I raise an eyebrow.
Expected.
Agnes, on the other hand? She's ranked 72.
A tragic, poetic, humiliating number.
She stands in front of the board with her mouth open, eyes wide, shoulders trembling. She looks like someone unplugged her brain and forgot to plug it back in.
Her friends hover around her, whispering.
"Oh my God, Agnes, how did she beat you?"
"She wasn't even trying..."
"Did she cheat?"
"Navira's... scary."
Agnes finally snaps her head toward me.
Her eyes burn.
I give her a small, polite smile.
The kind of smile that says:
"You lost. Again."
Her face turns red.
She storms away, and I follow her with my gaze - not out of interest, but because watching someone crumble under their own insecurities is... educational.
The Brothers React
I turn around and meet two matching stares.
Alden.
Alastair.
Both standing like twin security guards who take their job too seriously.
Alden narrows his eyes.
"You didn't tell us you were that smart."
"I didn't tell anyone," I correct him.
Alastair crosses his arms.
"Why hide it?"
I tilt my head, amused.
"Would you announce your bank passwords to the world?"
Alden looks uncomfortable.
Alastair mutters, "That's... not the same."
"It is to me," I say with a small shrug. "Information is leverage."
They exchange a worried look.
Good.
They should be worried.
"Just don't use this against Agnes," Alden tries, as if I'm a villain in a TV show.
I smile softly.
"Why would I waste time doing that? She defeats herself daily."
Alden actually chokes.
I walk past them, leaving the two brothers standing there in stunned silence.
Jasver... Again
Before I reach my class, Jasver pops up like a golden retriever with a crush.
"Navira! You got rank 1? That's insane!"
I glance at him.
"Yes. I know."
He laughs - that starstruck, flustered laugh boys get when they're talking to someone far out of their league.
"Are you planning to join student council? You'd win instantly."
"No interest."
"Then... maybe tutoring? You'd be amazing at it."
"No."
He blinks.
"You're... really hard to talk to."
"Correct."
He blushes.
This is ridiculous.
The boy is one accidental eye contact away from writing me poetry.
Agnes watches him from across the hallway, her expression full murder mode.
I catch her glare.
I nod at her kindly.
She looks like she wants to flip a table.
School Buzz - The Storm After the Results
By lunchtime, the whole school is vibrating with rumors:
"Navira got PERFECT scores?"
"She's definitely joining the top academic competitions."
"Maybe the Aurline family will sponsor her."
"She's like... a prodigy."
"Agnes didn't even make top 10 this time."
Each whisper is another nail in Agnes's self-esteem coffin.
I sit at a table alone, opening my lunchbox casually, enjoying the chaos around me like background music.
Students stare - not in a rude way, but in the "I want to study near her so her intelligence rubs off on me" way.
Someone approaches.
A shy girl from the honors class.
"Um... Navira," she whispers, "can I ask... how did you study?"
I look up.
Direct eye contact.
"I didn't."
She stares at me dumbfounded.
Her friend gasps.
Passersby gasp.
Then they hurry away like I just spoke dark magic.
Perfect.
Home - Where the Real Game Is Played
When I get home, the atmosphere is too quiet.
Vivienne looks up from the living room couch.
"Sweetheart, how were the mock exams? Did you do well?"
I smile politely.
"Mediocre."
She blinks. "Oh. That's okay! You still have the finals coming up."
Agnes, sitting beside her, smirks like a gremlin.
"Yeah," she says sweetly. "Mock exams don't matter. Some people just don't have test-taking talent."
I look at her.
Her face is full of desperate triumph.
I let her have it.
It costs me nothing.
Victor walks in, holding tea.
"How'd you score, pumpkin?"
I repeat,
"Somewhat not that well."
He pats my head gently.
"We'll help you improve."
Agnes smiles wider.
I smile widest.
Because they believe me.
Every one of them.
And that means one thing:
My victory is invisible.
My power is hidden.
My leverage is stored away like a blade waiting for its moment.
Agnes thinks she's won today.
The brothers think I'm harmless.
Vivienne thinks I'm overwhelmed.
Victor thinks I need tutoring.
None of them know.
None of them understand.
None of them realize what I'm saving.
And the best part?
I don't have to lie.
I just don't tell.
Nighttime - My Secret Weapon
In my room, I finally pull out the copy of the results the school gave me.
Rank 1.
Perfect scores.
I fold the paper neatly and slide it under my mattress.
"Not yet," I whisper.
Revealing it now would be a waste.
Revealing it later?
That will be devastating.
Because power isn't about showing what you have.
It's about showing it exactly when it hurts most.