Chapter 24 – The Pending Storm
past
(three days after the competition started)
Melissa Spears sat quietly in her space, in the dorm room she shares with violet, lost in deep thought.
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4 days earlier.
Her father had called her home unexpectedly, and even the principal had told her to go without question.
She thought maybe something serious had happened to the family company — she was right, but she never imagined how serious.
When she got home, her mother wasn't around.
One of the maids told her her father was waiting in his study.
She walked in nervously, ready to greet him, but before she could even open her mouth, her father spoke first.
"How is your relationship with Andrea?" he asked, voice calm but sharp.
"It's… okay, Father",she lied.
"It's okay?" he repeated, his tone darkening. "It's okay?"
Before Melissa could react, the sound of a loud slap echoed in the room.
"If it's okay," he hissed, pointing at the desk, "then what is that?"
Melissa's hand trembled as she reached for the file he pointed at. The moment she flipped it open, her world froze.
Her father's company — the one he inherited from her grandfather — their family's pride, their wealth, their legacy… its stocks had dropped sharply.
On the next page, there was something worse — a report from Imperial High.
A record of her bullying, of her punishment, and finally, a warning from the school board:
Any further misconduct will lead to immediate expulsion.
Melissa's face went pale.
"How… how's this possible? I thought no one knew."
Her father slammed his hand on the desk, scoffing. "No one knew? Do you even know who reported you? Andrea! Andrea himself did it!"
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "He—what?"
"If you can't even manage to hold onto one boy," her father growled, "then you have no place in this family!"
He turned away, breathing heavily, before saying more quietly, "You know how important this is, Melissa. For your aunt… for this family.
You must marry Andrea. That's the only way we can survive this."
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Back to Melissa.
Melissa layed on her bed, staring blankly at her phone.
Truthfully speaking, she didn't even know if she loved Andrea anymore.
Maybe she never really had.
Maybe it was never her dream — just something her parents carved into her mind since she was young.
She was tired.
Tired of chasing someone who clearly hated her.
Tired of being her father's pawn.
Just then, her phone rang.
Julia (Clara) was calling.
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"Melissa," Clara's voice came through, honey-sweet but heavy with something else. "Can you do something for me? Go into Violet's drawer and pick out a spare set of her clothes. Bring them to my dorm."
Melissa frowned. "Why? What do you want with Violet's clothes?"
"You'll know when you get here," Clara said smoothly.
Melissa hesitated, feeling a strange chill in her gut.
Still, she obeyed — because saying no to Clara never ended well,at least for the others.
"Julia can't do nothing to her, She's Melissa spears ",she told herself, trying to calm her racing heart.
When she reached Clara's dorm, she knocked lightly.
The door opened almost immediately. Clara stood there, smiling a little too widely.
"You're here," she said. "Come in."
Melissa stepped inside slowly and handed her the clothes. "Here, this is what you asked for. What do you plan to do with it, Julia?", she asked
Clara smirked, her tone shifting to something dark.
"Don't worry, Melissa. You'll know soon enough."
Then she tilted her head, that smile turning almost gleeful. "You know why I'm doing this, right? To help you get your man back. And soon…"
Her voice lowered, eyes gleaming with madness.
"…you won't see Violet again."
"Ahahaha—aaahahahah—!" Clara's laughter filled the room, echoing off the walls, cold and sharp.
Melissa froze, her heart hammering, fear gripping it.
The moment Clara waved her off, she bolted from the room — her hands shaking, her face pale.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Back to the present.
It was finally the day of the finale.
Only ten schools were left standing — Excellence High, Imperial High, Arise High (yep, they made it), The Adventurers, Alliance, Saylet High, Justice High, Redeem High, 1st Migan High, and So Free High.
The first match began.
Arise High was up against Justice High — Justice High lost and was immediately disqualified.
Saylet High went against Excellence High — and of course, Saylet lost, so they were out too.
Then came Imperial High's turn.
Imperial high was up against So Free High, and So Free lost, so they were also disqualified.
The Adventurers faced Alliance next, and The Adventurers lost, leaving the field.
Redeem High went against 1st Migan High — and 1st Migan lost, meaning they too were disqualified.
All this happened in just one single exhausting day.
By the time it was all over, the students from every school were worn out — sweaty, tired, and running on pure nerves.
Violet slumped down on the bench, breathing heavily, her heartbeat racing. She stretched her arms above her head and whispered, "Just one more step, Violet. One more."
Inside her, Vira clicked her tongue.
"Host, your heart's thumping like you just ran a marathon. Are you Nervous?"
Violet sighed quietly. "Maybe. But it's fine. It means I did well."
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The sound of the microphone being tapped pulled her out of her thoughts.
The MC walked up to the stage again, his voice booming through the hall.
"Welcome back, everyone! As you already know, making it to this stage isn't easy."
He paused, looking around the crowd before smiling. "But sorry to break it to you, we're now in the semi-finals. From now on — if you lose, you're out!"
The whole place went silent for a second, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.
"For Excellence High, with the most wins so far, they will be exempted from this round with a score of 80 out of 100 — that's 4 points in total.
For Imperial High, with a score of 60 points, that's 3 points — and they'll face Redeem High tomorrow morning, who have the exact same score."
The MC adjusted his glasses before continuing.
"As for Alliance High and Arise high, both at 50 points, they'll also face off. The winners from these two matches will battle each other — and the final winner will go against Excellence High for the championship! Do you understand?"
"Yes sir!" all the students shouted together, their voices echoing across the hall.
The MC smiled. "Good. You may all leave and rest for today."
Violet got up slowly, letting out a long breath.
Tomorrow was the real test.
"Violet," Emery said softly, walking beside her. "We're almost there. Are you ready?"
Violet smiled faintly. "I've been ready since the first day we got here."
As they walked out of the hall, Vira hummed lazily inside her.
"Host, I can feel it. Tomorrow's going to be interesting."
"Let's just hope it's not too interesting," Violet muttered under her breath.
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Meanwhile, back at Imperial High, Andrea leaned against the window of the student council room, holding his phone as he read the update about the competition.
"She's doing well," he murmured, a faint smile curling on his lips.
Then he ran his hand through his hair, a small sigh escaping.
"Just come back soon, Violet… make me proud."
_________________________________________________________________________
The next day.
It was finally the semi-finals — the battle between Imperial High and Redeem High.
The rules were simple: one hundred questions.
Each question had to be answered by the fastest hand to press the bell.
Mathematics, algebra, tricky logic, and mind-twisting calculations — all packed into one intense hour and thirty minutes.
By the time it ended, the results were clear.
Imperial High came out victorious.
Redeem High was eliminated.
Next up was Alliance High versus Arise High.
That round was brutal, but in the end, Alliance won — which meant they'd be the ones facing Imperial High next.
The students were given a three-hour break and told to return by noon for the final showdown.
As Violet was about to leave the hall with Emery, Jeff suddenly walked up to her.
"About that day," he said coldly, his expression unreadable. "Whatever you think you're doing, just stop it.
We've worked too hard to get here. You better stop before you ruin things for all of us.
Next time I see you doing it again, I'll expose you myself."
He turned and walked away without even giving her a chance to speak.
Emery and Violet blinked, completely confused. "Violet… what is he talking about?"
"I don't know," Violet replied honestly, frowning. "I really don't."
Emery crossed his arms, glaring at Jeff's retreating back. "I told you that guy's a psychopath. Just… be careful, okay?"
"I will, Emery. Don't worry," Violet said softly.
Inside her, Vira couldn't keep quiet anymore.
"Host, there are just too many people on crack in this world. And that one—" she huffed dramatically, "his brain crack is worse than your father's!.
Emery's right, you better watch out for that cracked-up boy. I can feel it — he's up to no good."
Violet sighed quietly but didn't argue. She had the same uneasy feeling, though she didn't want to admit it.
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To clear their heads, she and Emery decided to take a walk to a small café near Migan City College.
The café was tiny but cozy, the kind of place that lookhS,ed straight out of a storybook. The walls were soft pink, the chairs white, and even the cakes were pastel-colored.
Vira immediately groaned inside her.
"Host, this café screams Melissa Spears. I don't like it. It's too pink — it's attacking my eyes."
But Violet and Emery thought it was cute. They found a quiet corner by the window, ordered bubble tea and slices of strawberry cake, and finally let themselves breathe.
Emery leaned back, sighing dramatically. "Even if we fail now, I'm still satisfied. We made it to the top three! Honestly, I want to faint."
Violet smiled faintly but shook her head. "Sorry, Emery, but I don't agree with that."
"Huh?"
"We've come too far to just settle for third place. As long as we haven't tried our best yet, we have no right to limit ourselves. Why can't we aim for first? Didn't we work this hard for a reason? Giving up too early isn't an option."
Inside her, Vira clapped like an overdramatic cheerleader.
"Host! That's the spirit! Let him know! ,Plant that warrior mindset right into his brain!"
Emery blinked for a moment, then smiled. "You're right, Violet. Without trying, how can we just give up?"
He raised his fists playfully. "Okay, I promise — no more talk about losing. Let's do this. Fighting!"
He did the little Korean-style cheer pose, making Violet laugh softly despite herself.
"Fighting," she echoed, smiling back.