When Claire came back to school, the teachers were all over her with compliments. Her classmates, who used to keep their distance after finding out she was the fake rich girl, suddenly started warming up again. It was obvious everyone respected her for one thing her grades. She'd just crushed the latest mock exams, taking the top spot in both her class and the entire grade. No matter how many competitions she entered, or how much time she'd been away for them, she somehow never fell behind in her studies. Most of her classmates—still just teenagers—couldn't help but be a little in awe.
Things at home might have changed for Claire, but she earned every bit of respect from her classmates with her hard work. On the other hand, Cindy, the real rich daughter, had everyone walking on eggshells around her. No one could forget what happened to Molly after she got close to Cindy. These days, Cindy hung out with girls from the regular classes instead and barely spoke to anyone in their class. Honestly, everyone felt a kind of relief.
No matter what, Claire stayed the same. She didn't care how the others treated her. The only friends she was really close to were Sophia and Len. Those two were always asking for her help with homework or test questions, and Claire was happy to sit with them and patiently explain. The rest of the class noticed, so slowly they started coming to her with their own questions. Claire didn't just hand out all the answers, though. She'd encourage them to try the easy ones on their own, and walked them through the harder problems. She was never rude. She just set boundaries.
Then there was Lance. Octavia had clearly gotten to him, because out of nowhere, he came looking for Claire and straight up asked her to give her guaranteed college admission spot to Cindy.
Claire blinked at him. "What did you just say?"
Lance tried to act all logical. "You're planning to sit the college entrance exams anyway, so that recommendation doesn't really matter to you anymore. Why not let Cindy have it instead? Her grades might not be on your level, but she isn't that bad. If she works harder, she might meet the requirements for The Cabinda University." Claire stared at him, half amused, half annoyed. "Are you serious, Lance? With Cindy's results right now, do you really think she can get into The Cabinda University?"
Getting into a regular college wouldn't be a problem for Cindy. But if she wanted a top school, it was going to be tough. Actually, back at her oldhigh school, Cindy's grades were enough for a good university. Now, though, she was putting so much pressure on herself, every test just made things worse. She couldn't get her nerves under
control, and she'd blank out every time. All the studying in the world wouldn't help if her mentality was this rocky. Not that Claire was about to take the blame for Cindy's stress. That was Cindy's own issue. If she couldn't handle the pressure now during regular tests, what was she expecting to do during the actual college exams? She was setting herself up for failure.
Lance, though, sounded a lot less confident than before. "Even if Cindy can't get into The Cabinda University, she'll at least try her. best."He'd already checked in with grades. They all agreed that her foundation. was weaker than the rest of the class. She put in plenty of effort, but if she couldn't get a grip on her
their teachers about Cinnet
anxiety, her scores would stay unpredictable. Sure, If she calmed down, she could get into an average school, but if she stayed like this, there was always the chance she'd tank the college entrance exams completely. The teachers hadn't spelled it out, but Lance could guess what they were thinking.
Claire pressed him. "And what if her best still isn't good enough? Do you honestly think The Cabinda
University is just going to make an exception because she has a recommendation? They
stupid."
Lance scrambled for another excuse. “She could apply for an art major. That's what Octavia said."
Claire couldn't help laughing. “What art, exactly? Has Cindy ever even studied art seriously? Did she even take part in any of the art entrance exams?"
The auditions had already come and gone, and even if Cindy suddenly fell in love with painting or music, it was way too late for that now.