Edison really knew his way around the kitchen, and Claire was always happy to eat whatever he made for her. Tonight, he'd brought over a spread with two meat dishes, a veggie side, and a bowl of soup. It was all of Claire's favorites.
There was just something about food from home that hit different. In Cabinda, she'd had top chefs cooking every day, but none of it compared to these simple, comforting dishes. She ate so well that her mood instantly improved.
After dinner, she took a stroll through the neighborhood, just enjoying the quiet, then headed back, showered, and got ready for bed. She was already half-asleep when Shirley called, desperate to talk about her idol, Oakley.
"Claire, did you hear? Oakley's almost totally healed," Shirley gushed. "He did a livestream today and you could barely see his scar. I almost cried he really didn't end up disfigured at all!"
"Yeah, I know," Claire mumbled, yawning hard.
Even though she'd napped earlier, she was already getting sleepy again.
"He's just so handsome... I could stare at him all day," Shirley sighed.
Claire instinctively held her phone away for a second, not bothering to hide her teasing. “Have you studied for your idol lately? How's that exam prep going?"
That killed Shirley's excitement fast.
"To be honest, with my grades, I'll be lucky if I get into an average university," she admitted. "Do you think I'm just not smart enough?”
"Come on. The James family has good genes. Still, somehow, I can't even beat Cindy's scores. How sad is that?"
The mention of exams made Shirley sound totally defeated, like she'd lost all her energy. She was convinced she'd never get into a top school, and compared to Claire, who treated tests like they were no big deal, it just made her feel worse.
"Don't stress," Claire told her. "Some people just need a little more time to get there. Even if you don't outscore me, you can definitely beat Cindy."
Shirley perked up. "You really think I'm smarter than her?"
She always figured she wasn't at the bottom of the family's academic rankings. At least Cindy was worse, right?
"Not exactly," Claire said, chuckling. "I just think you have a better attitude about it. You never know-you might just get lucky and surprise yourself."
Shirley groaned, flopping right back into self-doubt. "So you think I'm not as good as her, after all!"
"Stop complaining and go study. But seriously, don't push yourself too hard.”
"If you're not careful, you'll go bald before you're even out of college," Claire teased.
Shirley shuddered at the thought. "Don't even joke! My housekeeper cleaned my room yesterday and said I'm shedding like crazy."
"My mom's started worrying about my health, telling me not to force myself. She keeps saying we're not strapped for cash, so I should take it easy."
But Shirley wasn't willing to give up that easily.
They chatted for a few more minutes before Claire finally called it a night.
The next morning, the alarm dragged her out of bed. She rushed through her
morning routine and headed to school. As soon as she arrived, the teachers' faces
lit up.
The math teacher immediately
grabbed her for a one-on-one, eager to hear all about the competition. He ever asked her if she could give the younger students some tips. Claire agreed-it wasn't a big deal to spend a period sharing her experiences. .net Darcey, though, was all about the upcoming college entrance exams. She wanted to make sure Claire could keep up with the intense review sessions, telling her to do straight to the subject teachers anytime she got stuck.
Apparently, she'd already
.n
coordinated with all the teachers to give Claire extra help if she needed it. Not that Claire really did-her grades spoke for themselves a she was more than capable of
handling revision on her own.
and
Sometimes, Darcey couldn't help but be impressed by Claire's discipline and focus.
Before anyone knew it, the countdown to the big exams had shrunk to just one month.