,Coolest Girl in Town
Elise paused for a moment. She was a double degree graduate and only came to Athesea’s high
school because of a bet with her grandfather. She never considered any education after high school,
since she had graduated from University of Edinburgh with a double degree already. Going through
college for the second time was pointless for her. Elise shook her head. “Not exactly.” Zachary said,
“I’m aiming for Princeton.” The top college in the nation?
Elise said, “I wish you all the best then.” Zachary looked at her seriously and pursed his lips. “Elise, it
shouldn’t be a problem for you to get into Princeton if you want to. You can consider it.” Elise didn’t
answer that. Instead, she said, “I don’t really like Princeton.” In other words, she would never opt for
that college. Zachary was crestfallen for obvious reasons. Princeton was the top college in the nation,
and his family wanted him to get into it, so he had no choice but to do it.
But that meant he couldn’t meet Elise, since she was not interested in it. “It’s fine. As long as you’re in
Northcliff.” Elise knew what Zachary was trying to say, but she had to give him a clear-cut refusal.
Dragging things out was a big taboo in relationships. She wouldn’t give anyone even the slightest bit of
hope if she didn’t like him. “I might not be going to any college, Zachary. You don’t have to stubbornly
cling onto me. You’ll be living a great life and meeting a lot of new people.
Don’t be too obsessed over me. You might just meet the girl of your life tomorrow.” Zachary was
looking at her, but he didn’t seem to hear what she just said. “I know, but I’ll still go on.” In other words,
he didn’t mind that his love was unrequited. Even though she had no romantic interest in him, that
wouldn’t change how he felt about her. A frown appeared on her forehead. She never talked to him that
much aside from that time in the National Math Olympiad training camp. Even then, they didn’t talk
about anything other than the competition.
Why on earth does he like me that much? “Sorry, Zachary. My boyfriend must be looking for me, so I
have to leave now.” She brought her boyfriend up so Zachary would give up on her, but he only smiled.
“Sure. You go ahead. I’ll be waiting here.” Elise went away, but she couldn’t shake the weird feeling she
got from meeting Zachary. However, she couldn’t put a finger on why she felt weird, so she put it aside
for the time being. Right after she came back into the hall, she saw Alexander in the crowd. Before she
could meet up with him, Ashlyn stopped her.
“Miss Lawson.” When Elise turned around, she saw Ashlyn, who was surrounded by a group of rich
ladies, come up to her. Elise smiled mirthlessly. “Anything you need, Miss Lawson?” No matter how
many times Ashlyn saw her, she could never understand why Elise had the guts to stand among
them. She’s so basic and ugly. “Is this the lady you told us about, Ashlyn? She looks special,” one of
the ladies said. She was Queenie, Ashlyn’s friend.
The moment she said that, the other ladies snickered. “Don’t call her that, Queenie. She might not be a
pretty girl, but she’s a brave one. I don’t think we get that kind of people in our circle nowadays.”
Queenie dismissed what her friend said, and she looked at Elise in contempt. “She’s just dragging our
class down. Now I feel all dirty knowing someone like her is breathing the same air as me.” Elise knew
the girls were here to cause trouble at once, but she wouldn’t give them the pleasure. “Well, you can
always get the hell out of here. You belong in the trash can anyway.”
Queenie flew into a rage. “What did you just call me, you b*tch? You’re the trash here! Get a mirror for
Pete’s sake.” Another lady called Nelly agreed, “You know, you can get first prize even without any
makeup on in a Halloween costume contest. If anyone here is ugly, it’s you.” Elise crossed her arms
and stared at the ladies as she replied without skipping a beat, “Honestly, I might be ugly, but at least
I’m not a troll. You could be cast in the first Harry Potter’s film and nobody could tell the difference
between you and the troll in the dungeon.” Before they could say anything, Elise looked at Ashlyn.
“You think this is funny? Remember what happened last time? Now that was funny. I can jog your
memory for you if you’ve forgotten all about it.” Ashlyn could hear the implicit threat. She came here in
the first place to embarrass Elise, but she never thought Elise would manage to shut her down so
easily. Queenie and Nelly were about to retort, but Ashlyn stopped them. “Let it go, girls. We don’t have
to waste our time with her. Don’t forget what we’re here for.” Queenie and Nelly were disgruntled. They
wouldn’t have been insulted by Elise if it wasn’t because of Ashlyn asking them for help.
But now, instead of helping them out, Ashlyn told them to shut up, much to their annoyance. “You told
us to do it, Ashlyn. How could you do this after what she said to us?” Queenie grumbled. Nelly shared
her sentiment. “You’d better not use us as a means to an end. We’re not stupid.” The sudden infighting
caught Ashlyn by surprise, but she had more important matters to handle, so it wasn’t the time to
antagonize them.
“I told you she managed to one up me once, but I never thought she could handle you guys at the
same time so easily. Seems like I underestimated her. Don’t blame me for telling you guys to stop
though. She has dirt on me, and she won’t hesitate to spill it if I go any further back there.”
Ashlyn was starting to play victim. Queenie didn’t like it, but it wasn’t the time to be fighting among
themselves, so she let it slide for the time being. “It’s not your fault, girl. Elise is better than we thought.
I’ll have to teach her a lesson.
You have a plan tonight, don’t you? Add her into the equation. The guard outside should work well
enough. Let’s give her a free sampling then.” The girls grinned at each other evilly as they concocted a
sinister plan for Elise.
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