Chapter 2

In the hallway, Arian's friends' teasing continued.

"Wow, Arian. Can't believe you use Hannah to win over the campus queen."

"With Josie here, of course Hannah is ugly. Isn't that right, Josie?"

Josie said nothing, only smiling more coyly, a blush rising to her cheeks.

She lightly hit the arm of the boy who made the last remark, but her eyes glancing toward Arian.

Sensing her gaze, Arian smiled at her back.

I understood now.

Arian lost the game and came to tell me I was ugly, all while Josie was there.

Arian was smart. However, he didn't choose a smarter way to avoid the Dare and prevent me and Josie from feeling awkward.

Instead, he chose to say I was ugly in front of Josie.

If I was right, Arian and Josie must have started flirting a long time ago, without my knowledge.

But this day last year, Arian insisted that I made a pact with him: that we would be together after the SAT.

He didn't know how happy I was when I knew my secret crush felt the same for me at that moment.

I stayed up that whole night, rolling around excitedly in bed and giggling while reading romantic comics and imagining us together.

But now, my anticipation and feelings became a joke.

Arian turned out to be a scumbag and made me into a clown.

The moment Arian called me ugly played continuously in my mind. I couldn't shake the memory of his friends laughing at me, and the way he and Josie exchanged smiles. My heart throbbed with pain.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Arian, however, was still chatting away with his friends, not even sparing me a glance.

That was when I realized I shouldn't be crying, that he was not worth my tears.

I dug my fingernails into my palms, using the pain to tell myself not to cry, or I'd be an even bigger joke.

Dwelling on past mistakes, no matter how painful, was useless.

Once a person had changed, it didn't matter how sincerely one treated them. There was no returning to the past.

All I could do now was move forward.

I'd make all future choices correctly.

With only one hour left until the last exam, I refused to dwell on the pain Arian caused me and tried to recall how he turned into such a scumbag in his senior year.

Time was precious now. I had to dedicate it to exam preparation, not waste it on Arian.

After a few deep breaths, my mind felt much clearer.

I quickly gathered my things and got up to leave.

Arian immediately caught up, grabbing my wrist tightly.

He said, "Hannah, they're all my friends. Don't take it so seriously or you'll spoil the mood. Lighten up and don't make a scene."

He had called me ugly, then told me to lighten up.

I wasn't that forgiving.

A week before the SAT, while Arian and I were doing practice problems together, we encountered a multiple-choice question.

Its wrong options were highly misleading.

I got this question wrong, but Arian got it right.

Considering that one point on the SAT could make a huge difference, one wrong multiple-choice question could lead to studying in different schools and majors.

I asked Arian, "Do you think one wrong multiple-choice answer can separate us forever?"

His smile was warm and bright in the sunlight, worthy of having poetry written in its honor.

He said firmly, "No. No matter what, we'll be together.

"Wherever you go, I go. No one can separate us, let alone a mere multiple-choice question."

But now, in a game of Truth and Dare, he chose to embarrass me, disregarding whether it would affect my afternoon exam.

I realized that even without the multiple-choice question, his choice now showed that we were no longer on the same path.

I shook Arian's hand gently. "You said it yourself, it's just a game. I'm not angry.

"But my stomach feels a bit unwell. I'm going to the restroom, and will probably have to go straight to the exam hall afterward. Don't wait for me."

I even gave him a smile to make him believe I wasn't angry.

If I admit I was angry now, Arian would only pester me endlessly.

I couldn't let him continue to affect my SAT.

Arian finally let go of my hand and patted my head. His tone was gentle. "I knew it. You're the best, Hannah. Go ahead. Good luck this afternoon."

I nodded at him and smiled sweetly.

Then I turned and went to another floor, found a quiet corner, and focused on reviewing key points.

I was determined to give the last exam my all and showed Arian up.

I'd seize every moment and stride towards a bright future without him.