Chapter 2

I looked up at Alex with a frown. "This is mine."

Alex frowned. "You gave it to me. Wasn't I supposed to use it?"

"I only gave it to you because you said we'd study together," I replied.

Emily walked over, clutching her water bottle. "Sophie, don't take it the wrong way. I had no idea it was yours. Alex told me he organized it, so I went ahead and used it."

With that, she slid the notebook over to me.

"You can take it back. I can't figure it out since I'm not a genius," she added.

Alex reached out to stop her. "No need to give it back. Sophie understands the basics better than you do. She'll get more out of this notebook."

A girl in the front row let out a laugh. "Emily's way too nice. Sophia tried to steal her seat, and she's the first one to apologize."

"I'm not here to steal anyone's seat," I said, my voice stiff.

Alex's expression darkened. "Sophie, enough is enough. It's your first day here, and you're already making a scene. That's not a good look."

Emily lowered her head. "Alex, please don't argue because of me."

The more she said that, the more judgmental the looks around me became.

Someone was secretly filming me from under their desk. "Kids from the regular class are always so dramatic."

I reached for the notebook.

"Stop it." But Alex put his hand on the cover.

Ryan reached over from the side and snatched the notebook away.

He flipped through a couple of pages and pointed at a sloppy scribble. "Alex, when did your handwriting get this bad?"

Alex's face went stiff.

Emily quickly jumped in, "Maybe Alex scribbled it down back then."

Ryan tossed the notebook back onto my desk. "That's impressive. He copied the misspellings Sophie made when she was a kid."

Someone in the class burst out laughing.

Alex's ears blushed. He snatched the notebook back, lowering his voice. "Ryan, stay out of it."

Ryan spun his pen. "Can you guys keep it down? I'm trying to sleep here."

I thought that was the end of it.

Before the after-school study session began, a photo appeared in the class group chat.

It showed me reaching for the notebook, with the caption: [First day after transferring, and she's trying to steal someone's seat and notebook.]

The sender was anonymous.

People started replying right away.

[No wonder she couldn't handle the regular class.]

[Emily is too nice. She's definitely getting pushed around.]

Alex didn't say anything in the group chat.

He sent me a single message: [Ignore it. Don't embarrass Emily.]

I stared at the screen.

Ryan glanced over from the side. "Your childhood sweetheart really knows how to play the game."

"How do you know?" I asked.

He set his phone face down on the desk. "Everyone knows."

I was burning up with embarrassment.

When study hall was over, Alex was waiting for me at the classroom door.

I thought he was finally going to explain about the seat and the notebook.

But instead, he said, "Sophie, you should apologize to Emily."

The hallway lights were bright.

Emily was standing behind him, half-hidden in the shadows.

"Why me?" I asked.

Alex handed me his phone. "She's been crying because of what people said in the group chat. If you hadn't snatched the notebook, nobody would've bothered to record it."

I looked at him, speechless. "So I have to apologize for taking my own notebook back?"

Emily said softly, "It's fine, Alex. Sophie might still be getting used to being here."

"Shut up," someone snapped.

It wasn't me who said that.

Ryan came out of the classroom with his backpack slung over one shoulder, his school uniform unzipped, and a crumpled stack of test sheets in his hand.

He glared at Emily. "Whether she fits in or not, that's got nothing to do with you. If you're crying, that's your problem. Don't blame someone else," he said.

Emily bit her lip, embarrassed.

Alex stepped forward. "Ryan, you're at the bottom of the class. Stay out of it."

Ryan smirked. "Yeah, I'm at the bottom of the class, but at least I know you should say thanks when you take someone else's notes."

Alex's expression grew darker.

By then, a crowd had already gathered in the hallway.

Nancy came out of the office. "What's all the noise about?"

Emily quickly wiped away her tears. "Ms. Davis, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have used Alex's notes. Sophie got us wrong."

She was slick with her words.

She made it seem like my notebook belonged to Alex, and her using it was a misunderstanding on my part.

Nancy glanced at me. "Sophie, you're new here. Try to get along with everyone, okay? Emily's doing fine in class, and Alex is helping her out. As classmates, you guys should support each other. Don't take it personally."

"I wrote those notes," I said.

Nancy frowned. "Do you have any proof?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

The notebook was in Alex's hands, and Emily's name was taped right on the cover.

My name wasn't anywhere inside.

I used to trust Alex so much that I never thought I needed to watch my back around him.

Alex said softly, "Sophie, don't make a scene in front of Ms. Davis. I'll put together a new set of notes for you tomorrow."

People started murmuring in the crowd.

"She wants Alex to baby her, right?"

"Still milking the childhood friend thing in senior year?"

Ryan suddenly turned to me. "Do you still have the original notes?"

I shook my head. "But I do have some scratch paper."

"Bring them in tomorrow," Ryan said.

Nancy was getting annoyed. "Ryan, you should worry about your own grades before playing the hero."

Ryan slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Fine, I'll boost my grades tomorrow."

That night, I went home and dug through my drawer, pulling out every sheet of scratch paper I'd used over winter break.

My mom saw me crouched on the floor and asked if I was having trouble after transferring classes.

"I'm doing well," I replied, stuffing the sheets into my backpack.

She didn't press me, but set a glass of warm milk on my desk. "Your grandpa called this afternoon. He said the Math League is still waiting for your answer. If you don't want to go, I'll tell them you're not interested."

I didn't respond.

Outside, the wind rustled through the trees, leaves tapping against the window.

I looked at the pile of scratch papers in my backpack, and for the first time, I realized the window seat Alex saved for me wasn't such a big deal after all.