You've Got the Wrong

Sitting in the audience, Finley watched with an open mouth as Evangeline gracefully received her grand prize onstage. His mind raced. She had looked him right in the eye and claimed she knew next to nothing. Had she been intentionally hiding her true intellectual talents just to make a fool out of him? He ground his teeth, feeling the sting of her deception.

The grueling hour-long ceremony finally concluded. The principal’s drawn-out remarks left Evangeline sore all over. Her legs felt numb from standing stiffly on the hard wooden planks. When the crowd dispersed, she dragged her tired feet back to the empty classroom to pack her bag.

Before she could slide her notebook into her backpack, Finley cornered her. He slammed a massive stack of complex Math Olympiad questions directly onto her desk. The thick paper smacked against the wood.

"Try and solve these if you can!" he challenged loudly, his pride demanding satisfaction.

Evangeline gave the paper a lazy glance. She picked up her pen, not even bothering to pull out her chair. She rapidly jotted down the final answers. Her wrist moved in swift, precise strokes, effortlessly utilizing complex mathematical steps that were much more efficient than the provided model solutions. She finished the entire page in mere minutes.

Finley leaned over the desk, tracking her work. He scored her mentally. Full marks. His jaw tightened. Shocked and with a bruised ego, he pointed a stiff finger at the final, most difficult Olympiad question printed on the very last page.

"Why didn't you do it during the test when you clearly know how to?" he demanded.

Evangeline packed her pen away. She had purposefully skipped it in a desperate attempt to lose marks and avoid this exact kind of attention. She brushed him off with a bored sigh. "I didn't have time to do it," she lied smoothly.

Finley scoffed. He hid his genuine awe behind a thick wall of arrogance. "I'll be just as good as you in no time once I get serious, so don't you dare start thinking you're all that."

Later that evening, the grand living room of the Vane manor rang with booming laughter. Jeremiah sat in his leather armchair, overjoyed by the spectacular news.

"You have made our family proud, Evangeline!" Jeremiah declared. He slapped his knee, his eyes crinkling with delight. "Given your undeniable genius, you will from now on serve as Finley's personal math tutor."

Finley jumped up from the sofa. "Grandpa! I can do well if I start learning seriously on my own!" He tried his best to argue his way out of the arrangement, listing every excuse he could invent.

Jeremiah waved a dismissive hand. His mind was made up and immovable. The mandate stood.

Their mandatory tutoring sessions quickly fell into a volatile routine of constant bickering. They sat across from each other at the heavy oak study desk in the library.

"New question. Solve it," Evangeline ordered. She tossed a challenging exercise book across the table. It slid across the polished wood and bumped his knuckles.

Finley merely glanced at the open page with disdain. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "As someone naturally smart as a whip, I can't even be bothered to solve such a basic question after going through so much intense tutoring," he complained leisurely.

Evangeline rested her chin on her hand. "How cocky," she sighed aloud in profound resignation.

The school bell rang the next afternoon. Evangeline navigated the crowded hallway, eager to leave the noisy building. Finley quickly caught up with her, his tall frame cutting through the sea of students holding their textbooks.

"My brother is picking us up today. Where are you going?" he announced, walking far too close to her shoulder.

His proximity instantly drew annoying murmurs from his devoted fangirls. Girls whispered behind their lockers, shooting venomous glares at Evangeline. She ignored him, turning on her heel and heading off down a quiet corridor. She needed to meet Tessa. The other girl had subtly slipped her a folded note earlier during class.

"I'm heading out first, then. I'll wait for you by the school gate," Finley called out. Evangeline didn't look back.

When she reached the designated stairwell, Tessa stood waiting by the railing. The moment they made eye contact, Tessa teared up. She put on a pathetic display, clutching her trembling hands to her chest.

"I keep seeing you and Finley hanging around together recently," Tessa whined, sniffing softly. "Tell me the truth, do you like him?"

Evangeline stood still, already bothered by the dramatic confrontation. "You've got the wrong idea," she replied flatly.

Choking back her crocodile tears, Tessa put on a desperate demeanor. "Will you please help me get together with Finley, then?"

Evangeline cocked her head in consideration. She figured logically that successfully setting up the school's top student with Finley would permanently free her from her agonizing daily tutoring duties. A new girlfriend would occupy all his free time.

"How exactly can I help?" Evangeline asked.

Seeing her willing agreement, Tessa turned around. A cunning smirk suddenly appeared on her face, hidden away from Evangeline's view. Her sorrow vanished in an instant.

"Let's go somewhere quiet," Tessa urged, her voice returning to a sweet, fragile pitch. "I can't possibly tell you the intimate details with so many nosy people around."

Missing the calculated look on Tessa's face entirely, Evangeline adjusted her backpack straps. She blindly followed close behind her without suspecting a single thing, walking deeper into the isolated sections of the school.