The Elites

Chapter 1

Chloe

Chloe stood with Sophia among the crowd of hundreds of students. Their university had announced the scores were out and they would be posted at noon. Sophia had dragged Chloe down to the assembly hall, pushing past dozens of students dressed in their gray and black uniforms to be near the giant screen on stage. They both awaited the news of whether they'd be Elites again or not.

"I'm terrified," Sophia confessed next to Chloe. "What if I don't become an Elite again?"

She rocked back and forth on her heels, looking like she was on the brink of a mental breakdown. Chloe grew nervous herself. Even though she'd spent the last year as the first Elite, she couldn't help but worry that somehow she'd lose her spot.

"Don't worry, Sophia," Chloe said. "You've been the fourth Elite for the past year and you'll be an Elite again. You're brilliant."

"I don't know, Chloe. Anyone can take my spot. You never know."

Sophia began to pace next to Chloe. It hard to move with the assembly hall being hoarded by the entire university. Everyone eagerly awaited their scores, hoping to become one of the Elites.

"I don't want to lose the perks of being an Elite!" Sophia exclaimed. "I love having my own private building to study, hang out, exercise and more. I don't want to lose all that!"

Chloe opened her mouth to tell her she needed to be more confident, but then their dean spoke. Chloe's eyes flew to the stage where Ms. Leonard stood, her eyes bright as she scanned the crowd in front of her. Everyone had grown silent as they anticipated their scores.

"Good afternoon, everyone. It's time to announce your rankings," Mr. Leonard said. "Last year was a busy year and everyone worked incredibly hard. It was a lot of data to mine through, but we finally have our results. They will appear on this screen momentarily."

Sophia froze next to Chloe, her eyes glued to the screen ahead of them. Chloe gulped, wondering where she would be. She couldn't care less about the rankings or perks, but she needed to be first for her scholarships.

"So, here are your scores," Ms. Leonard said.

Ms. Leonard clicked a button on the remote she held and the television burst alive. Chloe's eyes flew to the first spot on the screen and grew relieved at the sight of her name. And next to her, Sophia squealed with delight. Chloe smiled, glad to see that her friend was once again in fourth place.

"We did it!" Sophia squealed. "We made it! Again. We did it Chloe!"

Chloe laughed. Sophia began to jump up and down, bursting with delight. People shot her dirty looks, but Chloe ignored them as Sophia continued to celebrate.

But then, Sophia abruptly stopped. She stared at something behind Chloe with a frown on her face and curious, Chloe turned around and grew surprised to see Nash storming up to them. His face was red with rage and Chloe blinked, surprised by how angry he looked.

"Not this again," Sophia groaned.

Nash stormed closer to them and his wavy hair blew back. His chocolate brown eyes locked on Chloe's and the fury left Chloe frowning.

"I can't believe you're the first Elite again," Nash said, stopping in front of them. He pointed his finger at Chloe as if to accuse her of a crime. "I don't get it."

"Congrats on getting the second spot again." Chloe smiled. "You deserve it."

"Are you mocking me?"

"No."

Chloe frowned as Nash boiled with rage. He glared at her, looking as if he was a firecracker about to set off.

"Well, you don't deserve to be first." Nash crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm the one who deserves it! And I'm going to prove it to you and everyone."