competition, allison argent

viii. lunatic

The next school day, Scott follows the other students into the exam room. The moment he steps in, however, he spots Allison already seated. She gives him a brief glance, then focuses her eyes down, obviously trying not to look at him. Scott walks between the rows, heading toward her. Moving with determination.

"Allison-" Scott starts.

Mr. Harris then stands in between them, his face annoyingly close to Scott's. "Mr. McCall, please take a seat." With a nod, Scott turns away and takes a seat near Stiles while Mr. Harris places a stack of Blue Exam Books at the first desk of each row.

The students begin handing them back. Cody is sat behind the brunette, the girl sending him a sad smile as she hands him a blue book.

"You have forty-five minutes to complete the test." Mr. Harris informs. "Twenty-five
percent of your grade can be earned right now by simply putting your full name on the cover. However, as happens every year, one of you will inexplicably fail to put your name on the cover and I'll be left yet again questioning my decision to ever become a teacher. So let's get the disappointment over with. Begin." He starts a timer with his stopwatch. The students flip open their test books to start the exam.

Senses heightened, Scott can't help but focus in on the nervousness around him. He looks back to the test and sees the question:

Why would a girl that pretty go out with a loser like you?

Scott gazes at the question, eyes blinking. Then looks over to Allison who is busily filling in her own test. When Scott turns back the question on his sheet has changed to:

Which one of the following statements about price mechanism is correct?

Rubbing his eyes with his fingers, he marks down the answer with his pen. Then looks at the next question:

When the moon is full tonight will you kill: A: All of your friends? B: Some of your friends? C: Most of your friends?

He slams his pencil back down on the desk, squeezing his eyes shut. But with his eyelids closed, his heightened hearing begins to pick up the heartbeats around him. As the thumping becomes louder and louder, a cell phone vibrates on a desk, he pulls his chair forward, metal scraping over the floor.

He darts up from his seat, grabbing his bag.

"Mr. McCall?" Harris calls. Stiles watches him slam through the door. Then gets up to race after him. Allison and the other students look up, following Harris's curious gaze.

🍃

At lunch, Allison pulls a plastic-wrapped chocolate chip cookie from a brown paper bag. She smiles at the sticky note attached with a smiley face on it and the words:

Love Mom.

Cody sits down to join her as she takes a bite. She smiles faintly at him, the girl holding up the cookie. "Do you want a bite?" She asks.

The boy shakes his head, "No, I'm good." He says, drinking a sip of water before he places his bottle down.

"Listen..." Allison starts cautiously, the boy raising his eyebrows as he looks at her. "I know - that Scott and I broke up but that doesn't mean -"

Cody chuckles, holding his hands up, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, I didn't even say anything. I just sat next to you at lunch. Friends eat lunch together, right?"

Allison raises her eyebrows, "So you're completely over it then?"

Cody furrows his brows, "I didn't say that. I just said it didn't mean anything because I sat next to you. Why are you asking anyway?"