Across the Adversaries

Chapter 5: Doom's Day

Friday couldn't have come quick enough. That morning, Margo put in extra time and energy into getting ready, wanting to look her absolute best for the award ceremony. She styled her braids into a half up-half down ponytail and made sure her edges were perfectly laid. She even put on a little makeup, making her features pop.

When she got to school, Margo headed straight to the auditorium, where everyone was already gathered. She found a seat right in the front row. Before sitting, she spotted Miles a few seats down to her left. When she caught his eye, she smiled sarcastically and waved. 'I can't wait to see his sorry face when I win this award.' She thought to herself.

Miles was watching Margo the whole time when she walked in. He noticed that she put in more effort to look good for the ceremony. He noticed that she styled her hair nicely and wore a little bit of makeup. He looked at her from head to toe, at every aspect of the way she appeared. He liked what he saw.

Miles smiled back at Margo smugly and waved too. The distant chatter from all the students and teachers died down as the Principal took the stage. "Good morning, everyone." He spoke into the microphone. "Welcome to our annual Brooklyn Visions Academy End-of-Year Awards Ceremony...." Margo droned him out as he started to hand out the awards. Her palms began to sweat in anticipation as they got closer to the award for Best Academic Performance. Throughout the ceremony, Miles and Margo passed glances to each other, both of their expressions unreadable. Then finally...

"And now, this award goes to the student who has the best academic performance throughout the entire school." The Principal started. "I must say, this was a close one, with two students who really stood out in their academics this year. But despite only being a sophomore, this person definitely has the best academic performance this school has seen in years. The award for Best Academic Performance goes to..."

Margo sits on the edge of her seat, her heart pounding.

"Miles G. Morales!"

The world seems to stop and Margo's heart sinks.

Margo's breathing became rapid as she turned to look at Miles. He shot her a smug smile as he got up to receive the award on stage.

His award.

Margo watched in horror as he accepted the trophy from the Principal and walked up to the microphone to make his victory speech.

Miles walked up to the microphone with the biggest smirk on his face. His eyes never left Margo. "I couldn't help but notice some of you are disappointed. Some of you even think that I don't deserve this award." Miles looks out into the crowd. "I would like to thank my Mamì for helping me study and always pushing me to be the best. I would also like to thank my Uncle Aaron, as I got my smarts from him." He smirked the entire time he spoke.

The crowd of students cheered as he spoke. He then looked straight at Margo, the person he knew he could annoy the most. "And of course, I want to thank my academic rival, Margo. She was the one who had the best record in the class for most of the year. She gave me a good run for my money." The crowd cheered in agreement. Miles looked straight at Margo's stunned face. "I also want to thank you for the competition. You were good, but you just missed the mark."

Margo couldn't take it anymore. She bolted from her seat and ran out of the auditorium, ignoring the booing and clamors from the other students. Miles laughed as he saw her run out of the auditorium. He spoke into the microphone just before she made it out of the doors, her name still on his mouth. "And to whoever ran out of the auditorium, let's give them a moment to cry out all the tears of jealousy." The crowd laughed as Margo left.