Playing Perfect

10. Trahision

10. Trahision

Betrayal

Alice walked through the hallway in a daze.

Despite Finn dropping her by the kitchen entrance on the weekend, her parents had still noticed her absence. They weren't traditional in the sense of punishment. Where Emily's parents might ground her, Alice's parents wanted to teach her a lesson on proper manners.

Escaping a social party for your bedroom, even if it was to study as Alice's lie went, was not proper manners, especially for a Travers.

And so, Alice was left with extra lessons to attend every day. An hour of deportment in the morning, before her French tutoring, a half hour of communications etiquette after school, following her tennis coaching—and of course, an hour of hosting etiquette to teach her not to leave in the middle of a party.

Her parents hadn't even let her attend Theo's big rugby game, meaning she hadn't seen him in days. He'd continued avoiding her, not picking her up for school on some excuse about extra training since they made the semi-finals.

She walked into her chemistry lab half awake and found her usual seat beside Emily.

"Hey," Emily greeted, her brows furrowed. "Are you okay?"

"Great," Alice replied, forcing a smile onto her face. It took too much energy and she thought for a moment that she was swaying where she sat. "How'd you go on the chemistry exam?"

Emily sighed, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Don't get me started."

Alice chuckled. She'd done great on the exam, but she didn't want Emily to feel bad. Instead, she said, "I heard the average was a fail. I think Mr Farrow must've had a bad weekend and decided to take it out on us."

"Mr Farrow always has a bad weekend." Emily groaned. "My parents are going to kill me if I don't boost my grade in this class by the end of the term."

Alice pursed her lips at her friend, then offered a kind smile. "Hey. Next exam, you and me, my place. I'll help you out."

"Really?"

"Of course!"

"Well, if I have the Alice Travers helping me with my trials, I'm sure my ATAR is saved," Emily teased, nudging Alice with her elbow. Alice forced a chuckle and when Emily turned to face their desk, she felt her smile falter.

She already had dozens of extra curriculum activities, as well as the stress from the rude messages and trash in her lockers—she really didn't want more on her plate.

But it was for Emily. She was her best friend since they could barely walk. And Alice always loved to help.

"Settle down, class," Mr Farrow's voice echoed from the front of the lab. "We'll be beginning our projects today. I'll be assigning partners in a moment. Please, when you hear your name, find a seat with your partner."

Emily groaned while Alice kept her face neutral—good manners. Mr Farrow, a short, greying man with tiny glasses perched on the end of his long, crooked nose, began calling out names.

When he reached the T's, Alice's ears perked up, waiting, hoping for a good partner. While this project wasn't graded—it was being labelled as a 'study guide', which Alice knew was code for Mr Farrow not wanting to teach—she needed to stay on his good side. She needed to maintain her high grades and academic reputation if her parents were to ever lighten her workload.

"I hope we're together," Emily whispered, nudging her gently.

Alice nodded back, smiling.

"Alice Sabine Travers," Mr Farrow called.