Saving the Villain

Days and months quickly passed by in a blur. Cosette and Maxen didn't realize that the summer break was almost over, doing things with their friends to let time pass. Because the girls reconciled, they would usually hang out with Remo, Luke, and Maxen.

Their little group wasn't as big as their first summer break, but their planned trip wasn't any less fun. If anything, they enjoyed it just as much — perhaps, even more — than the first time. And just like that, their last year in high school rolled in without a problem.

As seniors, their schedule was more hectic than last year and they were focused. They couldn't fail since all of them planned to pursue a degree. Sadly, though, in their last year of high school, they weren't classmates anymore.

Cosette, Luke, Maxen, and Fay moved up to the top section because their performance the previous year was excellent. Remo, Sarah, and Amie also shifted to another section. The good thing was that they weren't graduating from the lowest section.

Still, they found time to hang out despite their busy schedules and series of exams, on top of their preparation to enter the university of their choice.

"My brain… is damaged," Fay grunted after taking a sip of the cold beer in the can. "I don't even know if I will graduate as valedictorian — why am I even working hard?"

Cosette, Sarah, and Amie chuckled as they looked at each other. They were currently in Luke's place, sitting on the floor as they formed a circle with snacks and a few drinks in the middle.

"Come on, Fay. You're still a candidate to graduate with flying colors," Sarah soothed her with a fact. "Don't beat yourself just because you can't beat Maxen."

"Fuck!" Fay instantly covered her mouth and looked around nervously.

"Why even curse when you're that scared of Max?" Amie shook her head as she picked up a can of beer. "We all know — not just us, but the entire school already knows that Maxen will graduate as the student with the highest honor this graduation. It's futile to beat yourself about it."

"What do you know?" Fay rolled her eyes. "Do you have any idea how much hard work I put into this year just to get into the university I want?"

"We know." Sarah chuckled. "All you do is read and write — we cannot even talk to you even when we go out to have fun during the weekends."

Fay frowned. "How the hell did that guy make it look so easy? I mean…" she trailed off as she set her eyes on Cosette.

"You too. How the hell do you make it so easy?" she inquired, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "What is the secret?"

'I… already went to high school twice now and got my masters degrees on top of managing a corporation,' was what Cosette wanted to tell Fay. The reason Cosette found studying easy was that she once dedicated her entire life to being excellent. All the lessons they were studying now were more like a review.

"It's not obvious, but I'm losing sleep studying," Cosette affirmed, though it wasn't entirely a lie. "Maxen too! He might not show it, but there were days he wouldn't even sleep just because he was studying. That's why he mostly sleeps on the bus on our way to school."

"Tch." Fay wasn't satisfied with Cosette's answer, but she knew Cosette and Maxen were also working just as hard as her. "Pretty people really have their advantage. They struggle and still look pretty. On the other hand, even when I'm not struggling, I still looked stressed. Why is life so unfair?"

"Anyway, have you chosen which university you're planning to enter?" Sarah asked Cosette, ignoring Fay's mumbling. "Didn't you take entrance exams at five different universities? Did the result come out?"

"Well…" Cosette shrugged before a devious grin turned up on her face. "I took exams at the universities Maxen applied for. Hehe… whichever university he will enter, I will go."

"Did the result come out?" asked Amie out of curiosity.

"Not yet, but that wasn't my worry." Cosette shook her head and then darted her eyes between Sarah and Amie. "How about you two?"

"The results in mine will be online in a month, so I'm still waiting," Amie answered before setting her eyes on Sarah. "Didn't you say the test results for yours will come out next week? You said that last week."

Sarah's lips parted as if she just realized that. "Right… I totally forgot. What date is today?"

"It's March 16th." Fay raised a hand, and Sarah's eyes went wide.

"It's today…" Sarah whispered listlessly.

"Let's check it!" Fay suggested; she already recovered from her sentiments after mumbling for minutes. But just before Fay could stand from her stop, Sarah clutched her arm.

"I'm not ready." Sarah's countenance turned pale. "Let's forget about it tonight."

"But it's the same." Amie frowned, hugging her knees, eyes on Sarah. "Whatever the result, we can either celebrate or drink until we drop."

"That's right." Cosette nodded. "You don't need to look. We can check and then tell you the result."

Sarah pressed her lips into a thin line, glossing her eyes over the girl's faces. After a few minutes of nothing but pure silence, she carefully released Fay's arm.

"Great! Just stay there!" Fay happily jumped from her spot, marching to the set of bean couches where her stuff was. Cosette and Amie followed, sitting beside Fay as the latter took out her laptop. Meanwhile, Sarah stayed on her spot, frozen.

Sarah could hear Fay's typing and their mumblings as the three checked the results. She swallowed a mouthful of air, getting rid of the tension in her throat. When another minute had passed and it was still silent, Sarah slowly looked back at them.

As soon as Sarah looked back, all she saw was the three of them looking in her direction. Her heart thudded nervously, unable to read the blank expression of the three.

"Wha — what?" Sarah stuttered, assessing their expression once again, and took it as a look similar to pity. "I see… it's — it's okay, I mean there's still other that —"

"Congratulations!"