PROLOGUE
If there's one thing I hate more than the smell of chalk dust and late homework, it's losing.
And today, I lost.
"Top one for this quarter goes to…"
Our teacher paused, dragging the suspense like some game show host.
I was already smiling, fingers brushing my name tag, ready to stand. Of course it was me. It was always me.
"…Jace Soriano! "
The world stopped.
The class clapped, a few girls squealed, and I froze in my seat.
Could it be that the teacher mistakenly misplaced our ranks? But no, when I took a look at the bulletin board, I saw it———
Soriano, Jace Dizon, 97.13%
Esperanza, Thessia Ronitt Corteza, 96.75%.
Who the heck was Jace Soriano?
I turned slowly, eyes narrowing. The boy in the second row—new kid, tall, sleepy-looking, with messy hair and an air of I-don't-even-care—was lazily standing up. He wore an annoyingly calm smile, as if being number one was no big deal.
"Congrats," the teacher said, handing him the certificate I'd already imagined hanging on my wall.
He just nodded, slipped it into his folder, and yawned.
Yawned.
That was when I heard something crack— it was the sound of my sustained pride collapsing and shattered ego.
Unbelievable.
The audacity to steal my rank and look bored about it.
I clenched my pen and pressed hard against the page— the tip digging into the paper, letting every stroke bleed out my anger.
...
During lunch, Bea (short for Beatrice Andrea Lim) leaned across the table.
"Okay, calm down, Thess. You've been stabbing your rice for five minutes."
"I'm not stabbing," I said. "I'm expressing disappointment."
"With your spoon?"
"Yes."
She giggled. "He's cute though~."
I glared at her. "Cuteness doesn't excuse academic crimes."
We both turned to look at him near the canteen entrance—surrounded by classmates, smiling like he hadn't just committed the ultimate betrayal of my peace.
Bea sighed dreamily. "They say he transferred from Manila. Apparently he was top there too~."
"Oh great," I muttered. "He's collecting top ranks like Pokémon cards."
...
That afternoon, I stayed behind in class to "study."
Which really meant "plot revenge in the name of academic domination."
I started listing all upcoming quizzes, projects, and contests I could win.
Halfway through color-coding my planner, a shadow fell over my desk.
"Hey," a voice said.
I looked up.
Of course. Him.
"Can I help you?" I asked, forcing a polite smile.
He tilted his head, eyes glinting. "You're Luna, right? The one who used to be top one?"
Used to.
Oh, he did not just say that.
"...Yes," I replied tightly.
He grinned. "Guess that makes us rivals now, huh?"
"Rivals imply equal footing," I said. "You just got lucky."
He chuckled—soft, low, annoyingly nice. "We'll see."
And just like that, he walked away, leaving me fuming in my seat.
...
Over the next few weeks, it was war.
If I aced a quiz, he scored a point higher.
If I raised my hand, he raised his faster.
He even stole my spot on the bulletin board where the "Top Scorers" list was posted.
Teachers started teasing us.
"Ah, the Esperanza-Soriano rivalry~." one said.
"Nothing like a healthy little rivalry to keep them sharp!" someone chimed in.
Healthy for who?
Because my blood pressure said otherwise.
...
Then one Monday morning, our adviser made an announcement that shattered my fragile peace.
"For this year's Inter-School General Education Quiz Bee, our school will be represented by two of our top students—Thessia Esperanza and Jace Soriano!"
The class erupted into cheers.
I dropped my pen.
Bea gasped. "Oh no..."
I whispered, "This is a nightmare... a pure torment."
Across the room, Jace met my eyes.
He looked surprised too—but then that smirk appeared, calm and teasing.
"Looks like we're partners now," he mouthed.
I glared back.
Over my dead GPA.
...
That night, I opened my notebook and wrote in bold letters:
>>>Mission: Defeat Jace Soriano (and survive this Quiz Bee).
What I didn't know was that, somewhere else, Jace was writing in his own messy notebook:
>>>Note to self: Try not to fall for Thessia Esperanza.