The noise in the auditorium slowly returned after the Round Two results.
Students were talking loudly again.
Two rounds.
Two ties.
The tension was rising.
Ethan and I stepped away from the stage for the next break.
Neither of us said anything for a moment.
Then I noticed something again.
Clara.
She wasn't standing with the backup team anymore.
She was watching the stage… very carefully.
Her expression looked different from before.
Not jealous.
Not competitive.
Worried.
That didn't make sense.
Why would she be worried?
Clara's Realization
Clara had been watching the entire competition closely.
Not just Ethan.
Not just Lena.
But the questions.
The patterns.
The difficulty.
Something about Round Two had bothered her.
She had seen competitions like this before.
And she knew something most students didn't.
This competition had a structure.
Three rounds.
Easy.
Hard.
And then the final round.
But something was wrong.
The Round Two questions were too difficult.
Which meant something.
The final round…
Was going to be brutal.
Clara Approaches
I was about to sit down when someone stepped in front of us.
Clara.
Ethan looked slightly surprised.
"You're not usually this direct," he said.
"I need to talk to you."
Her tone was serious.
Not competitive.
Serious.
"To both of us."
That caught my attention.
"What is it?" I asked.
Clara looked toward the stage briefly.
Then back at us.
"Did you notice something about the questions?"
Ethan thought for a moment.
"They were harder than usual."
Clara nodded.
"Exactly."
"So?"
She lowered her voice slightly.
"That means the final round will be worse."
I blinked.
"How much worse?"
Clara crossed her arms.
"I've seen this format before."
Ethan's expression sharpened.
"What kind of final round?"
"Multi-layer logic problems."
That made Ethan pause.
Those were the worst kind.
Not just calculations.
Not just patterns.
But problems designed to confuse teams under pressure.
"Why are you telling us this?" Ethan asked.
Clara hesitated for a moment.
Then answered honestly.
"Because if Ridgeway loses…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
But I understood.
She cared about the school too.
Even if she wasn't on the main team.
Ethan's Reaction
Ethan nodded slightly.
"Thanks."
That surprised me.
Ethan didn't usually thank his rivals.
Clara looked at me next.
"Don't rush your answers in the final round."
"I won't."
She studied me for a moment.
Then said quietly,
"You two actually work well together."
Before either of us could respond, the speaker system turned on again.
"Participants, please return to the stage for the final round."
The audience immediately quieted.
Clara stepped aside.
"Good luck," she said.
For once, it sounded completely sincere.
The Final Round Begins
Ethan and I returned to our desk on the stage.
Across from us, Daniel from Westbrook was already seated.
He leaned back in his chair confidently.
"Ready to lose?" he said casually.
Ethan didn't react.
Instead, he leaned slightly toward me.
"Remember what Clara said."
I nodded.
"Slow thinking."
The screen behind us lit up again.
The judge stepped forward.
"The final round will now begin."
A new timer appeared.
15 minutes.
The first question appeared on the screen.
And immediately…
I understood why Clara looked worried.
Because this question wasn't just difficult.
It was a trap.
And whoever fell into it first…
Would lose the entire competition.