Orion swiftly locked his phone screen.
Thaddeus raised an eyebrow, “Judging by the profile pic, looks like it’s a girl. Wouldn’t happen to be that girl you helped the other day, what’s her name?” “Your yapping is getting on my nerves.”
“You just won’t admit it. You’ve been holed up in the infirmary last week, and now suddenly you’re MIA, looking so gloomy these days. Got into a spat with her?”
Orion turned away, his gaze sharp, “Keep your nose out of my business.”
“We’ve been thick as thieves since we were in diapers, what don’t I know about you? Cut the act!”
Orion, phone in hand, stepped out to the balcony, glancing briefly at their chat.
“So, she thinks of the health office as some kind of secret base?” thought he. He chuckled to himself unwittingly and opened her Facebook.
Her posts were pretty much everyday stuff, very teen girl-esque. He scrolled through her page, suddenly realizing he’d spent too much time thinking about her. It felt unsettlingly out of control.
Orion quickly exited the messaging app and turned back to the living room.
Lemira waited all day but didn’t get a response. Was he mad at her?
But she didn’t dare to keep messaging him, deciding to wait until the test results were out on Monday.
The entire weekend, Lemira was cooped up at home, hitting the books hard. Evelina and the brothers didn’t come home either, staying at the training camp instead.
—
Monday morning.
Lemira went downstairs and finally saw Evelina and her brothers, their bond seemingly stronger than before.
Lemira didn’t say a word and headed straight to the dining hall for breakfast.
Alaric’s voice dripped with sarcasm, “Test results out today, huh?”
Lemira nodded, “Yeah.”
“I told you before, you should’ve joined the team. With your grades, you won’t get into any decent college. Instead of wasting time on studies, you’d be better off training to go pro. With the resources we can provide, fame was just a matter of time for you. Too bad, you didn’t seize the opportunity. It’s all Eve’s now.”
Lemira remembered the humiliation of being replaced in her past life. She calmly replied, “I’m not bothered, really.”
After grabbing breakfast, Lemira turned and left the dining hall.
Alaric, seeing Lemira’s indifferent attitude, was infuriated, “I can’t wait to see her ‘great achievements’, hmph!”
Evelina was relieved to see Lemira hadn’t agreed to join the team. She knew Lemira had a knack for gaming, and if Lemira joined, she’d lose her spot.
Still, she maintained a smiling face, “Ari, don’t be mad. Lemmy’s just being stubborn. Once she agrees to join the team, I’ll gladly give up my spot for her.” Alaric nodded, pleased, “You always know best!”
Evelina’s smile stiffened momentarily, her heart filled with resentment. She had been practicing relentlessly, all to gain Alaric’s approval.
Unfortunately, Alaric still tended to think Lemira was better.
Evelina was determined to prove herself in gaming, to extinguish any thoughts Alaric had of inviting Lemira to the team.
Alaric looked worried, the revival match was crucial, and losing meant no second chances.
Though Evelina was putting in the effort, her innate gaming talent was lacking. With only a month left until the match, Evelina wasn’t up to par.
Beating that kid from the Everhart family would require real skill! At this point, Lemira was the only choice.
Yet, he couldn’t swallow his pride to ask her; he was used to Lemira pandering to him, her timid attempts at pleasing him. He had grown accustomed to their sibling dynamic and couldn’t adjust on the fly.
How long was Lemira going to keep up this charade? Was she really going to force him to humble himself?