Chapter 22
Elise found him to be childishly funny. Why does he even care whether I participate in the Math Olympiad, or if I
humiliate myself? It’s not like he’s the one to be humiliated!
“Give me my book back!” She was angered.
However, the foolhardy Danny couldn’t care less about her. He then countered with a provoking face,
“Nope.
What are you gonna do?”
Somehow, she was amused as the vexation in her diminished. If that’s how you wanna do it, I’ll play along with
you.
“How are you so sure I’d be shaming myself? What if I got first place again?” Upon those words, Danny
couldn’t
contain himself and instantly chortled aloud.
Despite his stupidity, he was well aware of the standards of the City Mathematics Olympiad
Competitions’
participants.
The participants viewed studying as life, and had never rested from training themselves, which allowed them to
achieve such a level. You, Elise Sinclair, on the other hand, are just a country bumpkin who merely got first place in
the Math Olympiad out of sheer luck. Know your place, bumpkin!If she were to go head to head with those life-long
learners, she’d die from embarrassment!
“Don’t worry about getting first place, Elise. If you could even get a consolation prize, pigs would start to
fly.”
After all, the City Mathematics Olympiad Competition isn’t meant for amateurs. And with Elise’s level, all she can do
is be a filler.
Danny was pretty confident about that.
Elise proposed, “Oh, is that so? Why don’t we make a bet, then?”
Upon the suggestion, Danny started hesitating. In spite of his words, he felt somewhat timid. If she
somehow managed to harvest all the luck in the universe and got herself a participation prize, he would
be in grave loss.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtHence, he added, “Let’s make this clear. Participation prize doesn’t count. Your choices are the winner,
first runner-up, or second runner-up.”
Elise lifted the edges of her lips and grinned, as if she had seen through his hesitation.
“Fine by me. So are we doing this or not? Not gonna chicken out, are you?”
Hearing that, Danny was visibly tilted. “What for? It’s on, then. What do you wanna bet on?”
Elise, seeing how her provoking was effective, raised her brows. “If I win the competition, you’ll have to
stay out of my way from now on. Oh, and greet me as ‘Boss’ too while you’re at it.”
The nerves she has to make such demands! Danny was still hesitating for a moment earlier, but he
instantly grew
resolute. “Very well. It’s on now. But I shall warn you now: if you lose, leave the Griffiths alone and get
the hell back to your countryside.”
“Deal.”
And so, the two reached an agreement. Danny seemed to have noticed nothing odd, confident that she
would
lose. When she eventually bid farewell to the Griffiths, he would never have to face such an unglorified
mug any
longer. How refreshing!
With that in mind, he couldn’t hold back the joyous look on his face. Then, he returned the exercise book
to Elise
and stopped bothering her.
Of course, he had to spread the news.
Danny: ‘Valorous news, mine own brethrens! Elise the ugly monster is about to packeth her bags! Praise
to the
Lord!
Jack: ‘For real?’
–
Danny: ‘Trusteth in me, for the day shall cometh very lief! And brethrens, thou shan’t forget a mead fest
for me!’
Jack: ‘Hast the hero perhaps slain the monster?’
Danny: ‘Yo, what are you talking about? Am I that messed up to you? I’m only making her retreat with the
power
of justice!
Jack: ‘The power of justice? Care to explain?’
Danny was so boastful that he laid out every detail about the gamble he had with Elise.
Danny: ‘Anyway, broskis, just get the celebration ready as I bring home the flag of victory!’
Meanwhile, Alexander, who heard the nonstop dinging from his phone, put down the documents in his
hands and unlocked his phone. When he saw the message mentioning a flag of victory, he hastily
pressed on the message
before swiping to read the conversation. His index finger ultimately stopped.
A bet?
Even an ordinary man could see the result of the gamble. Yet, for some reason, Alexander was rather
reluctant to
see Elise lose.
And that was where the bet started to get interesting.
In the evening after school, it was Jack who came to get Elise.
As a celebrity and an idol, he disguised himself well.
On the way home, he couldn’t help controlling his urge and quizzed, “Are you really having a bet with
Danny?”
Elise wasn’t surprised by the fact that Jack was informed about the bet. She simply blurted a “yes” in
response.
Seeing her calm composure, he felt compelled to remind her, “You know, everyone who participates in
the City
Mathematics Olympiad Competition is a beast. Every one of them is extraordinary. Alexander barely
managed to
get first place even with his standards.”
And Alexander, in the eyes of his brothers, was virtually a deity.
Thus, it was only natural for him to win the competition.
Meanwhile, Elise and Alexander were of different levels, so it was obvious who would prevail.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmTherefore, Jack assumed that she was bound to lose the bet to Danny.
Elise acknowledged his point and replied, “Are you saying that Alexander had also competed in Math
Olympiad
competitions?”
Seeing her so fascinated in Alexander’s matters, Jack suggestively stated, “Don’t even think about
making a
move on him. He’s not into girls like you.”
What
Her face was filled with confusion. She didn’t even mention anything remotely related to adoring
Alexander. It
was solely an instinctive question.
“Alexander’s the best. Back when he was still active in the Math Olympiad, he was the city’s number one.
Even
now, his record is yet to be broken.”
As he proudly voiced, he could hardly contain his admiration toward Alexander.
“Oh,” Elise lightly answered. Still, it was a surprise for her to know that Alexander was once top of his
batch.
However, the information didn’t mean much to her.
Ever since having agreed on the bet with Danny, Elise had been working seriously on her exercises.
To others, she was merely putting up a facade to make an impression. Nobody believed that she had the
capability to even win something in the City Mathematics Olympiad Competition.
‘What’s been up, Boss?’ While she was doing her exercises, she received a text from Jamie, to which
she replied,
‘Exercises
Jamie then sent a string of sad-faced emoticons. ‘Even an elite like you are so hardworking. I’m truly an
insult to trash! Anyway, I probably should get back to studying. By the way, Boss, there’s something I
forgot to tell you.
Somebody’s seeking you out for a car race, and he’s offering a generous amount. Are you up for it,
Boss?’
Without hesitation, Elise rejected the offer. ‘Tell them we have seen what happened the last time I raced.
Seeing her reply, Jamie immediately acknowledged her. ‘Got it, Boss. I’ll pass it on!