Start of the Examination

Kate observed the two boys who were seated by her side. Ironically, all of them were assigned to the same room, and even their seating numbers were beside each other. Ethan and Stephen were eyeing each other with a smile. However, for some reason, Kate felt something was amiss.

'Um, is Ethan constipated? He's smiling but his face looked stiff. It's as if he is doing his best to hold it in,' Kate thought. 'Wouldn't that be a big problem when the test starts?"

[You're so silly, Kate.] Stella giggled from inside their shared mindscape. [You don't have to worry about Ethan, he's fine.]

'If you say so,' Kate replied then shifted his attention to Stephen. 'Why does Stephen look like he has eaten a cockroach?'

Stella wasn't able to hold it in and roared in laughter inside the mindscape. Her carefree laughter gave Kate a headache. The poor girl was perplexed by her split personality's sudden outburst. She tried to ask Stella why she was laughing, but the latter only waved her hand saying, [Don't mind me.]

'Sometimes I hate you, Stella.'

[Hehe, I love you, Kate.]

'Hmp!'

Aside from Kate, Ethan, and Stephen, there were seventeen more examinees inside the room. Thirteen boys and four girls. The majority of them gave Kate the feeling of being spoiled and pampered children.

Since there were only five girls inside the room, the boys were paying close attention to them. Among the five, Kate was the prettiest and the boys were looking at her with interest. Three of the girls looked charming and the fourth one was a very chubby girl.

The chubby girl looked like someone who had been left inside the kitchen for three months. Her silky long black hair hung freely behind her back. She was not an ugly girl. In fact, her plump and charming face could be considered pretty as well.

However, due to her body size, the other guys in the room didn't pay her any attention. This girl was seated behind Kate and was observing the two boys who flanked the girl in front of her. Although she didn't know who they were, she was not oblivious to the infatuated gazes that the two boys were giving the girl seated beside them.

Suddenly, a boy who wouldn't lose to the chubby girl's body size walked up to Kate's seat with a smile. He had short blonde hair and green eyes. If one were to look closely he was eyeing Kate like she was a piece of artwork that was displayed in a museum.

"Hello, Ms. Beautiful," the fat boy greeted Kate with a smile. "I think it was Fate that allowed the two of us to meet. My name is Neville Long, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Neville extended his hand for a handshake. He wanted to get close to the pretty girl with reddish brown hair and hazel eyes. Kate was about to reach out his hand to accept the handshake. However, before she was able to hold Neville's hand, Stephen had already made his move.

"Stephen Malfoy. It's a pleasure to meet you," Stephen smiled as he shook Neville's hand. "I am Kate's friend, and the son of the School Dean."

Stephen gave Neville a look that said 'Scram fatty or else you're going to regret it!'

Unfortunately, Neville wasn't perceptive and thought that Stephen was just preventing him from getting to know Kate. Although he was annoyed, he returned the greeting with a smile. After all, he didn't want to give the pretty girl a bad impression of him.

The other reason was because the boy mentioned that he was the son of the School Dean. If that were true then this was someone he couldn't afford to cross.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Stephen," Nevile replied. After briefly shaking Stephen's hand, he once again tried to hold Kate's hand, but Ethan was ready to intercept him.

"Ethan Kerr, nice to meet you," Ethan grinned as he shook Neville's hand enthusiastically. The country boy was very tempted to break the fatty's hand because the latter didn't know when to give up.

Neville's face darkened as he looked at the smiling Ethan in front of him. 'I'm not asking who you are! Let go of my hand!'

The chubby girl watched all of this and chuckled. She was a bit late in covering her mouth so the fatty was able to hear it.

"What's so funny?" Neville asked while glaring at the chubby girl. "Am I a joke to you, Luna?"

Luna Walker, the girl who had been observing everything, snorted in disdain. She had known Neville since they were kids and their relationship had not always been the best. They did not hate each other, but they didn't get along either. You could even say that when the two of them meet, the chances of them having an argument was eight out of ten.

"A Joke? Of course not," Luna answered as she propped her plump face over the palm of her hand. "A clown? Definitely."

"Why you!"

"What? You wanna have a go with me? Wait until the tests are over. I don't want to fail because I was infected by your stupidity."

Neville forgot about Kate and gnashed his teeth in anger. He still didn't know why this chubby pig in front of him always got on his nerves. It was as if she was born to give him high blood pressure every time they met!

"All of you be seated." A crisp and cold tone reverberated inside the room. Even Neville felt his anger dissipating when he heard the voice that was coming from behind him.

The fatty turned his head to see who it was, only to be met by a pair of cold gray eyes that made all the hairs on his body stand up.

"P-Professor," Neville stammered. He was shocked to see the School Dean of the academy appear inside their examination room. Since the Dean was here it could only mean one thing. Neville decided to test the waters and asked a question. "Professor, will you be the proctor for today's exam?"

"You have a problem with that?" Noah asked with a smile.

"Of course not! There's no problem! In fact, I am very happy that you are our proctor for today. What a great honor!" Neville said before hurrying back to his seat. He could use his family's influence to intimidate the other teachers in the school, but in front of the School Dean, he was just a little shrimp.

Neville couldn't be blamed for his initial reaction. There had been no cases where the School Dean personally oversaw an examination that happened inside Saint Claire Academy. Even the other examinees inside the room straightened their sitting postures. Their gazes landed on the man who had the highest authority aside from the Board of Directors.

Noah briefly scanned the room to see if there was anyone missing. Finding that no one was absent he decided to start the exam as scheduled. However, before the exam started, he didn't forget to remind them of the rules that must be observed during the duration of the exam.

After his explanation, he distributed the answer sheets to the examinees except for Kate. The first test was English. Since Kate was an aspiring scholarship student, her test was different from the rest.

Noah personally handed the test paper to her which made the other examinees look at Kate with renewed interest. The way the Dean treated the girl didn't escape their attention. Some of them even made a mental note to know more about her after the exam ended.

After receiving her questionnaire and answer sheet, Kate closed her eyes in order to organize her thoughts. Like last time, she asked Stella not to interfere with the exam. Stella agreed but on one condition. Kate was not allowed to turn over the paper without her approval.

After giving it some thought, Kate agreed to the condition. She knew that this was their last chance. Failure was not an option so both of them compromised.

'Let's pass the exams, Stella.'

[I believe in you, Kate. Goodluck!]

'Un!'