Final Battle

FINAL BATTLE-

Coming out of the shower, Lillian Grey went straight to her closet. Opening those sturdy doors, she scanned for a combat suit.

Going through the set of clothes she owned, Lillian finally made her selection.

Sleeveless Orange turtle neck top with black straight pant – a gift from Anna on her 16th birthday.

Whenever she wore that dress, the day has been perfect.

Lillian quickly got ready for school and came downstairs to meet Edwin in the kitchen.

"You ready, champ?" Edwin asked eagerly, waiting for Lillian.

Lillian Grey's steps were stiff, and she posed a stern look on her face. Nodding to Edwin, she joined the table for her battle breakfast.

Breakfast included Avocado and Egg toast, and Banana, Chocolate & nut butter shake.

Lillian ate her food without leaving a crumb. Finishing her breakfast, she gulped the shake in one go.

Edwin inhaled.

"Good, you are doing great, sweetie," he cheered.

Lillian Grey did not reply but only gave a slight bow. Assembling her gears, she got ready to leave.

"Dad, I'm off to war," she announced.

Edwin agreed, realizing that it is the last day of the finals exam.

Lillian Grey battled for her final test, which is Math; the one subject that gave her a tough time all year.

***

Lillian Grey stayed up all night studying and doing multiple revisions as she put in all her efforts and worked out lots of questions. She kept practicing until it felt natural to her.

With the help of Giselle's formula sheet, she memorized all the necessary details to remember. She went through sample question and tried to finish it within the time limit. Getting prepped for the final war, Lillian dared not to lose her focus. She threw her mobile away and locked herself inside the room and kept studying.

…

Lillian left sharply and reached the school on time. Knowing that it is her tough fight, Anna arrived early as well, waiting outside she met with Lillian. The two then entered the campus.

Lillian Grey took a deep breath, sniffing in the hurdle.

"Are you okay now?" Anna asked in worry.

Frankly, Anna reached early, even without Lillian's call because she knew that his time Lillian did not seek out Anna for help and studied alone.

That's what Anna thought and believed.

She got worried about Lillian's preparation. She tried to reach Lillian the previous night but not receiving any response, she called Edwin and heard that Lillian was studying in her room without wasting a second.

Not wanting to disturb her, Anna quit calling. However, the worry stuck with her all night. The next day Anna left way too early to school and waited for Lillian. She thought in case Lillian wants her help at the last minute; she could be there for her.

So when she asked Lillian about her state, she means that if Lillian Grey is ready for the exam.

"I'm good," Lillian spoke.

Anna kept observing Lillian. In her heart, she noticed how calm Lillian seemed, yet Anna can't stop worrying.

"Good, if you need my help, you can always ask-"

Before Anna finished talking, the two girls faced an unexpected situation.

All along the hallways, the students strolled with lively chattering. It was chaotic.

"What's happening?" Lillian asked in dismay.

She knew that almost everyone fears Math, not because it is a difficult subject but mostly for the staff handling it, Mr. Seth. However, the scene Lillian saw in front is that everyone kept a smiling face and being happy.

Happy?

For what?

Seeing people having fun without worrying about the test made Lillian rage.

"Oh, you don't know?" Anna pointed out.

Lillian looked at Anna in a daze.

"You seriously don't know?" Anna gaped.

Lillian shook her head in denial.

Anna sighed. She smacked her friend lightly, startling Lillian.

"You don't know that they already made Prom announcement for the seniors, us," Anna informed, almost feeling the urge to punch her friend for not knowing the current updates.

Lillian's eyes grew in shock, 'Prom!'

"What's up? You are ready to pass the test?" Diego showed up.

Distracted by his subtle entrance, Lillian Grey ignored about the whole prom thing. She answered Diego and the three walked to the exam room.

…

All through their way, the trio noticed how the guys were all following behind their girls, trying to ask the girls out despite knowing that soon they will have their final exam. It seems no one showed any interest except for a few who still focused on the test.

The trio kept walking until they reached the classroom and waited outside, ignoring the overflowing mood transformation around them.

...

Soon, the bell rang, startling everyone to drop out with their proposals. The sound of the bell resembled the signal; it is when the students faced reality.

Dropping their enthusiasm all moved their feet to the exam hall. The trio heard a few complaints, a few getting scared finally, a few who don't give a shit about the exam, etc.

"It is chaos already, let's go," Anna requests.

Diego agreed, but Lillian did not. She stammered.

"What?" Anna asked.

"Don't tell me that you are getting scared now, doesn't matter anyway, you are here, and you are going to write the exam," Anna dared.

Lillian kept fidgeting, unable to answer openly.

Anna was at a loss of words. She blinked after finished teasing. Unable to apprehend the mind of Lillian Grey, she searched for clues.

The trio only got here together which means that one of them is missing.

'Giselle.'

'Shit, Lilly, so you want to wait for her?' – Anna thought while scanning the entire room for the missing girl.

"Okay, I get it," Anna says, alarming Lillian.

Diego had a vague guess on the situation. His hand already formed a fist, trying to suppress the train of disturbing thoughts.

Noticing the growing silent pressure, Anna jumped in to assist.

"I get it. Go to the restroom and then come. We'll be inside, okay," Anna spoke silently, helping Lillian as well as dragging away Diego.

'Thanks, Anna,' – Lillian eyed.

'You better buy me large extra cheese pepperoni pizza for this,' – Anna sneered.

'I'm sorry. I'm not getting your telepathic information fully, but thank you for now. I'll see what I can do.' – Lillian spoke through her eyes.

With that, Anna pulled Diego and went inside the classroom while Lillian waited outside.

The bell rings thrice to everyone's notification with a period of interval.

The floor had a girl's restroom nearby the stairs.

Lillian Grey waited there outside and kept an eye for Giselle. She knew that the bell rang twice. Nonetheless, she stayed there steadily.

The time ticking every second, Lillian had two things on her mind: one about the test and the other about Giselle. Nothing else kept her occupied, even the prom.

Giselle appeared within a few seconds following the second bell. She saw Lillian's figure outside the girl's restroom. Taking a glance at the surrounding, Giselle noticed that almost every student went inside except for the latecomers.

Moving quickly to Lillian Grey, Giselle greeted her.

"Hey, you are here, finally," Lillian lightened up.

"Why are you still here?" Giselle groaned.

"Waiting for you,"

Giselle felt the thump in her heart. The rushing journey from the home to school made her tire out, but this sentence gave her tons of energy.

'She was waiting for me.' – Giselle's mind centered on the statement.

"Hurry up," Lillian urged.

"Yeah," Giselle agreed.

Both started running towards the classroom.

Entering the class that was already in a hush silence, Lillian and Giselle greeted the staff; Putting their bags aside, the two went to take their seats.

The third bell rang, and the teacher started to distribute the question paper.

'This is it.' – Lillian prayed.

'Let's get this over soon.' – She cheered for herself.

While waiting for the question paper, her eyes landed on Giselle, and then at Anna.

Anna's eyes never left Lillian ever since she entered the classroom.

Now, in their respective seats, Anna and Lillian stared at each other.

'Do well. Answer all the questions,' – Anna eyed worrying.

Lillian assured her in return; it was her turn to get the sheets and question paper. Lillian wished Anna one last time and then averted her gaze.

Her eyes quickly scanned it from first to last nervously, receiving the question paper.