My High School Nerd Rival - Chapter 65

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 65
The fact that Cyrus looked up without me calling him was a surprise.
Normally he paid no attention to whoever sat beside him.
When our eyes met, I offered what seemed like my usual greeting.
“Oh, hi.”
No, that was a mistake. I stumbled over the words while studying his expression.
I was worried he might connect me to what happened at Easter.
“Yeah.”
The reply came half-hearted.
And his gaze dropped back to his book—as if it didn’t matter who sat beside him or whether we had anything to say.
Pure indifference.
If he suspected me even slightly, that response would have been impossible.
At last, I could set down the anxiety I’d been carrying all through the break.
“Ivy.”
I was putting my bag in order, finally at ease.
Then, unexpectedly, Cyrus spoke first.
My heart, which had just settled, began to race again.
“…Why?”
I kept my voice small to mask the tremor.
Not that it helped much.
He stared at me silently, then shook his head.
“No, never mind.”
What? Making me anxious like that.
I was wondering whether to demand an explanation when a familiar vibration came from my pocket.
Buzz.
I straightened and pulled out my phone. The screen displayed the news I’d been waiting for most.
[Notice: Top Student of Second Semester Announcement]
This announcement should have come at the end of last semester, but it had been delayed until today for a reason.
Cyrus Quinton, sitting right beside me.
A monster who’d won the Excellence in Research Award and the Sustainability Award at the Royal Youth Research Symposium near the end of the semester.
Because of that, the Top Student scoring sheet had needed revision.
They couldn’t announce it during the break, so here we were.
There was no need to describe how much anxiety I’d felt in the meantime.
Though Cyrus had brought honor to the school with his remarkable achievements, I’d accomplished things too.
Especially thinking about what I’d done as head of the dorm…
Ugh, stop overthinking and just check the results, Ivy Underwood!
Tap.
With trembling fingers, I pressed the notification.
The fear that had accumulated through all these pointless thoughts caused my eyes to squeeze shut involuntarily.
When I barely cracked them open, what I saw was…
[Ivy Underwood]
My name.
And written above it:
[Cyrus Quinton]
…
I hit the refresh button. Maybe last semester’s results were still showing.
The screen loaded slowly.
Nothing changed. After repeating the same action two or three more times just to be sure, I finally realized the heading said “Top Student of Second Semester.”
I whipped around to glare at Cyrus.
Of course I knew it wasn’t his fault. But still, but—
“Why?”
He seemed to know the answer before hearing mine. He immediately checked his notification.
“Ah.”
He nodded slightly, understanding. Like last semester, he showed no particular emotion.
“…Must be nice, being first again.”
“Well.”
He set down his phone.
“According to your theory, it might just be because my birthday comes earlier in the year.”
That was something I’d desperately improvised during the last announcement to keep myself from losing it.
I didn’t expect him to remember it.
“That theory’s been disproven. Seriously.”
I flopped face-down on the desk and glanced back at him.
“You’re really annoying. You know that, right?”
Making a sulky face, I watched as he rested his chin on his hand and turned toward me. With the window at his back, his expression was hard to read for a moment.
“I know.”
“When you think about it, last semester I did too much with you. That’s the problem. It ruins the differentiation.”
“It was only two things.”
“Only two? That’s a lot!”
“Is that really a problem?”
“Absolutely a problem!”
The chemistry experiment and the debate tournament. And since the debate was against other schools, I’d probably scored higher on it, which meant it didn’t count as a valid point in my favor.
“Listen carefully.”
I sat up and turned to face him directly.
“This semester, I’m absolutely not doing any group projects with you. Tournaments either. Got it?”
I was dead serious.
And an hour later, I was crushed again.
It was because of a shocking announcement from Hartley, the Latin teacher.
“This semester, we’ll be doing a Classical Text Translation Project. You’ll be reinterpreting it in contemporary language.”
A long-term project where you select a classical Latin text, translate it, add commentary, and write an interpretive essay.
“Classical works are reborn with new meaning depending on the translator. Even if your work is rough, I’ll grade primarily on whether you’ve truly thought through it and woven your own ideas in.”
It was an incredibly appealing project.
Because they’d focus on how much thought I’d put in, not just translation quality.
And this was exactly the field where I excelled.
I actually thought this semester was starting on a good note…
“The project will be done in pairs.”
That’s when my mood soured immediately.
Why, for heaven’s sake?
Teachers must have hated group assignments when they were students.
Does standing at the podium give them some disease that makes them love group projects?
“I know students get stressed choosing their own groups, so I’ll assign them for you. Let’s see…”
The teacher looked around the classroom, then reached a conclusion with a satisfied smile.
“Just work with whoever’s sitting next to you.”
Next to me…
I stiffly turned to look beside me.
Cyrus, twirling his pen, gave me a crooked smile—as if remembering exactly what I’d declared just moments before.
“…I really hate you.”
“Of course you do. As you should.”
Dark clouds were already gathering over this semester.
* * *
The Library.
I was crouching in front of the shelves, having come to check out Metamorphoses, Book One for the Latin project.
“So you guys are doing another group project together?”
At Joy’s words from behind, my hand tracing the spines froze.
Her tone was almost probing.
“We’re not choosing to do it together.”
I answered more firmly than necessary.
“We just have to.”
“Same difference.”
“They’re very different… Oh no.”
The book I needed wasn’t on the shelf.
“Someone must have checked it out. I should’ve come right after Latin class.”
“Maybe you should just buy it. It’s a semester-long project anyway.”
“True.”
Still crouching, I sent a message to Cyrus.
[Came to check out Metamorphoses Book One but all copies are already borrowed.]
Cyrus didn’t check the message right away. After staring at the screen for a moment, I put my phone back in my pocket and stood up.
Since things had come to this, I had something to clarify with Joy.
“Joy, please stop pairing me with him?”
It was undeniable that Cyrus and I had grown somewhat closer than before.
But that wasn’t unique to him.
I’d become much closer with Joy, Emily, and even Logan.
Cyrus was just the same.
The only thing different about him was that I was jealous of his grades.
“Ivy, I’m not pairing you two. You’re already paired. I’m just pointing out the fact.”
“That’s not true.”
“No?”
Joy’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she stepped closer.
“Then you didn’t contact him once during the break?”
“Of course not… wait, no, I didn’t.”
…Though we did meet.
We had hot chocolate, painted eggs. And for just a moment, our hands touched.
Without thinking, I rubbed my fingertips together.
There’s nothing left there now.
Though even so, it wasn’t “Ivy” who experienced that—it was Princess Evelyn.
“Really? You didn’t even say something like ‘have a good break’?”
“Does he seem like the type to say stuff like that?”
“To you, he does.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
I decided to just show her the evidence and held out my phone.
The messages between Cyrus and me recently have been like this:
[Sent the materials.]
[Confirmed]
[Fixed the typos.]
[Confirmed]
[Checked the numbers. Nothing’s wrong.]
[Confirmed]
I showed her the recent conversation with a look that said try arguing with this.
Surely even Joy would have to admit there was nothing suspicious about Cyrus and me.
Buzz-buzz.
An alarm sounded as we both looked at the screen.
It was the reply to the message I’d just sent, and the content was predictable.
It would be “Confirmed.”
I calmly looked down at the screen.
[Come to my room.]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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