Faye stood in front of her open locker, holding a small mirror as she examined her hair. The white strands had spread even further overnight, and she could hardly believe how quickly the change was happening. Just yesterday, there had been less white in her hair, but now it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. No matter how carefully she inspected her reflection, she couldn’t pretend that nothing was happening to her anymore.
Surprisingly, she had not even bothered to cover it up. During her early classes, a few classmates had already asked why her hair colour had changed so suddenly, but she had simply smiled and ignored their questions. She had no intention of explaining something she barely understood herself. Besides, she had more important things to worry about than answering everyone’s questions about her appearance.
After giving her reflection one last look, Faye closed her locker. The moment she turned around, she found Malone Griffin standing right behind her, glaring at her as though he could burn a hole through her forehead with his eyes alone.
"You..." Malo said, his voice filled with accusation.
Faye blinked at him, wondering what she had done this time. Her best friend had a talent for making even the smallest problem sound like a personal betrayal, and the look on his face suggested she was about to hear a very long complaint.
"What?" Faye asked, genuinely confused by his behaviour.
"When were you going to tell me? After everything I have done, you lie to your own best friend..."
"Malo, Malo, I have no idea what you are talking about. I have chemistry, and I need to focus on that," Faye replied, already turning to leave.
She had no intention of wasting the time she had before class trying to figure out another one of Malo’s dramatic complaints. Unfortunately, her best friend was not prepared to let her walk away without an explanation.
Malo hurried after her, refusing to let her escape so easily. He grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the main hallway, where the school notice board displayed the latest rankings for the Grade Eleven students. A few students were gathered nearby, checking their positions and discussing the changes, but Malo paid none of them any attention. His entire focus was on Faye.
Once they arrived, he released her and pointed directly at the tenth name on the list.
"This is what I am talking about, Faye Grande! Last week, you were number 37, so tell me how on earth did you climb your way to number 10?" Malo demanded.
Faye looked at the board, searching for her name among the top students. For a moment, she could only stare.
"I have no idea..." she muttered.
She continued examining the rankings, genuinely surprised by how far she had climbed. Then she remembered Princess telling her that she would find a way to help her reach the top. Faye had known her girlfriend was serious, but she certainly had not expected the results to appear so quickly.
Whatever Princess had done, it had clearly worked. Faye was still trying to understand how her position had changed so dramatically when Malo interrupted her thoughts again.
"Have you been secretly studying?" Malo asked, drawing her attention back to him. "I am number 12 now. I went from 11 to 12, and it is because of you!"
Faye slowly turned her head towards him.
"How is that my fucking fault that you are number 12?"
"Because you were 20 decades behind me!" Malo exclaimed, waving his hands in frustration. "I did not want my bestie to go to Class 12 without me, and now I will be the only one in senior year next year!"
Faye stared at him, trying to understand how her improved ranking had somehow become a personal tragedy for him. She had expected him to complain about her sudden success, but she hadn’t expected him to act as though she had deliberately abandoned him, which was the reason by the way..
"There is Sasha. You are not alone," Faye reminded him.
Malo immediately turned back towards the board, apparently unwilling to accept that answer.
"Look at number 7..." Malo said, pointing at the list.
Faye followed his gaze. "Oh... there is Henry."
"Henry is also graduating next year."
"He is not even in the top ten," Faye pointed out, scanning the list for Henry Maverick’s name.
"He is the reason our basketball team won, so they are making him the bonus student, the wild card..."
Faye looked at her best friend, who was genuinely worried about being separated from his friends, and beneath all his complaining, she could tell that he had already started thinking about how to avoid that outcome.
"That is next year. You can still make it into the top ten," she said, trying to make him feel better.
"Obviously, I will. I just have to study hard and keep my grades up." Malo paused, narrowing his eyes at her. "But why did Princess magically raise you to the top? The Princess I know values effort, not this."
Faye shrugged, trying to look unconcerned. She had already made the mistake of letting her surprise show, and she couldn’t afford to give him another reason to investigate.
"I have no idea. Princess does things for no reason..."
"So you just admitted that Princess committed foul play. Why?"
Malo’s expression changed. The earlier frustration in his voice gave way to genuine suspicion as he studied his best friend. He knew Faye well enough to notice when she was hiding something, and he watched her closely, waiting for the smallest sign that she was lying. A twitch of her eye, a shift in her expression, anything would be enough to convince him that there was more to the story.
Faye immediately stopped moving.
She kept her face still, barely daring to blink as she tried to come up with an answer that would satisfy him without revealing the entire truth. She could not tell him everything about Princess’s plans, but she needed something convincing enough to make him stop asking questions. If she let him continue digging, there was no telling what he might discover.
"Because I am pregnant, and I will be needing a lot of bed rest and doctor’s appointments..." Faye blurted out.
Malo fell silent.
He stared at her face, waiting for an eye to twitch or for her expression to betray the lie he suspected she was telling.
Nothing happened.
For a moment, Faye wondered whether he would keep questioning her, but Malo seemed to have accepted the explanation. His attention shifted from her academic ranking to the future he had apparently begun planning in his head.
"Alright, then. I will also need to graduate next year so I can be a proper big brother to my siblings and your pups. I better go meet the vice principal and request an after-school study group."
With that, Malo turned and left, already seeming to have a new plan for his academic future.
Faye remained beside the notice board until he was out of sight. Only then did she finally breathe out, releasing the tension in her shoulders as she blinked several times.
"I better call my girlfriend and ask her how on earth she pushed me up... right after chemistry class."