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"Who does he think he is? Giving us this assignment? Who is he?" her short but very tempered friend kept staring at the paper in hand. "I can't do it!"

"It's going to be fine, just buy some sweets, go home, stay somewhere quiet, you will find yourself writing... also add listening to some music." Ivy tried to calm her, patting on her shoulder as they walked through the hallway.

"You say that cause you are the English nerd, hell you're not even natively English!" she protested. Ivy lowered her head as people started looking., she put her arm around Claire's shoulder, patting on her head to calm down.

"Not sure if that was even a word, but don't worry, I'll help you."

"You say that as if it was easy!"

Ivy pressed her lips together, that task was easy for her, she had no problem with it. 

"I wouldn't be surprised if you had half of it if not all of it already completed." Ivy tilted her head, biting her lower lips. "Oh my god, Ivy! You already finished it?!" 

"What? No! I just got the hard part done." they stopped at the cafeteria, entering, Claire sprinted to where they were supposed to sit, to Ivy's surprise, Ezra and William were sitting at their table instead of the sports team's table, she followed her friend to hear her say something to Ezra that made him turn to look at Ivy. She ignored his gaze and sat down.

"Iv, I knew you were a nerd, but that! If you didn't hate that man I would have thought you were the teacher's pet," William said with a serious look, Claire and Ezra nodded in agreement.

"If you didn't hate this place or can barely stand the people in here, you would be,"  Ezra added, she didn't get what he meant by that but let it go, getting lunch from her bag, the sandwich was softer and possibly wetter because of the tomato in it. The others got their lunch from the cafeteria, burgers, fries and smoothies were brought to the table, for Ivy's luck no one talked to her as the events of that morning started playing in her head, her mother's words were everything she could hear, words of disappointment or that her kids were failures, it was great that her father wasn't there but on a businesses trip. the more she thought about the more it hurt, tears started forming in her eyes, but she brushed it off, she sniffed then turned to her friends to see them so engaged in the conversation, a funny one, of course, it was one of the many talents that Ivy envied Ezra for. The fact that he could turn any plain and boring conversations into unforgettable ones. she admired his ability to stay calm and deliver his point clearly, how he talked smoothly with anyone, in a way that made anyone fall in love with him. his soft features as he did any activity, his mannerism while speaking to others. the type of person that easily blended in, the remarkable one, his family's favourite. school's golden boy, top of the class, good at sports, everyone liked him, he was everything she wished and ought to be.

In the middle of admiration and envious of him, he turned to look at her, with his one million dollar smile that could melt any heart. "Hi."

She tried to smile in return but failed miserably, she sighed, only to find his closer.

"Is everything alright?" he whispered close to her ears, she could feel them heating up, with a slightly strange feeling started building up, not the butterflies one, but the uneasy feeling, that something bad was going to happen.

No." Yes," she lied.

"Are you sure?"

Not at all. "Yeah, everything is great." he searched for an answer in her eyes but she turned her head around, he shook his head and held her hands, she turned her back, frowning, he shrugged and kept brushing her hand with his thumb, she blinked trying to shake the excitement so she bit her lips. it was to say that the situation would be inappropriate for her mother.

"So back to the assignment, Iv, you finished it?"

She groaned while they laughed. "No, William, I didn't, I just  finished the intro."

"you told me you finished the hard part!"

 Ivy gave Claire a flat look, narrowing her eyes at the idiocy of her friend, Claire's mouth formed an O shape, William, on the other hand, tried to take that chance and put a french fry in her mouth which she ate with a red-flushed face, she looked away in embarrassment while William chuckled lightly. Ivy shook her head at the cuteness in front of her.

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"And is it for today's class, please-" the teacher didn't have the chance to continue as the kids stormed out of class, the teacher let out a breath of disappointment. From the corner of Ivy's eyes, she saw Ezra walking to the teacher, asking her to go on, the teacher smiled at him and went on, only for a couple of kids to join him, when she finished talking they nodded, and Ezra thanked her and walked out of class. Ivy almost walked out of class when the teacher called.

"Ivy, I have been noticing a sudden drop in your grades, which is strange, you used to be on the top of this class, what's going on?"

Ivy blinked, biting the inside of her cheek, trying to come up with an excuse. "I'm sorry miss, I'm having a lot of trouble focusing."

"Yes, I've noticed. Maybe you should go to the school counsellor, it would be such a waste, cause you are one of the few extraordinary kids in this school. Also, I haven't seen you in any school activity lately, I remember that you used to be one of the first people to join in your freshman year. What happened? You used to be a great student."

You used to be, you used to be, you used to be, all in the past tense, as if she was a failure, she was burnt out, Ivy wasn't one of those gifted kids who were naturally intelligent or talented, it was hours of work, training, yelling at by her mother to be at least at the average level of the student, she had put so much effort with nothing in return, no proud mother moment, no cheering from anyone. Claire did try to make her feel better but she was still ahead of Ivy.

Ivy felt like whatever she did, someone was already ahead, someone was at the first place, the first choice, so she gave up, she still studied but not as much as she used to, she didn't see a future in herself so she saw there was no point of trying. Ezra tried helping her but gave up, no one fought for her, it was like no matter what she did, no one would ever be pleased, no one would stick enough with her,  no one understood.

"Sorry miss, just a little distracted, no need for a counsellor, I'll be back on track in no time." A fake smile was put on her face as the teacher dismissed her. It wasn't a distraction, it was tiredness, all her days were the same, the only difference is that words started hitting her harder. She walked through the hallway with the teacher's words playing in her head, that teacher was one of the few people Ivy liked in the school, that was the reason it hit harder, was she ready to work harder for that teacher, did it matter? Did Ivy matter to the teacher? 

Ivy was sure as hell not living her dream of all the American high school experience from films or books, that wasn't her fairy tale and she-for sure- was disliking it very much. 

the train of questions stopped at the platform when she saw Ezra with his arm around Emma with her head resting on his shoulder, they were talking to a couple that was uncommonly not William and Claire, which explained why Emma was extra comfortable with Ezra. The couple walked away, Emma studied Ezra carefully, trying to get closer and Ezra let her, she kissed him on the cheek, he smiled delicately. Clouds started forming and with the gray sky, Ivy was left a little heartbroken.