Chapter 2

Xhani POV

The lunch break bell rang, and we dashed toward our next classes. Mine happened to be Sports, so I headed straight to the girls' changing room to get ready. I slipped out of my uniform top and started pulling on my sports shirt, not thinking twice about it. Right then, Mrs. O—our fiercely unapologetic sports teacher—walked in. She wasn't scared of anyone and certainly didn't care what people thought. I had the honor of being her favorite student, not to brag.

Mrs. O paused, looked directly at me, and told me to stop what I was doing. There I stood, wearing only my shorts and sports bra, suddenly feeling very exposed. Mrs. O had never singled me out so publicly, and my stomach twisted in knots.

She turned to face the rest of the girls in the room, all of whom had stopped changing to stare at me. Shock played on everyone's face—everyone except Celina. That girl wore her usual smug smirk, practically salivating for Mrs. O to yell at me.

But Mrs. O surprised us all. Turning her back to me, she addressed the group. "Can anyone tell me what you see when you look at Xhani?"

Confusion rippled through the room. No one spoke. Even I stood there, baffled.

Mrs. O continued, "Do you want to know what I see when I look at Xhani?" She gave a proud smile. "I see this school's star. She's the only student here who competes with the boys on their level. She plays every sport like her life depends on it, and she's kept straight A-pluses since she first enrolled."

My cheeks warmed, but I couldn't help lifting my chin at her words. I glanced around the changeroom and locked eyes with Celina. Her face was flushed with fury, that smirk replaced by a scowl of pure jealousy.

Mrs. O pressed on, her tone thick with pride. "The rest of you girls are an embarrassment. Look at you—crowding into individual cubicles to change—while Xhani stands confidently in the center. You better bring that same courage to the field today because I'm done with these halfhearted efforts."

Then Mrs. O turned back to me, patted my shoulder, and said, "You make me proud."

I can't even begin to describe how amazing it felt to be praised by Mrs. O. Hardly anyone ever earned her stamp of approval, so it meant everything to me. Together, we walked out of the changing room, leaving the other girls—jealous and fuming in our wake. It was sad, really. In all six years here, no one had managed to outrun me in sports or outscore my A+ grades in both written and practical exams.

The moment we were in the hallway, David snuck up behind me and gave my butt a quick smack. I spun around, growling, but he only gave me his usual mischievous grin. Then he slung an arm around my shoulders and guided me toward the center of the class, clearly unbothered by my annoyance.

It was just another day in the life—except this day, I felt a little more unstoppable.