The Grade Heist

With that thought, I cupped the flu medicine in my hands.

"Thanks, Sierra," I said with a polite smile. "But my throat really hurts right now, and I feel a little nauseous. I don't think I can take anything."

Then I added, sweetly, "But since it's such a thoughtful gift from you, I wouldn't want it to go to waste."

I turned to look at Mandy Price, who was sitting nearby, sniffling. "Hey, Mandy, you want this? Sierra brought this back from abroad, and it's supposed to work wonders."

Mandy's dad, Mr. Price, was the grade director, and she'd held the top spot in our entire year since freshman year. Her family was politically connected and thus powerful.

She glanced at the packaging and was just about to reach for it when Sierra suddenly snapped, "No!"

Her voice shot up, startling everyone around us.

Catching my surprised look, she quickly tried to cover up. "Vera, Mandy's got allergies. What if she reacts to it?"

Mandy leaned in to read the ingredients. "It's fine. I'm only allergic to penicillin. This doesn't have any."

A flicker of tension crossed Sierra's face.

Then, Hailey snatched the box from my hands, her voice sharp. "This was meant for you! If you don't appreciate it, fine. Don't just hand it off to someone else."

Her tone was biting. Mandy's face darkened, and she turned away, storming off.

Nevertheless, I already had the answer I needed.

If someone else took whatever Sierra gave me, their grades would be stolen instead.

Interesting.

If that was how her little trick worked, then I'd play along, just on a bigger scale.

My own exam score? That was too small a price. If she wanted to steal, I'd make sure she got the entire school's scores as her prize.

I made up my mind and reached for the box again, ready to take it back.

However, afraid I'd actually share it around, Sierra quickly pulled something else from her pocket. It was a piece of candy wrapped in shiny gold foil.

"Vera, if you're worried about mixing medicine, don't take it. Here, have a throat lozenge instead."

Her sweetness made the onlookers swoon.

"Aww, Sierra's such a caring deskmate!"

"She even brought lozenges just in case! Vera's so lucky to have someone like her."

Sierra laughed lightly, basking in the praise. "I just figured being sick before exams must feel awful. It could even mess with your test performance. Vera's our class pride. Of course, I had to come prepared."

I stared at her perfect, fake smile and couldn't help recalling what I'd overheard after I died in my last life.

Hailey had been gushing about how Sierra became the top scorer in the entire city.

Sierra had just laughed and waved it off. "Please, I'm going abroad anyway. It's not like I actually care about the score. It just sounds nice to be number one.

"Honestly, I just wanted to mess with that broke little nerd. She was always acting so high and mighty, so obsessed with studying. It pissed me off. Now look at her! Let's see how she pretends now. Trash should stay in the trash where it belongs."

The memory almost made me laugh.

All that effort, all that scheming was just to toy with me?

This time, I wouldn't back down.

I accepted the candy and casually slipped it into my pocket.

Sierra's smile faltered. She frowned slightly. "Vera, I thought your throat hurt. Why aren't you eating it?"