Elijah shot Blair a cold glance, then went back to his seat and resumed reading. He wasn't negotiating with Blair—he was informing her. He was cold and distant, but also bossy in that quiet, commanding way.
Blair was speechless for a moment and thought, Don't bother him while he's studying? Else just because he gets straight As?
"Elijah," she said. "I'm taking your number one spot on the SATs. Mark my words."
What, he thinks he's better than everyone?
She crumpled up the paper in one hand and, with a smooth flick of her wrist, sent it flying in a perfect arc straight into a black trash can ten feet away.
She raised an eyebrow slightly at Elijah, sitting there with his back straight. He didn't move or say anything as if he hadn't heard her at all. Or maybe he had and just thought she was delusional and not worth responding to.
Blair thought, Well, yeah. When the worst-ranked kid in class says she's coming for the top spot, it does sound like a joke. She let out a small laugh, grabbed her phone and keys, and walked out of the room.
After she left, Elijah finally glanced toward the trash can a few feet away, frowning slightly as he pondered. Looks like I have to find a way to get him kicked out.
After buying toiletries from the campus store, Blair was on her way back to the dorm when her phone buzzed in her pocket.
"Milena," Blair said flatly as she read the caller ID. It was Milena Wales, her biological sister who was two years younger than her.
Blair frowned a little, but still picked up the call. As soon as the call connected, Milena's accusatory voice came through the receiver. "Cam, you ran out of the operating room? You even broke Dr. Jensen's hand! What the hell were you thinking?
"You don't want the gender reassignment surgery anymore? Why? Cam, I know it's hard on you, but this is all for our family. You can't be this selfish.
"When Mom and Dad found out you ran—"
"You ran out of the OR, they were furious. Mom even fainted. Cam, if you don't go through with it, what happens to your engagement to Amelia?"
Milena sounded like she was on the verge of tears, like Blair had committed some unforgivable crime — like it was Milena herself who had suffered because of it.
Blair listened in silence, a cold smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "What happens?" she said flatly. "Did everyone in the Wales family die or something?"
"Cam?" Milena clearly froze. Even through the phone, she could feel how cold Carperon's voice was.
She wondered, Something's off. Blair never talked to me like that before. What's going on?
Blair spoke, "Milena, don't forget — you're Mom and Dad's daughter too. I won't go through with the surgery. But you could. If you're really that devoted, why don't you go marry into the Chapman family? You can transition, become a man, and yourself."
"Me?" Milena's voice shot up as she panicked. "Cam, I'm still young. I'm two years younger than Amelia. How could I possibly—"
Blair cut in, "Two years younger! That's it? A two-year age gap is nothing. What, you don't want to?"
Milena went quiet, gripping her phone tightly as she thought, Damn it. When did Blair get so sharp-tongued? And why is she suddenly talking about me becoming a man and marrying Amelia? Going through all that pain and surgery? No way. I'm not doing that.
Her voice dropped into a pitiful tone. "Cam, come on, don't joke like that. You're the one engaged to Amelia, not me."
Blair cut her off again, her face full of mockery as she said, "You know damn well the only reason that engagement happened was because our parents lied and said I was a boy.
"My engagement to Amelia was never real in the first place, right? So why are you still wasting your breath?"
Milena was rendered speechless.
When she couldn't out-talk Blair, Milena resorted to her usual tactic—playing the victim. She choked up and said, "Cam, why are you being so mean to me? Did I do something wrong? Just tell me, okay? I'll fix it."
Normally, the second Milena said something like that, Blair would instantly go soft no matter what she'd done wrong.
But this time, Blair said, "Your whole existence is a mistake. Can you just drop dead?"
Milena was speechless, thinking, What the hell is wrong with this wretch? How could she say that? Has she completely lost her mind?
She started crying, "Cam, how could you say that to me?"
Blair's face stayed blank. "I say whatever the hell I want." She pondered, Is she seriously trying to play the victim now? I've dealt with more conniving bitches in my world-hopping lives than I can count. Milena is nothing.
Milena stayed silent for a long time. When the emotional guilt trip didn't work, she finally got to the point. "Cam, Mom and Dad are really upset. Come home after school tonight and apologize to them, and we'll reschedule the surgery."
Blair didn't answer. Instead, she asked, "Milena, sweetheart, do you happen to remember what today is?"
Milena blurted out, "Isn't today the day of your surgery?"
Blair let out a cold laugh and thought, I should've seen that coming. My bad for expecting anything else.
Milena didn't want to keep arguing. She reminded her, "Cam, seriously, come home early tonight. We'll be waiting."
She sneered silently. Like hell she'd dare skip the surgery. Just wait till she gets home—Mom and Dad will set her straight.
Blair snorted. "Sorry, I'm living on campus now. I'm busy."
Milena was stunned. "Living on campus? Cam, why would you suddenly move into the dorms—"
Blair couldn't be bothered to keep talking. She ended the call and blocked Milena's number without hesitation.
Blair stopped by the dorm to drop her stuff off. Elijah was already gone, and the other three roommates hadn't come back yet. The room was empty. She pulled the curtain across her bed.
The evening study period was coming up. Since she had nothing better to do, she figured she'd head to the classroom and get familiar with it first.
The last time she'd walked into a classroom was over a thousand years ago. It had been so long that, hugging her textbooks, Blair ended up going the wrong way. Somehow, she wandered into the Math Lab.
Langford Academy wasn't just some fancy prep school. It was known for its intense academic focus. It ranked first in the entire country for college admissions. Each subject had its own dedicated building.
Blair stood there, one hand holding her books, silently staring at the unsolved problem on the chalkboard.
This room was a challenge room. The board was always filled with tough math problems. Every time someone solved one, a new one would be added.
Elijah was a math genius. He consistently scored near-perfect marks on every test. Most of the problems on this board had been solved by him.
But this one had been up for almost a month and it was still sitting there, which meant Elijah hadn't cracked it either.
Gumeron stood with one hand in her pocket, her textbooks balanced in the other, her whole posture laid-back and effortlessly cool.
She stared at the board, then gave a lazy, confident smile. She walked straight up, picked up a piece of chalk, and started writing out the solution.
Just as she finished and set the chalk down, voices drifted in from the hallway. Someone said, "Come on, Amy, just come with me for a bit. Elijah loves coming here. If we hang around, we might run into him."