Part 2I Refuse To Be Your Heroine

Before I could say anything else, Mrs. Gavin walked in. Seeing the heavy tension in the room, she frowned.

"Why hasn't everyone found their seats yet?"

Connor turned immediately. "Mrs. Gavin, Elaine is refusing to cooperate with the new seating chart."

Mrs. Gavin looked at me, her tone relatively gentle. "Elaine, this is senior year. Everyone needs to focus on their GPA. You and Camille helping each other is a win-win. Connor went out of his way to request this arrangement for you. Don't waste your classmate's good intentions."

I raised my chin. "Mrs. Gavin, I don't need it."

Mrs. Gavin stared at me, bewildered. "Your Humanities grades are dragging you down. How can you say you don't need it?"

"I'll study on my own," I said.

Connor let out a cold, cynical laugh. "If you could study on your own, your AP Lit scores wouldn't have been in the gutter for the last two years."

The comments chimed in instantly.

[He’s harsh, but he’s right.]

[Elaine's essay scores have been terrible forever, and she's still acting tough.]

[She's just too proud to accept help.]

I pulled my latest mid-term report card out of my desk and laid it flat on the surface.

Calculus: 100%. AP Physics: 100%. Chemistry: 98%. Biology: 99%.

AP Lit: 65%. AP US History: 70%.

Mrs. Gavin sighed, looking at the numbers. "Elaine, this isn't the time to let your pride get in the way. Look at this. You have no room left to grow in STEM. The only way to save your cumulative GPA is to pull up your Humanities. Camille just transferred, and she needs help with STEM. Isn't mutual improvement the best path forward?"

I offered a thin smile. "Mrs. Gavin, if it's mutual help, it should be voluntary. Right now, I don't volunteer. You can't force me to sit with her, can you?"

Mrs. Gavin's face tightened.

Camille stepped forward, her voice trembling slightly. "Mrs. Gavin, really, it's fine. If Elaine doesn't want to, we shouldn't force her. Maybe I'm just... not good enough." Her eyes welled with tears, turning red at the rims.

In the back of the classroom, a boy muttered under his breath, "She's trying so hard to be nice. Elaine is being such a brat."

"Seriously. Connor is just trying to help her, and she’s acting like she's too good for it."

The comments were practically screaming.

[Elaine is so toxic!]

[Camille looks so hurt. A rich girl like her has probably never been treated like this.]

[Connor, go protect Camille! Even if you love Elaine, Camille shouldn't have to take this abuse!]

Connor took a step toward me. "Elaine, apologize to Camille."

I almost laughed out loud. "Apologize for what?"

"For humiliating her."

"She wanted to sit next to me. I said no. That's humiliation?" I turned my gaze directly to Camille. "Camille, did I insult you?"

Camille bit her lip, shaking her head.

"Did I touch you?"

She shook her head again.

"Did I say you weren't good enough?"

Her face paled slightly. "No."

I looked back at Connor. "Then what am I apologizing for?"

Connor choked on his words, unable to answer.

The comments took a turn into pure resentment.

[Elaine is so cold-blooded. So what if she's technically right? She's completely alienating everyone.]

[Connor is definitely going to feel protective of Camille now. Elaine is sabotaging her own life. No one can save her.]

[She can be as stubborn as she wants now. Let's see how she feels when her college applications get rejected.]

I couldn't care less.

Mrs. Gavin tapped her knuckles on the podium. "Alright, enough. Since Elaine doesn't agree, we'll leave the seating as it is for now."

Connor frowned. "Mrs. Gavin—"

"Connor, you don't dictate the seating chart," Mrs. Gavin interrupted him, her tone sharp. "If Elaine wants to self-sabotage, that is her choice."

Connor's face went rigid.

A row of exclamation points flashed across my vision in the floating text.

[Oh my god, Connor just got scolded by the teacher because of Elaine! My poor baby!]

[Elaine just ruined the ultimate study duo. Connor's sweet intentions completely wasted on a thankless brat...]

I stared at the scrolling text, my heart turning icy cold.

Everyone was sympathizing with Connor. But had a single one of them asked why I was refusing this "generosity"?

Not one.

All they wanted to see was the male and female leads falling into a neat, perfect romance.