Chapter 133

“Alright, open your books,” Juniper said, a candy in her mouth. She rested her chin on her left hand, her eyes half-closed, revealing long, beautifully curled lashes.
“Okay!” Dolce blinked, realizing Juniper was actually going to listen. She quickly opened her textbook. “Juniper, page one.”
“Skip page one,” Juniper cut in, her voice lazy but steady. “Page 21. Memorize the first ten sentences of the third paragraph.”
Dolce fumbled to page 21 and stared. The paragraph Juniper mentioned was one she had marked as a key passage to memorize.
How did she know? Juniper had never studied the sophomore or junior material, had she? How could she know exactly what was important on every single page?
“Next Juniper shifted, propping her chin up becoming tiring. She crossed her arms and her legs. “Page 40, fifth paragraph.”
“Uh, okay!” Dolce scrambled to mark it down with her pen.
“Page 66, first paragraph.”
Qadir and Queenie exchanged a look and quickly took out their own pens. The three of them huddled together, the sound of furious highlighting filling the air.
“Page 101, memorize the formula for velocity.”
Ten minutes later, Juniper had gone through all the key points for the next day’s Literature and Math exams.
“Phew.” She leaned back in her chair, took out the bottle Shanley had packed for her, and took a long drink. It was lemon-flavored, sweet and sour. She liked it.
“Juniper Dolce flipped through the newly marked pages, swallowing nervously. “When did you ever study this stuff?”
“Hmm?” Juniper thought for a moment, then squinted. “I don’t really remember. Maybe when I was eight? Or ten.”
“Juniper, have you been secretly studying this whole time, planning to blow everyone away?” Qadir asked, his jaw practically on the floor. Her confidence was making him nervous. If he ended up at the bottom of the class again, his dad would kill him.
“Do I need to study?” she shot back with a disdainful look. “Just review what I told you. You won’t do too poorly.”
“Really?” Qadir looked at his book, skeptical. “If I actually pass Literature this time, Juniper, I’ll buy you lunch for a whole month.”
“Deal,” she nodded.
Dolce scratched her cheek, a million questions swirling in her mind but not knowing where to start. Queenie, however, was beaming as she reviewed the notes, marveling at them. If Juniper were in charge of writing study guides, the teachers who wrote the exams would be in for a world of hurt. And to think some of them wanted her expelled. When the test scores came out, they were going to be eating their words!
…
The school let out at five since there was no evening study session before the quiz. Juniper walked to their designated meeting spot. From a distance, she saw him standing under a large tree, waiting for her in a black trench coat, holding a bag of food.
They had agreed on five-thirty, but it was only ten past five. He’d been waiting for a while.
Juniper pursed her lips and walked over.
“Are you tired?” Shanley asked softly, reaching for her backpack.
“I’m okay.” She handed it to him, her eyes falling on the bag in his other hand. “Is that cake?”
“Mango-flavored.” Shanley stepped aside to let her into the passenger seat before walking around to the driver’s side.
“Did Jimmie tell you he’s flying to Egypt?” he asked, leaning toward her to grab the seatbelt. “There you go. Lower your head a bit, let me get that for you.”