Hidden face

The Mask(CH-2)

Ch2

As she came out of the washroom with her newfound confidence. She saw a handsome boy strutting through corridors with such grace that she found herself mesmerized.As soon as Ryan Gold, the new student of Silverbook High, saw Olivia he remembered the rumours whispered in his class about "Olivia Bennett" the topper, a very emotional and soft hearted person who is emotionally disturbed and can be manipulated very easily.

Ryan initiated the conversation with Olivia,"Hello there! I am the new student. I was in Greenwood academy in California before the transfer. I was one of the best student at Greenwood academy". Olivia just rolled her eyes as she returned to her senses and realised he was just another rich brat who wanted to make fun of her so she retorted ,"Are you flexing about your grades which may just be the magic of your parent's money".Ryan was taken aback but decided to remain like

polite as he did not know the reason behind her actions. He calmly replied, "No, not at all. I am just reminding you ,now that I am here your reputation as the topper is in danger as you have me as your competition in the class".She proudly raised her neck and said,"Oh! I see so are you trying to challenge me on your first day. You know it's not so easy to defeat me whoever has challenged me have always been served humiliation on a platter. Better watch out little prince".Ryan arrogant as always replied, "Fine, You wanted it the hard way. Let's make a bet and see who scores higher in the upcoming semester exams". Olivia arrogantly walked away from the corridors and sat down on her class bench.

What she hadn't realised yet was that she had dug her own grave. She only knew that no matter what happens she has to show that rich brat his place and shut that annoying mouth of his once and for all. As soon as she had made a mental note, she started studying for the semesters which were 10 days away. She started studying quietly by herself as it was self study lecture. There was no one sitting beside her because of the rumours that surrounded her, painting her as eerily quiet and an unfriendly person. It never mattered to her as she never cared about who sats beside her. Just as she turned the page she saw that Ryan Gold had entered the classroom and was glancing at the seat beside her as he saw noticed to his misfortune that except for the seat next to Olivia all the others were occupied. He walked up to her and without uttering a single word quietly sat beside her as he had no option left. She was kinda annoyed as he was a distraction and she knew better than to give in to her desires. But she was just a teenage girl after all so she ended up taking all her out on him as she bitterly spoke, "Why are you sitting beside me? Are you trying to follow me or what? Do you think I can easily defeat you in this competition which is why you have come to learn about my weakness". Ryan said, " "Do you really think so? If yes, then I really pity you for thinking this way. Btw, I only came here because as you can see that there is no other place for me to sit,so eventually I had no other option but to grit my teeth and sit here. Got it?". Olivia glanced around and realised that he was right she was a bit embarrassed but not letting her neutral mask slip she said, "Ok but you better not disturb me,talk to me or even discuss anything. If you are to sit beside me then you have to follow my rules. Am I clear?"

Ryan was surprised at how dominating she was but eventually relented and agreed to her terms.

After school, Olivia returned to her house. She was very tired and thought of sleeping but then she remembered that she had a lot of syllabus to cover. Though exhausted she immediately went to her room and freshened up. She skipped her lunch because she thought it was just a waste of time as according to her logic if she didn't eat she would get one more hour to study. She started solving math problems but she didn't get any of the answers right. She was very dissappointed and thought to herself that, 'Even after sacrificing my dinner,sleep and social life I got achieved nothing except for failure. ' She had completely broken into pieces. She was devastated, depressed and also sleep deprived because she had not slept properly for more than a month. She had long reached her breaking point but was just braving it through at this point. Just as she started questioning her decisions, that arrogant face popped in her mind and she was reminded of today's encounter with the self- centered brat. She knew she had to score higher than Ryan.

She imagined the look on Ryan's face when he lost to her. She had been challenged many times before but this time something was different she was unusually excited to see the look of utter humiliation on that handsome face of his. This thought boosted her enthusiasm to study and after a short break she started studying again. This time all her answers were correct when she got up she realised she hadn't felt this happy in a long while. She was unaware that Ryan Gold was slowly and gradually becoming a source of inspiration for her.

After 15 days, she had her last paper which was Social Science, it is was the most difficult subject for her which is why she had stayed up the whole night learning and revising all the chapters.

On the morning of the paper, she arrived at the school and sat down on the allotted seats for the exam. One look at Olivia would have been enough for anyone to tell that she had not slept for past few days. Ryan noticed it as well and tried to speak with her but just then the teacher entered the classroom and Ryan had to return to his seat. He thought of talking to her after the exam. When everyone had handed the exam papers to the examiner, Ryan walked towards Olivia and said , "I don't think you should force yourself up so much that you end up draining all your energy".

Olivia was tired and not in the mood of dealing with anyone so she snapped at Ryan, "Why are you so concerned about me?Why do you care about me so much?whether I push myself to my limits or not It is not your business so stay out of it. Understood?" Ryan was left speechless as Olivia walked past him leaving him standing alone in the classroom. Ryan also started wondering what is it about this girl that attracts him and why is he so concerned about a dumb and silly girl who can't even take proper care of herself.He also left the classroom and started to go home when......