His Forbidden Obsession

The Ranking Board

(Clara)

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping at my window. Sunlight cast a golden shadow on my face as I struggled to turn off my alarm.

It was another school day……not just any school day, it was the day we get our results for the first in-course test. I studied really hard, pushing all wandering thoughts aside as I decided to focus on what I had wanted since forever……becoming a doctor.

I got out of bed and walked into the bathroom to fresh up. The cold water hit my face and I inhaled sharply, staring at my reflection in the mirror.

For once, I didn’t look distracted.

No shadows under my eyes from sleepless nights thinking about things I shouldn’t be thinking about. No faraway look like my mind was somewhere else.

It was just me and this time I was focused and present.

I brushed my teeth slowly, letting the quiet of the morning settle into my bones. Today mattered. Not just because of the results, but because it felt like a test of something more.

Had I really pulled myself together?

Or was I just pretending again?

I pushed the thought aside and tied my hair into a neat ponytail before heading back into my room.

My phone buzzed on the bed.

It was a message from Anna. I had barely seen her in a while, mostly because I spent most of my days studying and she spent most of hers partying. She worked from home most times and sometimes I wished my routine was as flexible as hers.

I smiled slightly as I picked it up.

Don’t faint when you see your results. Or do. Just make it dramatic.

I rolled my eyes, typing back quickly.

I hate you.

Love you too. Go and make me proud, Dr. Stone.

My smile lingered for a second longer before I dropped the phone and grabbed my bag.

Dr. Stone.

The words sat differently today. It was not like a dream.

Like something I was actively fighting for.

The hallway was already buzzing by the time I got to school.

Students clustered in small groups, voices overlapping, some excited, some nervous, some pretending not to care at all.

I tightened my grip on my bag as I walked toward the crowd gathered around the notice board.

The results were already pasted up. My heart gave a slow and heavy thud.

“Clara,” I heard Ethan say.

I turned to see Ethan approaching me, his expression calm but knowing.

“You look like you’re about to walk into surgery,” he said.

“Feels like it,” I replied.

He nodded toward the board. “Moment of truth.”

I exhaled slowly. “Yeah.”

For a second, I considered not checking. Just walking away and pretending that none of it mattered to me but that wasn’t me anymore.

We moved through the crowd together until the sheet came into view.

I saw the names, scores and ranks.

Everything laid out like it was nothing, like it didn’t have the power to mess with your head.

My eyes scanned the list quickly. Too quickly that I had to force myself to slow down.

1…

Roxie Cliff.

Of course.

Something in my chest tightened, but I kept going.

2… 3… 4…

My pulse picked up.

5… 6…

And then…

7. Clara Stone.

I froze.

I was still placed at seven, again.

I didn’t move. Didn’t feel anything for a while then it came. It wasn’t disappointment or relief, just something in between.

Like I had been holding my breath for too long and didn’t know whether to exhale or keep going.

“Hey,” Ethan said beside me. “That’s really good.”

I let out a slow breath. “It’s the same.”

“Consistency isn’t a bad thing,” he replied.

I didn’t answer.

Because in my head, a voice I knew too well whispered—

Why aren’t you first?

I swallowed, forcing the thought down.

Seventh wasn’t failure.

But it didn’t feel like success either.

“Clara.”

I turned at the sound of my name.

Roxie.

She stood a few feet away, looking exactly how I expected her to……she was perfectly composed, not a strand of hair out of place, like this moment had already been rehearsed in her head.

“Seventh,” she said, her lips curving into a small smile. “Stable.”

There was something about the way she said it that made it sound like an insult wrapped in a compliment.

I met her gaze.

“First,” I replied calmly. “Expected.”

Ethan let out a small cough beside me, clearly trying not to laugh.

Roxie’s smile didn’t falter, but her eyes sharpened slightly.

“Expectations exist for a reason,” she said. “Some people are built to meet them.”

“And some people grow into them,” I said.

A beat of silence passed between us.

She tilted her head slightly, studying me like I had just said something mildly interesting.

“We’ll see,” she said simply and then she walked away.

I watched her go, my jaw tightening just a little.

“Well,” Ethan muttered. “She’s… something.”

“That’s one way to put it,” I said.

“You handled that well,” he added.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Exactly,” he said. “That’s why it worked.”

I huffed out a quiet breath, glancing back at the board one last time.

Seven.

It stared back at me like a challenge.

The lecture hall felt different when I walked in, like everything had changed just a little.

I took my seat, setting my iPad down in front of me.

This time, I didn’t feel scattered.

Didn’t feel like my thoughts were pulling me in different directions.

Just… focused.

“Better?” Ethan asked quietly as he sat beside me.

“A little,” I admitted.

“Good,” he said. “Because today’s lecture is not one you want to zone out in.”

“I won’t,” I replied.

And I meant it.

For once, I really did.

The room fell silent as the door opened.

Professor Hart walked in, calm and composed as always.

I didn’t look at him.

Not longer than necessary or the way I used to.

I simply opened my notes and adjusted my posture.

I was focused now.

“Open to your previous work,” he said.

For the first time, his voice didn’t shake me.

I wrote down my notes and understood the lectures.

I answered questions when called without hesitation.

By the time the lecture ended, my notes were filled, my mind clear in a way it hadn’t been before.

As I packed up my things, something settled quietly inside me.

I wasn’t here to chase distractions.

I wasn’t here to compete with ghosts in my head.

I was here for me.

For what I wanted.

And maybe…

Seventh wasn’t where I would stay.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and stood up.

This time, when I walked out of the lecture hall…

I didn’t feel behind.

I felt like I had just started.