“I mean… I haven’t answered it yet, but I can still help you,” I replied, making eye contact with him again, “If you want.”

“What?! You haven't answered it yet?” he stated, causing a few of the other students to look up, “maybe I should ask Ulyssa when she’s done with Jeanine, since you’ve been obviously daydreaming this whole time. I figured since you were staring off into space that you were, but obviously I was wrong.”

I glared at him, “Edmund, do you want my help or not?”

He looked at me skeptically, weighing the options in his head, “Have you even looked at the question?” 

“Nope, but that doesn’t mean you can’t read it off to me” I replied.

“I think I’m going to just get Ulyssa’s help” he said, as his head turned to look for Ulyssa.

I rolled my eyes, the irritation at Ulyssa being brought up evident on my face, “Edmund, just read the question to me.” 

“Fine,” he groaned as he reopened his packet, “What caused the animosity between Hermia and Helena?”

“Simple, it was Demetrius” I replied quickly. 

“Okay, you’re gonna have to elaborate. Because Mrs. MacDonnell isn’t going to accept just Demetrius as the answer” he said, looking at me with disbelief.

I sighed before taking the question seriously, “Hermia and Helena were best friends, correct? And they both respectively had lovers in which they loved as reflections of each other, but everything changed when their dynamic changed. Demetrius started falling in love with Hermia instead continuing to love Helena, that is what created Helena’s jealousy due to Helena feeling like she was cast aside by her lover and best friend. This causes arguing and slander, which over time becomes full blown animosity due to the fact that Lysander is bewitched by a fairy and, in turn, falls in love with Helena. In the end it only increases the animosity and rage between the two women which was originally caused when Demetrius turned away from Helena and pursued Hermia instead.”

Edmund stared at me like a deer in headlights, “Dude, are you sure that we read the same book?”

I fought a smirk, “I’m pretty sure.”

“Really? Because that wasn’t the way I remembered it” he said, pulling out his copy of the book to flip through it. 

“Are you sure? I’m pretty sure you’re going to find that answer once you look through those pages. Also it’s a part of the plot of the whole novel, you should know that” I replied with an incredulous look on my face. 

Edmund looked up from his book annoyed at my answer, “Sorry we all can’t be like you and Ulyssa, we are monsters like the both of you. I swear the both of y'all make this harder than it needs to be, since the standard might be the way it is because of the both of you.” 

“I highly doubt that Edmund, maybe if you paid attention instead of worrying about what others were doing and focusing on becoming the best then maybe you wouldn’t be asking for help” I rolled my eyes, knowing that I had spoken the truth. 

Edmund gawked at my answer, a few of the other students around us suddenly becoming fascinated with their own coursework instead of our interaction. It wasn’t the first time a student had vented to me, whining about the unfairness that was achieving a spot within the top ten. And it wouldn’t be the last, Edmund included.

“I can’t believe you said that to me,” Edmund whispered, speaking more to himself than me. 

“Are there any other questions you need my help with?”

Edmund looked at me with a face that could rival a porcelain statue, probably contemplating whether or not he still needed my help or if wanted me to get out of his sight. I was sure that it was the latter. 

“Unfortunately, I do” He stated, his face saying otherwise. 

“Which one?” I asked. 

“Number 9,” His attention became enamoured with his packet, “Why does Puck delight in causing chaos and confusion?”

“Oh, that’s easy, it’s because he’s a fairy” 

“Why do you keep doing this?!” Edmund growled, his hands starting to crumple his packet. 

“Because that's the answer” I replied matter-of-factly. 

“Again. Please elaborate” he grumbled.

I sighed at having to give yet another explanation. My instincts told me that he was just doing it to get the answers, but in my own twisted way, I wanted to indulge him. 

“Let’s reflect on Puck’s nature, he is a fairy. Fairies are said to be naturally mischievous, which Puck takes particular delight in even though he doesn’t know why. He assumes that his exploits and infamous pranks will give him notoriety amongst the others of his kind, especially due to the fact that he’s causing pain and frustration to humans. Puck, in actuality, lives to be in the limelight, which also feeds into his desire to take things and flip them on their heads. Again causing trouble for any unsuspecting targets, a bonus if they are human. So overall Puck does it because he can, and the fact that is tradition because he is, indeed, a fairy” I explained, Edmund’s reaction to my explanation telling me that I had outdone myself again. 

Out of the corner of my eyes, I witnessed a few students erasing their answers with defeated looks, a satisfied smirk appearing on my face. My smirk dissipated as I returned my attention to Edmund, whose face had turned slightly red from irritation.

“There’s no way your answer is that elaborate” he growled once more, “Did you write the damn book? because there's still no way.”

“I wish” I chuckled, “but unfortunately I’m not responsible for that novel. I did use literary analysis to decipher the hidden meanings in the book, like we’re supposed to Edmund.”

Edmuned continued to look at me with envy, or what I assumed was envy as I smirked at him, mentally aware that he was not fond of me at that moment. Across the classroom, I saw Ulyssa watching my interaction with Edmund, a small smirk sitting on her face. Her eyes analyzed the situation and found it amusing to watch. In the back of my head I wanted to smirk along with it, but my smirk was for different reasons. I had reminded Edmund of why he was in his current ranking, and was doomed to stay there unless he was able to change his personal goals. My goals had been simple: to beat Uylssa before graduation day, and to get into the Art school of my dreams so that I could achieve my future goals. But the thoughts of Gage prickle at the back of my mind, confusing me on whether to leave right after graduation or to see what the outcome will be between Gage and I. 

I looked at Edmund once more, seeing that he was speaking to me, “Wait. what was that?”

Edmund glared at me before brushing me off, “I think I’m good on help for now, I got the rest.”

“Well let me know if you need anything else?” I said, my body getting up from the desk next to his. 

“We’ll see Tristan” He grumbled, turning back to his packet. 

I nodded, walking off in the direction of my desk and the blank packet that still resided on it, my eyes peered at the clock to see that we still had 30 minutes left in class. It was more than enough time for me to finish the packet that the teacher had given us, Edmund already having helped me with two of the questions. I looked in Ulyssa’s direction once more, seeing that she had transitioned to reading a book—The Color Purple— one that wasn’t on our reading list for the year. It irked me, the sight of the book, because I had not picked up another novel after finishing Pride and Prejudice for the hundredth time. Yet again, in my mind, Ulyssa had pulled ahead in our rivalry, showing me that partaking in the classics was a stepping stone that we needed to achieve. Even with the threats of college, graduation, and my love life, I could not allow myself to fall off track and fall behind her. 

I looked at her once more seeing that she remained in the same position as before, ‘Whatever it takes, I’m going to beat you Ulyssa’