"School days are the best!" Rita sang as she skipped down the street, the fresh morning air tousling her hair. The sun was just high enough to warm the street but not too hot to make her sweat. She felt like she was the star of her own little musical, even if the people walking past her were probably wondering why she was singing so loudly at 7:30 in the morning.
"Rita! Rita!" a voice shouted, breaking her from her melodious daydream. She spun around, startled, only to see her best friend Evelyn huffing and puffing as she ran toward her.
"Who could it be calling me when I'm already late for school?" Rita muttered under her breath, but then her eyes widened in recognition.
"Evelyn!" she grinned, waving as her friend caught up.
Evelyn stopped in front of Rita, panting and trying to catch her breath. "Woah, Ritty! You look so... beautiful today!"
Rita chuckled. "You are not looking too bad yourself, Eve. Did you just come from a marathon?" she teased, giving Evelyn an exaggerated once-over. Evelyn had clearly been running like she'd stolen something."Ritty, Ritty, listen to me!" Evelyn said, half out of breath. "Do you know the class arrangement has been changed?"
Rita's smile faltered. "Wait, are you serious, Eve? You're not pranking me, are you?" She eyed her friend suspiciously.
"I'm serious, okay?" Evelyn rolled her eyes playfully. "My mum is a staff in the school, so trust me, this isn't a joke. We've all got new classes."
Rita's face fell. "This is part of what I tried to avoid. Imagine me stuck in Anne's class. Oh no." She mumbled so quietly that Evelyn didn't hear her, though Rita wasn't even sure if she was trying to convince herself or Evelyn.
"What did you say?" Evelyn asked, narrowing her eyes at Rita.
Rita sighed dramatically. "You wouldn't understand. It's not as good as you think."
Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? It's a good thing! At least you and Anne will finally get to know each other." She laughed.
Rita, however, was not amused. "No, Eve. It is NOT a good thing," she said, the weight of dread settling in as they walked toward the school compound.
Then, who is Anne.Her full name is Richard Anne, the head girl of Jewel Girls High School Junior. And no, she isn't just the head girl. She's smart, maybe even too smart. In fact, Rita sometimes worries Anne might be more brilliant than her, which is definitely a problem.
Anne's the kind of person who never breaks a sweat and always has the answers. Rita, on the other hand, is used to being the one people turn to for answers. She's always been the top student. But Anne? She's like the shadow that looms over Rita's perfectly crafted world. Rita had a suspicion Anne might be smarter, more organized, and maybe even better at... everything. The competition was real, and Rita felt like she was about to lose to a girl who smiled too much and knew how to manage a whole school.
"Come on, let's check the notice board for our new classes!" Evelyn said, pulling Rita toward the giant bulletin board near the entrance.
The board was crowded with students peering over each other's shoulders, trying to read their new class assignments. Rita stood on her tiptoes, eyes darting across the paper. Where is it? Where is it? . She said to no one in particular
"Found it!" she finally shouted, much louder than she intended. Her heart skipped a beat as she scanned the list. There—right there, at the top of the third list—was her name."Wait," Rita muttered, scanning again, her finger moving across the names like a detective looking for a clue. "No... I must check for Anne. We cannot be in the same class."
She squinted her eyes, making sure she didn't miss anything.
"Ritty, I'm in 3D, I'm not in your class," Evelyn said with a smile, stepping back with a small shake of her head. "So sad. Not gonna be hanging out with you, huh?"
Rita blinked, still too focused on her task to register Evelyn's words. "Who are you checking for?"
"Anne," Rita muttered.
"Anne? Oh, the fair girl?" Evelyn asked, eyeing Rita curiously. "You're in the same class with her, aren't you?"
"No, I didn't see her name," Rita said, her eyes still scanning the list, frantically moving from name to name, wishing, praying that she wouldn't find Anne's name anywhere on it.
And then—*BOOM*.
There it was.
Rita's finger froze. "She's in my class."
Evelyn blinked, then burst out laughing, coming up behind Rita to give her a playful hug. "Lucky babe!" she teased, ruffling Rita's hair. "Guess I'm not the one stuck with her after all!"
Rita stood there for a moment, still processing the news. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but one thing was for sure—this was going to be a very interesting school year. Maybe her world wasn't as perfect as she thought, but hey, at least she had Evelyn to go through it with her .