My Cruel Bestie Mocked Me to Please His Muse, Unaware I Was Flying to Harvard with a True Genius Chapter 01
After the SATs, we played Truth or Dare at the graduation party.
Zach Miller said, “The person I hate the most is Sophie Clark.”
Everyone burst out laughing and looked at me with this mean sort of enjoyment.
“Aren’t you two childhood friends? You studied together every day and went home together. Back then, you used to hang out in the woods all the time — I thought you’d already…”
“No way. I could never bring myself to do that to her.”
Zach sneered in disgust.
“She’s been clinging to me for over a decade under the guise of being my childhood friend. Now, just looking at her face makes me sick.”
I felt hurt, so I stepped up to confront him.
“You’re the one who’s been so vague. If you hate me, why didn’t you just say so earlier?”
“If I’d told you that earlier, would you still have worked so hard taking notes for me and helping me with my homework?”
“I made a deal with Jasmine. If I get into Boston University too, she said she’ll go out with me.”
“So you’re useless now. Don’t stand in the way.”
Zach pushed me aside, walked over to Jasmine Ross, and knelt down on one knee.
Everyone was cheering and clapping.
No one noticed me crying quietly.
I’d liked him for eight years, but at that moment, I suddenly felt like it was all a complete waste of time.
******
Zach knelt on one knee and, with a sincere expression, presented the ring to Jasmine.
“My princess, can I take you out to dinner?”
Amid the crowd’s deafening cheers, Jasmine nodded shyly.
“Sure.”
The cheering around them grew even louder.
“They’re a perfect match. Let’s get them together.”
Someone even pushed me aside just to get a better look at the handsome couple.
I lost my balance, stumbled, and fell to the ground, scraping my knee.
I looked down and let out a bitter laugh.
Why bother? I’d made a complete fool of myself.
I got up and left, disappearing through the door until the class reunion was over.
Not a single person noticed I was gone.
It wasn’t until they emerged from the private room with their arms around each other’s shoulders that someone finally noticed me and let out a surprised “Huh?”
“Isn’t that the class president?”
“Why are you sitting here eating ice cream all by yourself?”
Hearing this, Zach, who was carefully supporting Jasmine, frowned and looked over.
“Sophie.”
He hurried over in two strides, trying to snatch my ice cream.
“Are you trying to kill yourself? Didn’t the doctor tell you not to eat ice cream?”
Three years ago, my stomach hurt so badly I couldn’t even stand up.
It was Zach who carried me to the hospital.
The doctor said I had a serious stomach condition and shouldn’t eat cold foods.
So Zach played bodyguard for me for three years.
Every time I touched something cold, he would snatch it away right away and replace it with something warm.
Time and again, I mistook those gestures for signs that he actually liked me.
But now, I just calmly pulled away from his touch.
“My stomach’s fine now. Besides, one scoop of ice cream isn’t going to kill me.”
Zach’s expression immediately turned cold.
“Are you messing around with your health?”
Everyone was stunned — including me.
Jasmine’s smile froze on her face, and she hooked her arm through Zach’s with a hint of unease.
“Didn’t you just say you hate her the most? So are you actually worried about Sophie?”
Zach let out a derisive snort.
“Why on earth would I care about her? She’s just a neighbor. I’m worried she’ll get a stomachache when she gets home, and then her mom will come give me a hard time again. It drives me crazy.”
As Zach said this, he frowned and shot me a glare. “All right, stop eating.”
I calmly popped the last bite of ice cream into my mouth and spoke with satisfaction.
“Don’t worry. It won’t happen again.”
Neither my mom nor I was going to bother him anymore.
