Comments Said Not to Save My Toxic Childhood Sweetheart, I Chose Cambridge Chapter 02

Comments Said Not to Save My Toxic Childhood Sweetheart, I Chose Cambridge Chapter 02

I watched their eager, hyped faces and tilted my lips into a cold smirk.

A bunch of blind followers chasing a cheap thrill.

They wouldn’t see the disaster they’d walked into until it crashed down on them.

Seraphina clapped her hands, tossing a sharp, taunting glance my way.

“Alright, let’s kick off the game!”

Somehow an envelope had appeared in her grip out of nowhere.

“The first clue’s right under your feet.”

The bus exploded with noise instantly.

Jasper dropped to his hands and knees first, shoving his arm under the seat and yanking out a crumpled scrap of paper.

“Damn, it’s blank.”

“That’s just a decoy,” Seraphina purred, eyes crinkling with amusement. “The real SAT Admission Tickets are hidden somewhere way trickier.”

Kids kicked chair legs, slammed into metal handrails, dumped every backpack upside down, scattering scratch notebook paper all over the floor.

The narrow aisle packed full of scrambling students-some squatting, some crawling, others standing on tiptoes rummaging through the Overhead Luggage Rack. The air reeked of sweat and half-eaten breakfast subs we’d grabbed that morning.

Jasper bolted for the storage racks, tossing every backpack aside so hard the whole bus rattled.

“Are they tucked behind the seat fabric?”

A row of kids ripped the fabric covers loose, dragging their fingers along every crack and seam.

“Nothing here.”

“Gross- I just touched a wad of old gum stuck back there.”

A handful complained loudly, others laughed, a few slumped back into seats exhausted from searching.

Marlow Tate followed Seraphina around with a camera, filming every second and narrating out loud.

As one of her most loyal blind sycophants, he never missed a chance to hype her up.

“Seraphina, you’re genius at this hide-and-seek way better than Elowen.”

Seraphina clapped her hands to cheer the class on.

“This is our last big memory together, I wanted it unforgettable. Keep looking!”

Minutes ticked by, but not a single admission ticket turned up.

The floating comments shifted from unhinged praise to quiet doubt.

[She stashed all the tickets inside her oversized hooded sweatshirt-no one’s ever gonna find them.]

[This is messed up. She’s dragging every single kid down with her.]

[Quit hating on Seraphina! She’s got Kael wrapped around her finger, she doesn’t even care about SAT scores.]

[Wait a minute-does anyone else think the rest of the class actually needs their exam passes?

Especially Elowen, who traveled miles from a tiny rural town just to get into this academy.]

My gaze locked hard onto Seraphina.

That’s why she’d worn that loose hoodie today.

That’s why she never joined in the searching herself.

All forty-four SAT admission slips were stashed inside her oversized hoodie.

Every single kid on this bus wasted their energy chasing a useless ghost.

This elite Top Honors Cohort class wasn’t some toy for her to mess around with.

It was the academy’s pride and joy.

It was Mr. Halewell, who’d worked himself to exhaustion grading papers, even lecturing us from his hospital bed when he was sick.

The thought made my fists clench tight.

I couldn’t stand back and watch everything fall apart without a fight.

While the other students grumbled, I fixed my stare straight on Seraphina.

“Are you sure every SAT Admission Ticket’s somewhere on this bus?”

Seraphina’s smile faltered.

“What are you implying, Elowen?”

I swept a hand over the trashed, disorganized bus interior.

“Forty-five kids, forty whole minutes tearing the bus apart, and not a single admission slip’s turned up. Something’s off here.”

Kael frowned, stepping forward to block Seraphina from my line of sight.

“They’re just hidden really well. Instead of picking fights, go dig through the Trash Receptacle like everyone else.”

“Exactly! We’re having fun, even if we miss the exam window it’s our choice.”

“I bet she’s just bitter she can’t handle the game and wants to drop out now. Not happening.”

Voices crashed over me from every direction.

Seraphina stood in the middle of the crowd, shooting me a smug little shrug.

I lifted a finger to point at her, ready to expose everything.

Before a single word left my mouth, Jasper shouted from the back of the bus.

“I found one!”

He pulled a crumpled admission ticket out of a hidden slot inside the trash bin and held it high over his head.

“Whose is this?” The crowd surged forward to get a look.

He stretched the paper flat, scanned the student photo, then shot a mocking grin at me.

“Elowen. This one’s yours.”

He held the paper out toward me.

My fingers barely brushed the edge before a sharp tearing sound cut through the noise.

The ticket printed with my photo split clean in two halves.

One scrap stayed in my palm, the other Jasper twisted between his fingers, waving it for everyone to see.

“You needed to apologize to Seraphina for falsely accusing her, so this is your penalty.” He clapped his hands together. “This looks about right to me.”

The whole bus burst into loud laughter.

“Nice work, Jasper!”

“Exactly what she deserves. Seraphina just wanted to cut our stress before exams, and Elowen’s done nothing but ruin the mood.”

“Isn’t this going too far? How’s Elowen supposed to get into the Testing Hall now?”

Kael pushed through the crowd to reach my side.

“Enough, everyone. Keep searching-we’ve only got fifteen minutes left.”

He glanced down at the torn ticket in my grasp, his tone thick with reluctant pity.

“Once we get off the bus, I’ll drive you to get a replacement printed. We’ve still got time.”

I squeezed the tattered half of my ticket tight, my voice cold and tight.

“Don’t bother.”