The university is packed with people, and it's no surprise; after all, the first day of class is filled with events and novelties. Faye and I walk together across one of the huge lawns, observing the students around us and gossiping about some of them.

"I'm already dreading the beginning of this whole shit show," my friend complains as we reach the main door.

"Well, I'm quite looking forward to it, even though this year I have some practical economics classes, and I hate math. I'm going to have to work much harder to keep my average at a ten."

"Honestly, Lex, I don't know how you can adore that major of yours so much. I literally don't know anyone who loves something as dreadfully boring as law like you do."

"Law isn't boring, Faye. It's very engaging and helps you understand the world around you. You don't know how satisfying it is to find legal loopholes to bend the law to your advantage, and so..." My passionate and impromptu speech is interrupted by a sudden fart from my best friend. "Do that again, and you'll swallow your laptop!"

Faye laughs at my threat and ignores the death glare I shoot her.

"You're acting like a crazy person. Besides, I don't think lowering your average by even a tenth of a point is going to affect you that much."

"Wake up, Faye. At Cravath and Sullivan, they only accept the best of the best. I can't even afford to think about lowering my grades."

"God, why don't you pull some strings like everyone else here? It's as simple as making a couple of calls to secure a spot at that firm you love so much."

Her words make me want to strangle her, as they always do whenever we have this conversation, but I simply frown.

"How many times do I have to repeat that I want to earn things on my own merit? Besides, if I stoop to the level of asking María for help, which is never going to happen, I wouldn't get anything either because all her connections only matter in Spain, not here."

I see a flicker on my friend's face as if she's about to mention María, but a single challenging look from me makes her look away and clear her throat, somewhat awkwardly.

"You know you can ask me or any of the girls for help whenever you want. Everyone's here to have fun and end up in a good position thanks to their contacts. I don't want you to fall behind just because you're being stubborn."

"I'm not going to fall behind because my merits will speak louder than any contacts those idiots might have. I'll say it a thousand times: I trust myself. Please, trust me too."

I stop in front of the door to my first class, and Faye turns to give me a fond look.

"You know I trust you, Lex. It's just that I worry, as your friend. I know you're the best at what you do, but sometimes that's not enough, although I sincerely hope it is."

"Thanks, Faye," I say with a smile before dramatically sighing. "Now wish me luck in avoiding choking myself in my first economics class."

"Come on, hold on; who am I going to annoy if I don't have you?"

I stick my tongue out at her before waving goodbye and entering the classroom. There are already people seated in the small amphitheater, and I opt for a seat at the back of the room. I don't intend to participate much, at least not in the first economics class of my life. One of the things I dislike the most is making a fool of myself, and if I dared to participate in this class, that's probably what would happen.

As a trickle of students starts to come in and choose their seats, I take out a book to kill some time. No one sits next to me, which doesn't surprise me. There's an unwritten rule that everyone who knows who I am understands: if you don't have a close relationship with me, don't get too close. I'm not the most sociable person in the world, and while most people know me by sight, I'm not too interested in getting to know them.

That's why, when I feel someone sit down to my right, I look up from my book and see there are plenty of free seats around the classroom. This fact causes me to frown in confusion as I check the identity of the person next to me.

"Do I have something on my face or what?" Ace comments without taking his eyes off the laptop he just pulled out of his backpack.

"You can't sit there," I stammer, the first thing that pops into my head, immediately regretting it for sounding stupid and childish.

"Why? Are you saving the seat for someone?"

"No."

"Then?"

"Nobody sits next to me."

Ace pretends to take out an invisible violin and play it while pouting, which irritates me quite a bit, especially coming from him. Just what I needed today, to deal with this idiot.

"Oh, right, I forgot you're Alexa Arden, feared by all, the bad girl of the university. Where are we, in some cliche afternoon movie? Please, we're not fifteen."

His words make me feel even more stupid, and the dreaded embarrassment I wanted to avoid upon entering the classroom is now present. Does this guy have a gift for making me feel like a complete idiot with just five words?

"I don't like anyone bothering me in class. I want to pay attention without listening to stupid chatter around me."

"Wow, so I was wrong about you. You're not the typical bad girl who isolates herself to make people afraid of her; you're the nerd who's not used to dealing with the rest of humanity. Now it all makes sense!"

"Did you not hear me? I don't want anyone bothering me, so shut up," I snap, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment and anger.

"Okay, okay, I don't want you to beat me up like you did with Ashley."

His words and mocking smile make me feel even more ridiculous, but I take a brief second to swallow my pride and think with my head. Maybe Ace only seems like an idiot to me because I was predisposed to think that way since I saw him. Maybe I need to give him a chance and see if he's really as stupid as I've been determined to believe. Plus, I want him to stop laughing at me, so maybe being nice will have some effect.

"I don't know if you know that I wasn't the one who started the fight with her. She's crazy; she came straight at me as if I had done something to her."

"From what I saw, you guys fought over Huxley. I'll tell you something, I would be pissed if I brought myself to fight over someone like Travis. He's dumber than a bucket."

His words make me laugh a little, completely agreeing with him even though I'm sleeping with the guy in question. Ace couldn't have described him better, though I don't know how he knows Travis after being here for just a few days.

"I need to clarify that I wasn't fighting for him," I say, becoming serious again before awkwardly changing the subject. "Not to refute your point that Travis is an idiot, but how do you know? You've barely been here a few days, right?"

"You don't need to spend years with someone to realize that. Plus, Nate has told me several things about him, and I don't understand how he can be so successful with women," he comments before looking at me with that crooked smile that seems so characteristic of him. "You can tell me about that, right? Nate told me that you and Travis... You've got guts, Arden."

His words and expression make me flush almost immediately, ruining my fleeting attempt to tolerate him and even get along with him. Who does he think he is to judge who I sleep with or don't sleep with? And why the hell does he have to know that information about me when I don't even know him? And even if he does know, he shouldn't throw it in my face like that, as if I was some stupid girl who has no idea what she's doing or who she's doing it with. Right now, I have an incredible urge to wipe that stupid smile off his face with a slap.

"I sleep with whoever I want, and you have no right to comment on what I do or don't do. I'd rather sleep with Travis than with a self-centered, narcissistic idiot like you!"

My response only makes him laugh with a soft chuckle. If I weren't so angry, I'd probably pause to admire how musical and lovely his laughter sounds, but the sound only irritates me more, flushing my cheeks. If I didn't want to slap him, I might have also noticed the nice curve of his smile and the dimples that frame it. If I could tolerate him a little more, I would take a moment to admire how attractive he is in more detail.

But right now, I can't do any of that.

"Oh, really? Wow, we've barely talked a couple of times, and you already have a formed opinion about me. Where does the whole egocentric and narcissistic thing come from, if you don't mind me asking?"

"All you have to do is look at you, moving around like you own the place and all the women should bow down to you. You think you're the hottest guy wherever you go, and you should come down a bit from that pedestal you've placed yourself on."

"I see, so I want all of them to be bowing down to me, got it." He nods with a mockingly serious expression. "And what about the idiot part? Am I as much of an idiot as Travis or even more?"

"Look, I think you're even more of an idiot than he is. First, because at least he's aware that he's not too bright, and second, because you must be in your last year of college or studying for your master's, and you're in a third-year introductory class."

"You've got me figured out pretty quickly, Arden. It's true I'm not the best with studies; that's why I had to come to this university to see if I can stop repeating this course," he sighs sadly, and I feel a flicker of a smile on my face. "I wish economics didn't come so damn hard to me."

Before I can respond, the professor enters the room, and I get ready to pay attention. If I want to achieve that coveted ten in this subject, I can't afford a single distraction, let alone let Ace get on my nerves. I'm smart enough to ignore everything that jeopardizes my perfect GPA.

For the first thirty minutes, I pay attention to what seems like an impossible explanation about Econometrics. I've taken notes and listened to everything, but once the professor poses the problem we need to solve for the rest of the class, I don't even know where to start. I begin writing equations, trying to apply the formulas Mr. Banner explained to solve it, but only absurd results come out, which irritate and frustrate me.

"Need a hand with that?" Ace asks me after ten minutes of struggling.

My desperation and irritation make me let out a sarcastic huff upon hearing him.

"Yeah, as if you could. I'd rather figure it out myself and take longer than you give me an incorrect answer, so no, thanks."

"Fine, suit yourself."

I roll my eyes and continue with my work. I want to be the first to solve it, as that will likely earn me positive points, at least in terms of having a good relationship with the professor, and I doubt Ace can do anything but mess up the approach I have for the problem.

So, five minutes later, while I'm still stuck on the first part, I'm surprised when a painfully familiar voice declares, "I'm done, Mr. Banner."

The professor and the rest of the students seem just as surprised as I am to hear that someone has already solved the exercise, but my surprise grows even more when I realize what I feared: the voice came from my right, specifically from the mouth that forms a smirk I find incredibly familiar. I look down at the sheet of paper filled with complex calculations in surprisingly neat handwriting.

"Very well, Mr. Hale. Would you mind coming down and demonstrating it on the board?"

"Of course."

Ace grabs his notebook and stands up, pausing for a brief second to wink at me, to which I respond with a huff. It irritates me even more to see all the girls sigh as he walks by, as if the very God himself had descended to Earth to grace this class with his presence. It doesn't help that, in just two minutes, Ace writes the entire problem set up on the board, receiving a smile and a nod of approval from Mr. Banner.

"Very good, Mr. Hale! It's impressive that you've managed to solve this problem in such a short time on the first day. You're very intelligent."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Banner."

Ace returns to his seat and looks at me with a smile, as if expecting me to say something. It's clear that I misjudged him once again, but my pride prevents me from apologizing as I probably should. The sun would have to fall in this class before I admitted a mistake in front of Ace.

"Don't you have anything to say, Arden?"

"Me? Not at all, why?"

"Well, it seems I'm not as much of an idiot as you thought. An apology wouldn't be too much to ask."

"I'd rather cut off my arm, Hale. Just because you're good at this subject doesn't mean you're intelligent, so don't be so egocentric."

Ace bursts into laughter and gets up when Professor Banner indicates the end of class, looking at me as if I were a toy he just had a lot of fun with.

"Whatever you say, but the egocentric narcissist solved the problem and you didn't. That's just how it is, buddy."

Hi!

Well, well, well, Alexa's disgust for Ace is growing every minute and he enjoys teasing her more than ever.

Do you think Alexa's feelings are justified?

I'll be reading you! ❤️