“It must be a jealousy thing. Oh, by the way, congrats on advancing,” Kathy said as she punched his arm. “Jioni and I bombed it, but I admit I wasn’t even trying.”
Jioni paused. “If you weren’t trying…why was your score higher than mine?” Jioni asked. The feeling of incompetence coincided with her embarrassment. “Ugh, never mind. I would’ve done much better on the exam if it had felt real.”
Jioni brushed off Kathy’s statement and walked faster, her steps heavier; she pushed away any vines much quicker as she marched on. Jioni slacked off more than Brandon, but at the same time, she couldn’t be bothered with such tests when there were more important issues. She breathed and calmed her thoughts down.
“Anyways, congrats,” Jioni said with a strained smile.
“It means a lot coming from you both, thanks,” Brandon replied.
