Chapter 848: More Than A Clown
Chapter 848: More Than A Clown
Liam entered with the flow and ended up seated near Asher again, seemingly because fate had decided Asher’s irritation was something Liam had to endure during academy gatherings. A few rows ahead, Sheila sat with Ariana and Charlotte, the three girls close enough to speak quietly among themselves.Edith was not far from them, seated along the same row with two other students who had begun orbiting Sheila’s developing command structure.
Dylan and Maxwell were two rows ahead of Liam and Asher, directly aligned with them, which meant Liam unfortunately had a clear view of whatever nonsense Dylan decided to perform.
Dylan looked far too cheerful for someone awaiting theory scores.
Maxwell did not.
"I cannot wait to see the scores," Dylan said, leaning back with his arms stretched along the top of the seats beside him like a man prepared to enjoy a show. "I especially want to see how badly Max did."
Maxwell turned slowly. "Why are you starting with me?"
"Because you are close enough to hear me suffer your downfall."
"My downfall?"
"Yes."
"You know we are both getting evaluated, right?"
Dylan waved a hand. "Yes, but my score will be interesting. Yours will be educational."
Maxwell’s eyes narrowed. "You say that like you are guaranteed to beat me."
Dylan smiled.
It was the kind of smile that made Maxwell’s expression stiffen before a word was even spoken.
"Maxie," Dylan said gently, almost kindly, which made it worse. "Have you forgotten what happened during our first-year major theory paper?"
Maxwell went quiet.
The memory arrived visibly.
It had been one of those academy moments that should have been impossible and yet had happened with paperwork to prove it. Back in first year, Maxwell and Asher had made the foolish decision to bet that Dylan would score below them on the major theory paper. It had seemed logical at the time. Dylan was Dylan. He joked too much, flirted too openly, complained too loudly, and treated serious situations like stages built for his personal amusement. No one had expected him to do anything impressive on a major written test.
Then the results came out.
Dylan Wellington, academy clown, shameless nuisance, and professional destroyer of serious moods, had ranked eighth highest on the theory paper.