Finally, a break was given to allow the judges time to decide on the winning school. Angel exhaled deeply as she stepped off the stage and walked toward the back, her heart still racing from her performance. Moments later, Vicky and Mira came rushing to meet her.
"You were amazing out there!" Mira said, practically bouncing on her toes.
Vicky nodded with wide eyes. "Seriously, Angel, the way you answered the questions? Flawless. I'm sure we're going to win."
Angel smiled, a little breathless but glowing. "Thanks, guys. I was so nervous, I thought my voice was going to shake."
"It didn't," Vicky said. "You looked like you owned the stage."
A few feet away, Dan stood alone, watching. He hadn't joined the others, just lingered quietly in the background. Angel noticed him through the crowd. Their eyes met, and he gave her a small smile—subtle, almost invisible. She smiled back, her heart fluttering for reasons she didn't fully understand.
The break ended quickly. Everyone was called back into the hall, and the audience settled into silence. Tension hung in the air, thick and electric. The moderator stepped onto the stage, holding a sealed envelope. Every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on him.
He cleared his throat and opened the envelope. "And the winner is... Angel James from Ridgewood Academy!"
For a heartbeat, there was stillness. No one moved. Then the hall erupted into cheers.
"Yes!" Mira screamed, hugging Vicky, who was jumping up and down.
"We won!" Vicky shouted. "Angel, you did it!"
The teachers and students from Ridgewood Academy burst into applause. Some stood, clapping wildly, while others waved school flags and scarves.
Mr. Gabriel, sitting beside Christiana, looked stunned. He had always believed in his daughter, but seeing her name called, hearing the room cheer for her, was something else entirely.
"That's my daughter," he whispered under his breath, eyes gleaming with pride.
Angel walked up to the stage slowly, almost in disbelief. As the spotlight hit her and the award was placed in her hands, she blinked, trying to take it all in.
"This... this is for Ridgewood," she said into the mic, her voice steady but emotional. "And for everyone who believed in me."
From the audience, Dan watched with a broad smile—he hadn't even noticed how happy he looked until someone beside him nudged his shoulder.
.
"I've never seen you smile, not even this brightly?" one of his friends asked with a knowing grin.
Dan just nodded. "I'm proud of her."
__
The toilet flushed again. Isabel slumped forward, gripping the side of the stall like it could anchor her to reality.
This wasn't supposed to be happening.
Her stomach twisted violently, and she gasped, pressing her palm to her abdomen. Why? Why?!
From the other side of the bathroom door came the muffled voices of her friends.
"Isabel?" Liz knocked, voice hesitant. "Are you... are you still alive in there?"
"Don't say it like she's dead," Carly muttered.
"She's been in there for over half an hour!" Liz whispered. "The competition's almost over."
Isabel groaned. "I know that!"
She hadn't meant to shout, but the pain, the stress, the sheer humiliation boiling in her gut was unbearable.
"Iz... I'm really sorry," Sam said. "I didn't mean to—I didn't know the drink got swapped. I thought the one with the mark was the right one, I swear."
"You thought?" Isabel's voice cracked through the stall like lightning. "You thought?! You had ONE job, Sam. ONE!"
"I—It was a mistake! They looked the same and I—I guess I just—"
"You guessed wrong!" Isabel shouted. "Angel is supposed to be the one here right now!"
Sam's voice wavered. "I just thought if Angel took the drugged one, she'd maybe get confused or too tired to answer questions. That's what you said!"
"Well she didn't get confused, did she?" Isabel snapped. "Because I drank it!"
There was a beat of silence.
The hallway outside the bathroom exploded in applause.
Isabel froze.
"Oh my God..." Carly whispered. "They just announced the results."
Footsteps pounded down the hallway. A second later, a student raced past the bathroom entrance, yelling:
"Angel James won! She scored full marks in the final round! She beat Ryan Kim! Did you hear?!"
The blood drained from Isabel's face.
No. No, no, no. This wasn't happening.
She gripped the side of the stall, eyes wide with disbelief. "She... won?"
No one outside answered.
She kicked the door open, eyes blazing as she staggered out. Her friends shrank back instinctively.
"she wasn't even supposed to be in the competition!" Isabel screamed. "She was just the alternative! She got my spot!... And Sam ruined everything"
Sam looked like she might cry. "I didn't mean—"
"Stop saying that!" Isabel snapped.
"Isabel, calm down—" Liz tried to step in, but Isabel whirled on her too.
"Don't tell me to calm down! I spent months preparing for this. I worked hard. I deserved that win. And now Angel, she took my spot and—Angel—is up there smiling like she earned it?!"
Carly muttered, "Well... technically, she did."
Isabel's jaw clenched so tight it ached.
She turned away, breathing hard. Her hands shook as she reached for the sink, gripping it like she might collapse. Her reflection stared back at her: makeup streaked, hair a mess, eyes wild.
This wasn't how it was supposed to end.
"I swear," she said quietly. "If Angel thinks this changes anything... she's got another thing coming."
She straightened up and faced her friends, cold and furious.
"She may have won the competition today. But I'm going to make sure it's the last thing she ever wins."