Page 35 of Zero Happily Ever Afters

The roar of laughter only fueled my fury. He still hadn’t filed to change their ridiculous team title, and that meant the scouts would be sharing that fucking coven name in their reports to interested enchanters. At least Caleb’s coven had a nice ring to it.

2nd Place: The Coven of Inevitable Potential

And to no surprise, Kenzo’s team landed at the top.

1st Place: The Roaring Rainbows of Flame and Lightning

My heart raced, waiting for the second category to finish compiling names and reveal one by one who landed among the top ten individual competitors. Pride washed over me when five of my students sat among the top ten competitors today. And honestly, I was utterly surprised to see the jester of innuendos had actually treated this event seriously.

10th Place: Gael Rios-Vega26,969

9th Place: Tatiana Owens27,783

8th Place: Ramsey Miller28,802

7th Place: Katherine Harris28,838

6th Place: Devon White28,840

5th Place: Andrew Johnson28,895

4th Place: Amani Williams29,901

3rd Place: Tara Whitlock30,102

2nd Place: Caleb Huxley42,488

1st Place: Kenzo Ito42,490

Two points stood between Caleb and Kenzo. They had a landslide over everyone else—with Tara only lagging so far behind because she’d ensured her coven’s scores didn’t flounder. The joy she took in her coven mates’ success soared above her ocean of sorrow. It seemed she’d shifted to a support role toward the last quarter of the competition, allowing Gael, Jamius, and Yaritza to claim all the points.

A wave of defeat hit each boy. Kenzo couldn’t fathom how Caleb had gotten so close to surpassing him. Caleb couldn’t believe he still wasn’t able to catch up to Kenzo. Both of them hated ending their fight before truly competing against each other.

The second-year showcase would offer them that opportunity. Chances were they’d both make it to the final round again, with a bigger audience and more experience under their belts. I worried what that battle would bring if they’d emerge finally recognizing each other again, but I knew the time had come.

Kenzo and Caleb needed this.

Chapter Ten

Two weeks had passed since Milo had left for the case, and I missed him, but I had plenty to keep my mind occupied as we moved into the month of March. Once the scouts had left Gemini Academy, the real work kicked in where I had to wrangle my homeroom students together long enough to complete every last-minute project. They’d need to impress guilds with their research essays and magic skillset presentations expressing what made them unique and valuable to the ever-growing industry.

It didn’t help that some of my students were high on their success from the results of the Will-o’-the-Wisp tag event. I rolled my eyes and braced for the incoming headache as I stood in the hallway between classes.

Gael had a swagger in his step as he strolled down the hallway with a screeching rooster in front of him. Nearly every student scrambled to escape King Clucks’ wrath and pressed themselves against the lockers to clear a path. In his mind, Gael truly walked a red carpet as an audience of eager bystanders stood in awe. The warped reality of his cockiness floated far past his imagination and practically painted a sparkle of camera flashes and cheering fans down the entire hallway.

“That’s right, baby. I’m a top”—Gael held a long pause, lowering his sunglasses to the bridge of his nose—“ten contender. Top ten contender, babes.”

“Which is sort of last place among the best,” Layla said, cutting by him and the rooster unfazed while repressing every ounce of venomous jealousy she had for falling short by a few places. “Sort of puts you at the bottom if you think about it.”

“Makes sense to me.” Melanie nodded. “Gael being a bottom and all.”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with being on the bottom.” Gael stuck out his pierced tongue and made a face at both girls. “It’s a place of power if you know what you’re doing.”

Gael proceeded to shimmy and dance into the classroom, with King Clucks tapping his claws against the floor in a similar movement. Was the damn bird dancing?

“And I do know what I’m doing because I’m in the top ten—”

“Ba-ba-bawk!”

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