Chapter 5

It’s hard for a bad student to become good, but it is incredibly easy for a good student to go bad.

I didn't know when Ethan and Skylar actually started dating. I hadn't even noticed him talking to her.

But by the time I found out, they were already wearing matching vintage jackets at school, and Ethan’s grades had begun to plummet.

On a Friday walk home, the silence between us was deafening.

As we neared our houses, I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Ethan, are you dating Skylar?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Is that why your grades are dropping?"

His face instantly darkened.

"Chloe, why are you acting like everyone else? Why does everyone blame Skylar for my grades?"

"My grades have nothing to do with her."

"How can you say that? I saw you. You bought a burner phone."

"You spend all of class texting her, don't you?"

Ethan stiffened. He snapped, "Mind your own business," and got off the bus early.

We weren't even at our stop yet. He was practically running away.

But I didn't chase him. I had AP prep homework to do. I didn't have time to chase a boy.

Soon after, Ethan started skipping study hall with Skylar.

Before he skipped, he would always come to my desk and beg me to cover for him.

Since he had always been a golden student, the teachers were incredibly lenient with him.

All he had to say was, "The classroom is too loud for me to focus," and they would let him go study in the library. They only cared about his final scores anyway.

"Ethan, did you even finish the homework packets for this week?" I asked him one day when he begged me to cover for him again.

He scoffed. "Please. That baby stuff? I don't even need to look at it."

He glanced down at the AP English practice test I was working on. With just a single glance, he pointed out two mistakes I had made in the multiple-choice section.

Then, he smirked at me, as if to say:

"See? You work so hard, and I can spot your mistakes in a second."

"Do you really think someone like me needs to do homework?"

I swallowed my anger, corrected my answers, and nodded.