Friend Rivals

# Unofficial cold war

Jarel's POV-

A chunk of plaster fell on my pillow.

I blinked, then pushed it off without sitting up. The ceiling above my bed was flaking again. I’d noticed it last week. I hadn’t done anything about it.

I checked the time. Late.

Not late enough to panic.

I got dressed in silence. Shirt still damp at the sleeves, but passable. I buttoned it halfway before deciding that was enough. No time to eat. Not that there was anything worth eating.

Outside, the street was cold. The kind of cold that clung to your collarbones. I walked with my hands in my pockets.

“Jarel!”

Mathis was already waiting near the corner, bike leaning against the wall, half a croissant in his mouth. “You coming or skipping the first day like a legend?”

I nodded. “Coming.”

“Good. You miss roll call again, and they’ll send a search party.”

We walked together. Or rather, he biked slowly and talked, and I walked next to him, mostly quiet.

Our neighborhood was old. Cracked pavement, crooked windows, everything slightly leaning. But it had its own rhythm. Doors creaked open. Someone argued over prices at the bakery. Kids kicked a flat ball near the fountain.

“You think you topped the list again?” Mathis asked.

“I don’t think about it.”

“Which means yes.”

We reached the front gates of Saint-Erhart Lyceum. Stone walls, ivy climbing the sides, a building that looked too serious for teenagers. The courtyard buzzed with new faces.

The ranking board was already crowded. I didn’t bother pushing through. I waited until people moved.

Eventually, I saw it.

Jarel Reidl— Rank 1

I nodded once. Good enough.

“Of course,” Mathis said, reading over my shoulder. “The silent genius returns.”

I didn’t respond.

But then—

That’s when she appeared.

“Still pretending you don’t care?” Clara Drexler said, stepping into view.

Same perfect uniform. Same sharp voice. She looked straight at me, waiting.

I glanced at her, then back to the board.

“Still trying to get a reaction?” I said.

Her name was right below mine. Rank 2.

She didn’t answer right away.

“I’ll pass you by the next term.”

“Maybe.”

She frowned slightly, just for a second. “That’s all?”

“You’re here to compete. I get it.”

I turned and walked off before she could say more.

“She looked ready to throw her pen at your head,” Mathis muttered as we left the crowd.

“She always does.”

“You’re colder than winter, you know that?”

“She’ll be fine.”

...----------------...

Lunch was quiet. Just the way I liked it. I had a sandwich. Mathis stole half.

“She’s already working through the new textbook,” he said, pointing across the yard. “Highlighters out and everything.”

“Of course she is.”

Clara sat at a clean table, surrounded by people but not really talking. Head down. Focused. Sharp lines, straight spine. Not a glance in my direction.

“You think she hates you?” Mathis asked.

“No.”

“You act like she doesn’t exist.”

“She talks enough for both of us.”

He laughed, then leaned back. “People already talking about you two. Says it’s like a silent war.”

“Let them talk.”

“You’re really not interested?”

“I’m interested in staying ahead.”

I finished what was left of the sandwich and stood up.

She’d come for the top spot. I didn’t doubt it.

She always did.

But I wasn’t moving.