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Chapter 336
~Valerie’s POV~
"Alright, boys," I said, pulling out my phone with a devious grin. "I’ve prepared fifty questions. Ten percent about the supernatural world, and the rest about... ."
Ace raised an eyebrow. "About you?"
"Everything about ," I confird cheerfully. "Favourite foods, childhood mories, pet peeves, dreams, fears... You na it."
Kai’s face went pale. "Oh no."
"Oh yes," I laughed. "Let’s see who’s been paying attention."
I started with the easy ones. "Question one: What’s my favourite colour?"
"Blue!" they all chorused simultaneously.
"Good start, but blue and red."
"You said colour and not colours," Dristan corrected.
"Well, for , they go together."
"Nah, Light. Just one," Ash chipped.
"Fine. Question two: What’s my biggest fear?"
"Losing the people you love," Dristan answered softly.
I smiled at him and nodded. "Correct. Question three: What’s my favourite ice cream flavour?"
Silence.
Kai’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. His face crumpled in genuine distress. "I... I don’t..."
"You’re my mate!" I half yelled, acting scandalized. "How do you not know this?"
He threw his hands up desperately. "I was nervous! My brain just went blank!"
Ace rolled his eyes. "Chocolate and vanilla."
"Just chocolate," I said, shaking my head at Kai in mock disappointnt.
The questions got progressively harder. Ace rattled off correct answers like he’d spent weeks studying ; his responses were quick and confident.
Dristan, on the other hand, held his ground surprisingly well, getting most of the deeper, more personal questions right.
Xade managed to surprise everyone by rembering obscure details about my training preferences and morning routines.
But Ash... well, Ash was struggling.
"Question fifteen: What song do I hum when I’m nervous?"
Ash glared at Ace, who was smirking knowingly. "I can’t rember anything when he’s sitting there looking so smug!"
"Focus, Ash," I encouraged.
"That classical piece... the one with the... the..." He waved his hands frantically. "Damn it, I know this!"
"Alone pt 1 by Alan Walker Sonata," Ace supplied smoothly.
"I was going to say that!" Ash protested.
"Sure you were," Dristan muttered.
By question thirty, Kai had missed five more answers and looked ready to hide under the table. Axel wasn’t doing much better, constantly second-guessing himself.
"Question forty-three: What’s the first thing I do every morning?"
"Check your phone," Dristan answered imdiately.
"Wrong," I said with a grin.
His confident expression faltered. "What? But you always..."
"Stretch," Xade said calmly. "You stretch by the window for exactly two minutes."
"How did you..." Dristan stared at him.
"I pay attention," Xade shrugged.
Twenty minutes later, I tallied the final scores.
Results:
Dristan: 5 points (total: 17)—got 38 out of 50 correct.
Ace: 4 points (total: 14)—got 34 out of 50 correct.
Xade: 3 points (total: 8)—got 29 out of 50 correct.
Ash: 2 points (total: 13)—got 25 out of 50 correct.
Kai: 1 point (total: 5)—got 20 out of 50 correct.
Axel: 0 points (total: 3) - got 18 out of 50 correct
"Wait," Ace blinked. "Dristan won?"
Dristan looked as surprised as everyone else. "I... did?"
"You know better than I thought," I admitted, impressed despite myself.
Kai buried his face in his hands. "I’m a terrible mate."
"You’re not terrible," I assured him gently. "You just get flustered during tests."
Ga Five: Speed Puzzle
I set six identical boxes on the table, each containing a 500-piece puzzle of the academy emblem. "Final ga, gentlen. First to complete their puzzle wins."
"Now this," Axel said, cracking his knuckles, "I can do."
"Don’t get cocky," Ash warned. "Puzzles require patience."
"Sothing you lack," Xade pointed out.
I started the tir. "Begin!"
They tore into their boxes, determined to make up so points. This was it—the tie-breaker that would determine our dating order.
Kai cursed under his breath almost imdiately, pieces scattered everywhere as he tried to sort them by colour.
Axel, despite his earlier confidence, continued to mix up his edge pieces with Ash’s on purpose.
"Stop stealing my corners!" Ash snapped.
"I’m not stealing," Axel replied innocently. "I’m... relocating."
"That’s the sa thing!"
anwhile, Dristan kept sneaking glances at instead of focusing on his puzzle. Every ti our eyes t, he’d smile softly and lose track of what piece he was holding.
"Dristan," I called out. "Eyes on your puzzle, and not on ."
"Can’t help it," he murmured but turned back to his work.
Ace and Xade were neck-and-neck the entire ti, their steady hands moving with precision. They’d both completed their borders and were working on the central design.
"Fifteen minutes left!" I announced.
"This is impossible," Kai groaned, staring at his half-finished ss.
"It’s not impossible," Xade said without looking up. "You’re just approaching it wrong."
"Thanks for the helpful advice," Kai replied sarcastically.
With five minutes remaining, Ace was clearly in the lead. His puzzle was nearly complete, missing only a handful of pieces in the upper right corner.
Xade wasn’t far behind, but the gap was enough to matter.
"Co on, co on," Axel muttered, frantically trying to catch up.
In the final minute, Ace carefully placed the last piece into position and slamd his hands down on the table with a triumphant smirk.
"Done!"
Final Results:
Ace: 5 points (total: 19) - SECOND PLACE
Dristan: 4 points (total: 21) - WINNER
Xade: 3 points (total: 12) - FOURTH
Ash: 2 points (total: 15) - THIRD
Axel: 1 point (total: 4) - SIXTH
Kai: 0 points (total: 6) - FIFTH
Ace leaned back in his chair, smug and victorious, folding his arms across his chest. "Looks like I win."
Kai muttered sothing dark under his breath that I couldn’t quite catch. Ash looked ready to flip the entire table over, his jaw clenched tight.
Axel pouted like a kicked puppy, slumped in his chair.
I grinned, leaning forward. "Congrats, Ace. Wait. Dristan won. You ca in second, Ace."
Dristan grinned as he folded his hands in front of my chest.
"You get the first official date; Dristan and Ace get the second."
"Actually," Dristan stepped forward suddenly, raising his hand. "I’m thinking I’d like to swap places with Axel and go last."
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