"Yes!"

The girl's eyes went wide as saucers, nodding enthusiastically.

"Alright."

Juniper gave a brief nod, parted her lips, and began flawlessly reciting the text.

The rest of the class swarmed around the girl, their eyes practically glued to the screen as they followed along.

Holy crap.

It was word for word.

"Wait!"

Halfway through, a student suddenly called out. "You got it wrong. That part isn't in the book."

"Oh, I know." Juniper blinked, completely unfazed. "The concepts there are a bit overly complex. I was worried you guys wouldn't understand, so I threw in an explanation. Shall I keep going with the rest?"

The girl furiously shook her head, whispering, "No, that's enough."

The section contained incredibly dense data and statistics. Not only did she recite it perfectly, but she effortlessly analyzed it on the fly.

She was terrifyingly legitimate.

"Great." Juniper nodded, shifting her gaze back to Leland, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. Her starry eyes narrowed dangerously. "I assume Mr. Landon is still skeptical?"

Leland just stared at her, too paralyzed to speak.

"Your turn. Pick a book for me." She shoved the laptop directly in front of him.

Staring at the endless rows of complex medical literature on the screen, his mind went entirely blank.

He didn't move a muscle.

"Hurry up!" Juniper's voice snapped like a whip. Leland violently flinched. Meeting her freezing gaze, all of his bravado completely instantly evaporated.

He fully believed she earned that perfect score now.

Even with the book open right in front of him, he'd probably stutter trying to read the material out loud.

Let alone recite it from memory.

Leland slowly pushed the laptop away, gathering whatever shred of dignity he had left to apologize. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have accused you."

"Oh." Juniper withdrew her stare, lazily dusting off her sleeve. A smirk ghosted over her lips. "If apologies actually fixed anything, we wouldn't need the police, would we content

"What do you want me to do?" Leland clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at her.

"Well," she lifted her chin, nodding toward the bustling athletic field outside the window.

It was mid-afternoon, and the track was packed with students taking classes.

Leland ground his teeth, clearly searching for a way to back out.

"Go!" Professor Dawson's face darkened as he barked the order. "Be a man and honor the bet!"

The other students nervously looked at him, too afraid to intervene.

They had doubted her at first too. If they spoke up now, they might go down with him.

"Fine." Leland dragged his feet, trudging miserably toward the field.

At first, he thought he could just jog the laps quietly and skip the shouting part.

But Juniper strolled out onto the balcony, teaning over the railing with a terrifyingly sweet smile. "Just so you know my eyes will be on you. Forever and ever."

"Damn it!" Leland violently tore at his own hair, looked around at the crowded field, and finally gathered the courage to scream at the top of his lungs: "I'm an idiot!"

"???"

Students who were mid-run or just walking around jumped in shock, staring at him in

utter bewilderment.

What on earth was wrong with this guy?

"I'm an idiot!"

"I'm an idiot!"

"I'm an idiot!"

His tortured screams echoed across the entire campus. Satisfied, Juniper withdrew

her gaze and cast a sweeping look over her remaining classmates.

The students guiltily dropped their heads, sneaking terrified peeks at her.

"Do any of you have any other questions?" Her eyelashes fluttered as she asked in a slow, dangerous drawl.

"N-No. None." They frantically shook their heads, stumbling over their apologies. "We are so sorry, Juniper. We..."

Who knew she was an absolute monster?

Everything she touched, she mastered. She was practically untouchable.