After her rebirth

Felix had been noticing lately that Maximilian was straight-up ghosting Katniss since that day.

Honestly, he got it. Maximilian never really thought about tying the knot before. He barely had any girls around him, and now Samuel's pushing him to marry Katniss? No wonder he was dodging her like the plague. A few times when Katniss swung by, even if Maximilian was chilling at home, he'd have Felix lie and say he wasn't there.

But just now, Maximilian told Katniss to hit him up directly if she had any issues and even sent over some ice packs. Clearly, he decided to stop playing hide and seek with her.

I mean, Katniss was a sad case-parents didn't give a damn, and her brothers were total jerks. Anyone who knew her felt bad for her. Maximilian must've felt the same.

This was a good sign. After that mess years ago, Maximilian seemed dead inside. No feelings for love, friendship, or even stuff.

The only time he showed any emotion towards Samuel was 'cause Samuel was annoyingly persistent.

Now that Maximilian could feel sympathy, it meant he was slowly turning normal.

Felix was stoked, hoping Katniss could be around Maximilian every day to help him get better, both in body and mind. The future was looking bright.

After getting the ice pack, Katniss said goodbye to the bodyguard and found a quiet spot where she broke down crying. She was super grateful to Maximilian and Felix for showing her that life was worth living and that she mattered. There was still real kindness in the world. If she treated people right, they'd do the same.

In the Manners family, she was treated like trash, so she got no love.

Katniss cried her heart out, but her face hurt, so she pressed the ice pack to her face and sobbed into it.

If she couldn't help Maximilian get better, make him happy, and let him live a long life, she might as well end it all!

To make sure her exam went smoothly and she'd have time to nurse Maximilian back to health afterward, Katniss wiped her tears, cleaned up, and hit the books hard.

The transfer exam was just days away, and she had to ace it!

In the following days, Katniss studied like a maniac, not even hitting up the bubble tea shop. At home, she burned the midnight oil, never letting go of her books. Wesley and Daphne didn't dare bug her. Meanwhile, Anna always looked like she had something to say whenever she saw Katniss, but she never got the chance. Katniss didn't even look up when she saw her.

Time was precious, and she wasn't wasting a single minute on people she didn't care about.

As the calendar flipped to a new page, the transfer exam finally arrived.

Early in the morning, Katniss rushed to school. She grabbed a waffle for breakfast at the school cafeteria, sat down, opened her backpack, and kept studying while munching on the waffle. "Hey, isn't that Katniss?" There were whispers nearby.

"It really is. I heard Ruby got expelled because of her. Ruby's dad was gonna donate a lab building to our school, but now that's not happening. We'll have to make do with our experiments." "I wonder what really went down."

"I heard from Ruby that Katniss messed with Clara before the competition, totally throwing her off her game. Ruby couldn't take it and threw hands with her. But guess what? Katniss has some big shot backing her, and they got Ruby kicked out."

"No wonder Clara bombed and didn't even snag third place. But Katniss is such a piece of work. She's young, and even if she's broke after leaving home, she could have gotten a part-time gig. Leaning on some powerful dude? That's just shady."

"She's always been trouble! I heard she's taking the transfer exam for the medical department today. With that attitude, she's gonna fail for sure. I heard Professor Brent Jenkins from the medical department is personally overseeing the exam. Maybe Brent won't even let her in 'cause of her bad rep!"

The whispers got louder, but Katniss kept her nose in her book, not giving a damn.

Suddenly, someone stood up, and the tray clattered loudly on the table, making a piercing sound.

Everyone's heads turned.

Katniss looked up and saw it was Simon.

What was he up to now?

After shutting everyone up, Simon didn't come to mess with Katniss but coldly said, "If you got beef with the competition results, why don't you report it yourselves?" Everyone went quiet, not getting his outburst but stopping their gossip about Katniss.

The Manners family had a solid rep, and each member was a looker and a brainiac, making them big shots. Regular students wouldn't dare mess with them. Except for Katniss. Clara walked in, confused by the sudden hush in the cafeteria. But when she saw Katniss, her eyes lit up, and she moved Katniss's backpack to sit next to her.

"Katniss, you taking the exam today?"

Katniss ignored her and kept munching on her waffle.

Simon, unnoticed by Clara, frowned.

"Katniss," Clara moved closer, "I'm sorry. I really didn't know Ruby would use the laxatives I lent her on Juniper. If I had known, I wouldn't have given them to her!"

Katniss finished the last bite, closed her book, stood up, and walked around Clara to put her book back in her backpack and left.

She ignored Clara the whole time.

"Katniss!" Clara seemed really upset and chased after her.

"Clara," Simon walked over and grabbed her, "Katniss has a bad temper. You shouldn't go near her. She'll hurt you."

"Simon, you're here too," Clara said in surprise, quickly nodding obediently, "I know."

Simon glanced at Katniss's retreating figure, feeling weirdly worried.

The transfer exam wasn't a walk in the park. Katniss seemed to have prepped for ages, but the medical department professor had all the power. If the rumors kept her from taking the exam, then what? But soon, Simon felt annoyed.

Why was he worried about Katniss? If she couldn't take the exam, wouldn't that be exactly what he wanted?

After a moment of hesitation, Simon told Clara he had something to do and quickly followed Katniss.

He wanted to see if Katniss could get into the exam room!

The transfer exam room wasn't far. Katniss, holding her backpack, arrived to find the smiling old man at the door was the same one who had grilled her during the speech contest. "You're here," Brent said warmly, like he was seeing his own granddaughter, leaving Simon, who had followed, totally stunned.