"I can't believe I completely forgot about my dad, all this time!" Ace exclaims, turning white almost immediately. "He must be furious by now. It's past 10 p.m."
"Too late for that," Koh says, pulling him by the arm into the house. "Let's go."
When they get in the house, the music has resumed playing and nearly everyone seems to have forgotten the little incident. Ace, Wes and Koh make their way through the throng of students and find Payton and Rose in the former's bedroom. Rose is holding an icepack over her stomach and lying on the bed.
"Finally, we've been waiting forever for you to come," Payton complains. "Poor Rose thought you were dead!"
"Did not! I was worried something bad happened to him!" Rose retorts.
"Ok, you can let her out of the closet, Koh," Payton orders. Koh opens the closet door with a swift kick and Ava comes tumbling out, wearing a floral top and khaki shorts.
"You have the fashion sense of a monkey," Ava sneers.
"Just be glad I gave you last YEAR'S outfit and not something worse. It's hard finding clothes in your size," Payton snaps, rolling her eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ava demands.
"Before you two claw out each other's throats, let's address why we're here. Ace, it's clear you and Ava have enough beef with each other to feed an orphanage, so I want Ava to explain why that is," Wes interrupts, folding his arms across his chest.
"He knows why," the cheerleader grumbles.
"I don't. Why don't you remind me."
"Fine. I suppose you remember a student named Avalina Edwards?"
"Probably."
"A student you've one upped every year since 4th grade?"
"I have to stay on top of everyone, what's your point?"
"Ace, your old self is showing," Wes warns. "Tone it down."
"You beat me in virtually anything we could compete in. Academic decathlons, spelling bees, science fair, valedictorian, you name it. I knew that something suspicious was going on," Ava continues.
"My winning those contests was legit," Ace retorts. "Unlike you I don't need to bribe people to get the things I want."
"Everyone thought so. Everyone but me. Then when everyone saw your true colors they finally saw you for the fake you always were. At least until you got into this school and Rose managed to get people to start trusting you again."
Ace tries not to roll his eyes and calmly states, "Wow, that's it? You spent this whole time trying to sabotage me because you're a sore loser? That's kinda lame. Ow! Quit elbowing me in the ribs, Wes."
"There's more to it, jerk," she snaps. "You ruined my family."
(Flashback)
It was the winter of eighth grade. The school was doing a charity drive. The person or team with the most items or most money collected would win a scholarship to the high school of their choice. Ace wanted to go to Hearst at first, but set his sights on Kepler. Wes honestly didn't care what high school he was getting into.
"We gotta win that scholarship," Ace enthused. "Kepler would be an awesome -I mean opportunistic- school to go to."
"Man, everyday you sound more and more like your parents. Get a life," Wes jeered playfully. "I'm all in for helping if I get a cut of the dough."
"It's a scholarship, Wes. There is no dough."
"Not if you use it there isn't. Maybe I'll swing by Twin Branches or something," he mumbled. Ace sighed. His friend was never going to set his hopes high on anything. Without hesitation, he signed his and Wes's names on the signup sheet.
"Out of my way, Partners in Crime," A girl with curly red hair snapped, shoving Ace out of the way as she signs her name on the sheet. "I bet you two goons think this will be another clean sweep. A heist, as Wesley might say."
"My name's Wes," the slacker sneered, crossing his arms. "And why do you care, Avalina?
"I'm entering this charity drive, and the last thing I need is a couple of cheaters stealing the show again," she scoffed.
"Cheater?!"Ace exclaimed, frowning in indignation.
"I'll have you know we have a respectable partnership here," Wes retorted.
"We'll see if your theory hold up when I win the charity drive," she sniffed, sashaying away with a florish.
(End Flashback)
"Ok, the only thing I got out of that was that you're just as much as a brat then as you are now," Ace comments.
"Then why have beef with Ace only? I was his partner, too. Why aren't you mad with me?"
"Because Ace thought it would be pretty funny to try and donate to my family!" she seethes. "We were having financial difficulties, and word got around at school. How do you think I felt, having the same guy who was better at me in everything show up as a Good Samaritan."
"It was a win-win," Ace argues. "I was closer to getting into Kepler, and you would have food on the table."
"AH-HA!" Ava asserts. "So you do remember what happened!"
"No, I choose the most effective strategy to maximize benefits while reaping the least consequences," he answers firmly.
Jamming a manicured finger in his chest, she hisses, "My parents saw you at the door. And you know what they did when they saw the famous 5 year champ of everything and valedictorian? They yelled at me, and told me I wasn't working hard enough! They argued amongst themselves and eventually they split up. They told me you and your parents have it made. Of course, the GOLDEN BOY would have everything handed to him on a silver platter!"
At this point their faces were just inches apart, both of them vibrating intense hatred. Ace steps back a little and says, "You don't know me at all, Ava, so don't you dare think I had everything in life handed to me. If that were the case, I wouldn't be here. I'd still be at Kepler. In fact, I'd be at the White House with that sweet Hamilton internship. But I didn't get it…because I didn't deserve it."
Ava is running out of arguments to make. "Well, you only lost it…because you didn't have your buddy Wes pulling the strings for you!"
"Leave me outta this, man," Wes mutters.
"For what it's worth, I'm really sorry that happened to you and your family. But my intentions at the time were never malicious. I had a dream," he says, his harsh tone softening a little. "And believe me, it is not easy having a dream and keeping your parents happy."
"Too little, too late, Ace," she says quietly, her face turning into a scowl. "I hope your dad really lets you have it after coming home late tonight."
"You know what? Forget this. If you want to be petty and refuse to bury the hatchet, be my guest," he says, before leaving the room. "But at least you know my achievements weren't flukes."
