Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Fluent in Seven Languages
Angelina's POV
When I questioned Seren, I caught a flicker of fear in her eyes.
But it vanished almost immediately. I could practically read her thoughts—she was remembering I was supposed to be the worst student in class, the one teachers had given up on.
Armed with that thought, Seren lifted her chin defiantly. "Of course I'm sure!"
"Alright then."
I stood up slowly under the stares of classmates plus Señora García. If she wanted this challenge, I'd give it to her.
"Dude, no way." Logan grabbed my sleeve, his voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "Aria, are you serious right now? You're actually doing this?
"Seren got third highest score in Spanish on the placement test. Don't do something you'll regret!"
I knew Logan was just worried. He'd already processed the shock of me beating Tyler at the race, but racing and Spanish were completely different skill sets. Racing required talent and guts—you just needed to be fast enough and brave enough. But Spanish? That took years of study and practice. You couldn't fake fluency overnight.
Even though Seren sat half a classroom away from us, the room had gone dead silent. She could see Logan's worried expression clearly, and she immediately guessed he was trying to stop me.
"Aria, come on up! Don't waste class time~" Her voice dripped with fake sweetness.
I narrowed my eyes.
Without even looking, I grabbed my Spanish textbook off the desk and smacked it lightly against Logan's forehead.
"Relax," I said simply.
Then I stood up and walked toward the front.
Señora García watched me approach, her expression uncertain as I took my place at the front of the room, facing Seren directly.
The teacher pressed her lips together and cleared her throat. "Ahem. Since both students are ready, let's begin.
"But before we start—I need both of you to conduct this entire conversation in Spanish only. No English allowed."
Señora García finished speaking, then cast me a worried glance before adding: "Today, Aria is showing real courage by volunteering. Everyone should learn from her example."
"Okay, you two may begin."
Seren was clearly nervous, but she quickly launched into Spanish first:
"Hola." [Hello.]
I met her eyes and replied calmly: "Hola." [Hello.]
These were the most basic Spanish words—even struggling students knew them. I could feel Seren relax internally, thinking this was my limit.
She immediately continued with what she considered more challenging Spanish:
"¿Cómo has estado recientemente?" [How have you been recently?]
I could see it in her eyes—she was already imagining me freezing up, standing there unable to respond.
Every student in class, including Señora García, clearly expected me to fail here.
The corner of my mouth curved upward slightly.
My lips parted, and a stream of perfectly fluent Spanish flowed out:
"He estado muy bien recientemente. Si no hubieras aparecido frente a mí, habría sido un final perfecto."
[I've been doing very well recently. If you hadn't appeared in front of me, it would have been a perfect ending.]
The moment those words left my mouth, the classroom went so silent.
Every single student sat there with their mouths hanging open, staring at me like I'd just sprouted a second head!
I knew exactly what they were thinking—was this really the same Aria who always ranked dead last in every class?
"Holy shit..." someone blurted out.
"No fucking way!"
I could see Seren was starting to panic. Her eyes darted around nervously, and tiny beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.
Perfect. Time to keep going.
I leaned forward slightly and continued in fluent Spanish:
"¿Por qué me desafiaste hoy? ¿Creías que sería fácil humillarme delante de toda la clase?"
[Why did you challenge me today? Did you think it would be easy to humiliate me in front of the whole class?]
Seren's face paled even more. Her lips trembled as she tried to form words, but nothing came out.
I didn't stop.
"¿O tal vez pensaste que yo era demasiado estúpida para responder? Dime, ¿cuál era tu plan?"
[Or maybe you thought I was too stupid to answer? Tell me, what was your plan?]
"Yo... yo no..." [I... I didn't...] Seren finally managed to squeeze out a few words, but her voice was already shaking.
"Tú... tú..." [You... you...]
Seren's face instantly flushed red. She opened her mouth, wanting to continue, but her brain had gone completely blank.
"I... um..." She finally couldn't hold it in and blurted out English. "I didn't catch that last part—"
"English, Seren," Señora García immediately reminded her. "Remember the rules."
Seren's face changed from red to deathly pale. She lowered her head, her voice barely audible: "Lo siento... no puedo..." [I'm sorry... I can't...]
"Ahem."
Señora García cleared her throat, reeling the class's shocked energy back in. "It seems Seren is unable to continue. Alright then, let's give both Aria and Seren a round of applause for their bravery in presenting.
"Everyone should learn from their example—don't be afraid to participate and show what you can do."
The teacher's words were met with thunderous applause.
"clap clap clap"
I stood at the front of the classroom and walked back to my seat without even glancing at Seren.
"Didn't she get like third place in Spanish last semester? And Aria just destroyed her. That's so embarrassing!"
"Right? So cringe!"
"And SHE was the one who challenged Aria in the first place!"
I could hear students whispering around me.
I didn't need to look back to know exactly what expression Seren was wearing right now.
The moment I sat down, Logan was staring at me with his jaw on the floor.
"Bro, Aria, what the actual fuck? You've been like, unlocking cheat codes these past few days!"
I glanced at Logan.
A small smile crossed my lips. "Maybe I have."
After all, being reborn into another body—wasn't that basically life's ultimate cheat code?
"Alright class, who else would like to come up and present their dialogues..."
Once the tension passed, Señora García returned to the podium and quickly guided the class back into learning mode.
The last period of the morning was Algebra I, and the content was dry and boring.
Maybe because it was close to noon and lunch was just minutes away, students sat listlessly in their seats, half-listening to the teacher drone on, waiting desperately for the bell to ring.
The second that bell sounded, every student came alive like fish thrown back in water, scrambling over each other to get out the door.
I'd just looked up when I saw Mia approaching.
Being the good friend she was, Mia grinned at me. "Hey Aria, wanna grab lunch?"
I nodded, casually stuffing my Spanish textbook into my backpack and zipping it up.
My backpack was bulging, crammed full of textbooks, crumpled homework papers, a few pens, and a half-empty water bottle. The zipper was barely holding on.
I didn't really care. I just slung the backpack over my shoulder and stood up.
"Girl, your backpack's about to explode."
Mia noticed, frowning at my overstuffed bag. "You really need to clean out your locker. I bet it's a complete disaster in there too, right?"
I knew Mia had mild OCDâ€"she couldn't stand seeing chaos and always felt compelled to organize everything. Her own locker was definitely arranged perfectly.
"Yo, Mia, we're friends too, right? Can you help me out?"
Logan shook his own even more bulging backpack. The zipper was already half-open, revealing the messy contents insideâ€"crumpled homework papers, several textbooks, an empty Gatorade bottle, and something half-falling out. His voice carried a pleading tone.
But Mia immediately refused. "You're a grown man and you want me to organize for you? Do it yourself!"
"Come on, Mia, please~"
Logan followed behind like a baby chick trailing its mother hen, carrying that backpack ready to burst, chasing Mia all the way out of the classroom.
I walked behind the two of them, one hand casually in my pocket, the other holding my backpack strap, a playful smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.
High school life was getting more interesting by the day.