Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 29

"Phew..."

Two hours later, Queenie collapsed onto the floor, utterly exhausted. She looked over at Juniper, who was casually perched on a desk with her legs crossed, and felt her world tilting on its axis. "It's like you downloaded Master Lunar's entire brain into your head."

Juniper's familiarity with "Dawn" was uncanny. She knew every single move and could break them down to the finest detail. Under Juniper's guidance, Queenie had made rapid progress on sections that had previously stumped her. The improvement was staggering. If she didn't know better, she'd think Juniper was Lunar herself.

"Your dancing is fine. Just stick to the techniques we practiced, and get a feel for the stage during tomorrow's rehearsal," Juniper said.

"As for the costume..." she mused, "I have a friend who used to dance. She has a similar dress that you can borrow."

"Class is about to start, let's go." Juniper yawned, hopped off the desk, and started walking, trying to remember where she'd stored that seven-figure dress.

"Juniper, wait!" Queenie scrambled to her feet and hurried after her, her earlier suspicion now replaced with pure admiration. "Is there anything you can't do?"

She was now certain that the answers on that draft paper were Juniper's work too. Whoever had spread the rumor that she was a good-for-nothing was a complete idiot. The rumors were dead wrong.

...

Meanwhile, other students watched as Queenie, the top student, followed the 'delinquent' Juniper, beaming like a sunflower.

"Why is the star student hanging out with Juniper?" a few girls whispered in a corner.

"Did you guys hear? Someone saw her eating at Moonlight Peak a few days ago."

"Moonlight Peak?"

The name made all the girls' eyes widen.

"That's a super exclusive restaurant. I feel inadequate just walking past the entrance."

"Yeah, that's the dress. I'll pick it up later."

Just as she finished speaking, a wave of loud, grating laughter came from nearby.

"You won't believe this, but I just saw some people from Aurora High backstage."

Hearing her school's name, Juniper slowly lifted her gaze. A group of students in Eclara High uniforms were clustered around a girl in a dance costume with elaborate makeup. She recognized her. Yolanda.

"Don't tell me they're doing a poetry reading again this year?" The students howled with laughter. "Can you even imagine how lame that was? A poetry reading in the middle of all the dance, singing, and instrumental performances?"

"The best part was the speaker got so emotional she started crying over her own poem."

"What, are the Aurora High kids trying to get extra credit for public speaking or something?"