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Mr. Jones told his third period class that the AP Physics test would be the hardest part of senior year. No offense to Jones, but he had no idea what he was talking about.
Lena Luthor was the frontrunner for valedictorian and one test wasn't enough to scare her. So what if there were rumors that half the students who took last year's test gave up halfway through and ended up answering the last question by doodling pictures of themselves being crushed by books. Lena wasn't worried. She's maintained a solid 4.0 GPA (technically higher with her AP classes) while also serving as president of the student body, National Honors Society and Future Business Leaders of Midvale High. A couple of physics questions would be easy.
Lena isn't just smart. She's Lena. She's stared at but never stares. She's gossiped about but never gossips. She's loved but never loves.
Well, that last part isn't quite true. See, Lena has been asked out a lot. And I mean, a lot.
First, there was James Olsen, the young basketball star who tripped over his feet while asking Lena out freshman year. She politely said no and asked if he needed help to get up off the ground. His resulting sprained ankle forced him to sit out of the championship game that upcoming Friday. Then there was Maxwell Lord. His family owned a yacht the size of a house. At least, they did until he demanded his mom sell the boat sophomore year after Lena turned down his offer to spend a weekend with him out at sea. The whole school was there junior year when Jack Spheer asked Lena to prom, or more like shouted at her from across the cafeteria. She turned him down with one quirk of an eyebrow. The latest rumor was that Querl Dox offered to delay his early admittance into MIT if Lena would go with him to a chess tournament. She said no by forcing his king into checkmate.
It's not that Lena had anything against the guys. Well, OK, she did have something against Maxwell. It was just that Lena was desperately — and I mean desperately — in love with Kara Danvers.
Kara is the girl with blonde hair that shines regardless of the weather. She always has an answer ready for a teacher and if she doesn't, she'll counter with a better question than the one the teacher asked in the first place. She ran track up until her sophomore year but stopped after her sister graduated. Rumor has it that Coach Kent is still trying to coax her back onto the team, claiming that his niece is the school's best shot to winning regionals. She's taken nearly all of the art electives offered and is currently president of Midvale High's Young Creatives club. She's on the yearbook staff and occasionally writes articles for the school's monthly magazine. And she has a smile that could warm up even the coldest of hallways.
The only problem, and honestly it's just a slight one, is that Lena and Kara never talk.
Kara's friends sit by the front of the cafeteria during lunch while Lena's friends hang out by the water fountain. Kara's locker was outside of Ms. Grant's room while Lena's was all the way by Mr. Kent's. The two only crossed paths in between classes once: Kara would be on her way to history while Lena walked to math. They didn't share friends. They didn't share hobbies. They didn't share classes. That was, except one class.
The two seniors both shared Mr. Jone's third period AP Physics class.
So on one hand, Mr. Jones was right. AP Physics would be the hardest part of senior year for Lena. But it wasn't because of a stupid test. It's because she was sitting across the lab table from her biggest crush and she didn't have the guts to say hi.