Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 94

Chapter 94

“It’s weird,” Marcus continued. “You guys could be twins, except he’s like… you with all the energy sucked out. Like someone took all

the fun parts of Ollie and made them serious.”

His observation stung a bit because it was accurate. Riley did look like a more quieter version of me. But where I was naturally energetic and curious, Riley seemed controlled and distant.

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It was like looking at a reflection of myself in a funhouse mirror, where everything familiar had been twisted into something strange

and unsettling.

The academic aspect of our day was even worse than the recess.

Riley was excelling at everything, that we had for the day, the math problems I would normally solve first, reading comprehension questions that I easily answered were overtaken by him, even art projects where he seemed to have a complete understanding of what

Mrs. Henderson wanted.

Meanwhile, I was struggling with my work. I was still confused and upset about Riley’s behavior, to the weird tension I’d felt between Mama and Riley’s mom that morning.

I gave wrong answers to questions I knew, forgot instructions I’d heard clearly, and found myself falling behind in subjects where I was usually at the top of the class.

“Excellent work, Riley,” Mrs. Henderson said, holding up his completed math worksheet.

“You’ve clearly been working hard at home. These advanced problems are quite challenging.” She commented with a smile of approval as Riley beamed at her with a smile that made the sun jealous.

I stared at my own worksheet, which was only half-finished and had several incorrect answers marked in red pen. I’d been so distracted by watching Riley that I’d made careless mistakes on problems I could normally solve in my sleep.

“Ollie,” Mrs. Henderson said gently, turning to face me as she asked with a gentle smile on her face although I could see the worry in her eyes, “would you like to stay in during lunch to finish your work?”

class.

The suggestion made my cheeks burn with embarrassment. I’d never needed extra help before. Neither was I one who fell behind in

“I can help him,” Riley said suddenly, his voice sounding confident and dare I say more superior.

“The problems aren’t that hard once you understand the pattern.”

Mrs. Henderson beamed at him as she nodded her head.

“What a thoughtful offer, Riley. That’s exactly the kind of classroom community we want to build here.”

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20:58 Wed, Jan 21

Chapter 94

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But when I turned to Riley with gratitude, ready to thank him for the help, I saw something in his expression that made my blood run cold. He wasn’t offering to help because he wanted to be kind to me or extend an Olive branch. He was offering to help because he

wanted to show everyone how much better he was than me.

“Thanks,” I said quietly, but Riley just shrugged and turned away, focused on his book.

The other kids started to notice the tension between us, and their interpretation of what they thought was happening wasn’t kind.

“Why is Ollie being so weird around the new kid?” I heard Sarah whisper to her friend during reading time.

“Maybe he’s jealous,” her friend whispered back. “Riley seems really smart, and Ollie’s used to being the smartest kid in class.”

“That’s not fair,” I wanted to say, but I knew it would only make things worse.

I finally snapped during lunch. While the rest of our class was eating in the classroom, chatting and laughing over their sandwiches and fruit cups, I noticed Riley slipping away toward the small break room that was adjacent to our classroom.

He’d been quiet during lunch distribution, hadn’t pulled out a lunchbox like everyone else, and I’d seen him looking longingly at the

other kids’ food.

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20:58 Wed, Jan 21

Reborn From Regret A Second Chance at Luna’s Heart