Chapter Text
There is no way.
There is no fucking way.
-Now, you all know and adore last semester's best student...
Catra doesn't even hide her, quite frankly, disgusted face while staring at her professor is horror. She hears her heart beat in her ears.
-Give your dear classmate at least a small applause! After all, she tried her hardest last semester for this spot.
"No way she did" - Catra keeps this one to herself, fixing her face expression but still not being able to get rid of the spiteful gaze directed at the girl in the centrer of the room. Even with her best efforts, her facial expression says so much for her.
-Thank you so much, professor. You really shouldn't have, - she smiles awfully warmly, the type of grin that makes your stomach turn with disgust. - I'm so honored and thankful, I can't even begin to express how.
Catra feels her face get red.
-Come on, Adora, you know you deserve it! Come on everyone, clap a little!
Catra finds herself one of the only people not making the awful sound with her hands. She gives her surroundings a quick glance.
She feels everything around her shrinking, tightening around her. Out of the corners of her eyes, the benches and desks get darker and closer, so painfully closer. By every second, the interior rises above her, pressuring, squeezing her into a tiny square of fear rage.
Catra feels her heartbeat rise, clogging her thoughts with panic, fright unease. It seems like every second gets her closer and closer to the edge. She's not sure what's below it, but she knows, that being thrown off her ground won't do any good.
She feels herself fully panicking when she realizes that none of her classic self-regulation methods are doing a difference in her distress.
-Congrats! - a few of the students shout with equally disturbing smiles on their faces. Catra feels like cold water was splashed on her face and returns to reality.
Catra turns around to see most of the people being unreasonably excited over an achievement of the student they barely know.
Someone, who they said hi to once and then forgot their name that exact second.
Or, maybe, they only heard the sayings of "The smartest" or "The funniest" from friends of their friends, but they themselves never spoke to before.
Are they even aware, who they are cheering for? Do they have any idea?
Everyone was a little bit too excited for someone they didn't know. Someone, who's just an image. A pretty picture. An exquisite fake at best.
Catra snaps her pencil in half.
Now, it really wasn't personal.
Her sinking stomach and rage-filled heart had nothing to do with who exactly was bathing in appreciation and praise at the moment. It wasn't like she hated Adora herself. She despised her at worst.
At least, that's what Catra would like to think.
Anyways! It wasn't like she had it out for Adora just because of who she was. Adora isn't bad at all, she knows that! It was just...
Extremely unfair. Painfully, miserably and awfully non-justified.
Honestly, what did Adora even achieve to get her title?
It's not like she studied in the campus library until sunrise every other night. And Catra has never seen her turning up an extra essay with every assignment for that sweet, sweet higher grade. She has also personally never seen Adora trying to be her nicest with the professors while trying to not roll back her eyes at their overblown self-esteem. She has also noted to herself, that Adora was very keen on attending most of the parties on campus and nearby.
Did Adora even try for this?
Did she spent hours on end worrying about her reputation? Did she try her best to complete every little task any school staff assigned her to better her view in the school's eyes? Did she abandon all the chances of having a fun proper social life in favor of being in best in the course? Did she bring a giant binder with every single one proof of her most major achievements just to get every extra point possible?
No. No, no and no! Of course she didn't!
Catra feel her head starting to pulsate with fury.
Of course she didn't.
Like every true champion, Adora just got everything handed to her. She never needed to try: people were willing to save her the effort and just gift her every one of her possibilities. Adora's only responsibility was to be a symbol, rather a token - someone, who was easy to imagine being successful and hard-working. It didn't matter how much it was true: what was truly important was the easy of the appeal.
After all, the likability of the luckiest was the most important part of the success.
Just like the old times, isn't it?
-Are you okay?
Catra tilts her head up starkly and meets eyes with Scorpia.
-You seem a bit... out of it. If you know what I mean.
Catra looks around. They are sitting on one of the nicely-mowed grass beside the main corpus. Scorpia, as usual, brought a nice red blanket so they won't dirty their clothes. Red is our duo color! - She would say if given any minor opportunity.
-Adora is the best student of the semester in class.
Scorpia turns to her in confusion.
-Oh yeah, I think I overheard someone saying something like that while I was waiting for you... I mean, it is very impressive.
-No it isn't, - hisses Catra, this time being semi-able to control herself. She can't afford another outburst at the moment.
-She did so great last semester though! - Scropia continues without getting the hint. - I mean, so many people find her inspirational. I'm so jealous of her friend group! They seem so cool and... colorful...
-Yeah, lets gush over dumb popular kids that get their smiles graded instead of their thoughts. VERY nice, Scorpia.
She finally catches onto Catra's mood.
-You deserved the title too, though.
-Not "too". I deserved it more! So much more, than this... - she takes a gulp and lowers her voice, taking note of a few glances she saw coming their way. - ..blonde.
-I didn't think you are fond of dumb blonde stereotype.
-It's only reserved for Adora. I'm more than happy to witness any other blondes get this title.
-Isn't it, like, - Scorpia very clearly struggles with picking the word. - Informal? I mean, no one will write this on your diploma.
-That's the worst of it, - Catra sighs, now having her temper somehow calmed. - They mean it.
Scorpia looks at her with complete confusion now.
-Is that wrong?
Catra gives her an angry look.
-I'll pretend you didn't ask.
-Sorry.
Catra lets out an even bigger sigh and looks up.
-It really started looking like spring.
-I know, right! - Scorpia seems way too excited about the topic. - The seasons here are so weird. It's not like anything we have at home... I mean, our spring starts in May.
-The absence of winter feels very nice though. I don't miss freezing while waiting for late-as-always, barely heated bus in the middle of the road.
-Tell me about it, - she shivers. - Oh, how cold the winters were...
Catra gives her a faint smile as a treat.
-Should we go back to the dorm?
***
-I'll head to bed now.
-Okay. I will put the desk curtain up in a second.
Scorpia yawns, hugging her teddy tighter.
-Didn't you say that you don't have any homework yet?
-I'm just catching up on social media. Haven't done it much during the break.
Scorpia gets quiet for a second.
-Make sure to get enough sleep!
-No promises.
Catra hears a small giggle.
-I'm glad our little routine is back on track! Goodnight, Catra.
-Night.
She hears Scorpia turning in her bed for the next few minutes and gets rewarded with much needed, complete silence.
She opens a new tab, insanely bored by the feed of never-ending empty smiling college girls, whose faces blend together in one big cream-colored mass. Why does she even still follow them? It's not like she needs to.
She types in the first few letters of school's blog into the search. It never failed to surprise her how the students have continued the tradition of it. She can't even recall anyone using a personalized website blog since her years in elementary.
She scrolls down, barely looking at any of the posts. There's only so many class-related puns by self proclaimed funny dudes a person could handle.
Though soon her eyes are caught by a familiar face.
"That's the best student of the semester yall!"
Adora smiles on the screen next to some very usual looking student. Catra enters the comments.
-Hell yeah!
-I mean, is *anyone* surprised?
-Destroy them all Adora, destroy those nerds!
-Who seriously uses nerds in our time and age? - she quietly scoffs under her breath.
She scrolls for a bit longer.
-Does anyone has Adora's @? I can't find her on the blog at all :(
Catra squints her eyes and rereads the comment again.
Enter an @,# or a topic.
Catra uses a few familiar combinations. Who knows, maybe Adora wanted to use one of her many idiotic childhood nicknames.
No results with the entered query.
Catra pulls out her phone and searches for Adora's "official" accounts. She enters the usernames into the search bar. Once again,
No results with the entered query.
Catra sighs with annoyance.
-So popular and not even on the only official school account... I mean, what if..
Wait.
What if?
No, she shouldn't,
She really, really shouldn't.
-This would be petty as hell...
But she does have a reason to be extremely petty. Multiple ones.
For the final steps: enter your username. Make sure it's recognizable to other students.
"Power.princess" is available.
Catra lets out a small chuckle. Followed by another. And another one.
-Isn't it nice to actually be smart, Adora?