The kids buzzed with chatter as Alessia joined her team members, sliding easily into the circle.

    “Oh, look at you-raising the bar for the rest of us,” one of her teammates joked, giving her a yful nudge.

    “What can I say? Excellence is a hard habit to break,” Alessia replied, and the group erupted in a chorus of good-natured teasing.

    She brushed off their ribbing with a smile, then dropped another fact on

    them-one that was harder to swallow.

    “Wait, you’re telling me we have to hike up this hill for an hour just to get to school every morning, and then do it all over again to get home at night?” Mia stared at her, disbelief written all over her face.

    Alessia nodded, patting her shoulder. “The good news is, it’s a lot easier going downhill-shouldn’t take the whole hour on the way back.”

    “Well, thanks for that,” Mia replied, shooting her a look full of mock

    resentment.

    “Anytime,” Alessia grinned, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

    Mia sighed, but there was nothing to be done-she’d just have to ept olli/li/ol

    Within five minutes, everyone had gathered. The group set out together, filling the morning air withughter and chatter as they made their way toward the school. The kids seemed perfectly used to the trek, talking and giggling along the way. To keep pace with Alessia, who was a bit older than most, Mayor Warren and Ms. Warren fell in step at the back, keeping herpany and quietly updating her on the children’s situations.

    Susannah walked close beside Alessia, her small hand nestled firmly in Alessia’s. She watched the others huff and puff up the path, then nced at Alessia, who looked as fresh as ever. A quiet pride blossomed in her

    12:18

    chest.

    “What’s up?” Alessia asked, catching Susannah’s gaze and ncing down

    at her.

    “Miss, aren’t you tired at all?”

    Alessia shot back with a smile, “And what about you? Howe you’re

    not tired?”

    “We walk this way every day. We’re used to it!” Susannah grinned.

    “That’s impressive,” Alessia said, her praise sincere. Even adults love apliment; for a kid, it’s even sweeter.

    Susannah’s cheeks flushed, though with her sun-kissed skin it was hard to

    tell.

    “Go on, catch up with your friends. Just be careful not to trip, okay?”

    Up ahead, a little girl-clearly Susannah’s school buddy-kept ncing back, waiting for her. Alessia ruffled Susannah’s hair and gave her a gentle push.

    Susannah hesitated, wanting to stay with Alessia, but in the end, she darted off to join her friend. The two girls linked arms, skipping ahead, carefree and full of joy-the kind of childhood moment adults could only look back on with nostalgia.

    As Alessia watched them, someone suddenly ced a hand on her shoulder. Instinctively, she caught the hand in a firm grip, but instead of tossing the person aside, she just turned around calmly.

    “You should be d you chose my shoulder,” she said dryly. “If you were Ste, you’d be t on your back right now.”

    “What?” Mia blinked, missing the joke.

    “Never mind.” Alessia clearly wasn’t nning to exin further.

    “I heard you’re the heiress, right?” Mia pulled her hand back, matching Alessia’s stride.

    “Bitte to the party, aren’t you?” Alessia’s family background was no secret, nor did she see any reason to hide it. After all, being wealthy, capable, and beautiful wasn’t exactly a crime.

    Mia rolled her eyes. “I’d only heard the rumors before. Yesterday, I was all set to chat your ear off in the car, but I was so wiped out I passed out the moment we left. I honestly thought I’d be too excited to sleep!”

    Mia was a natural chatterbox. Give her a topic and she could talk forever-even if you didn’t respond, she’d just keep the conversation going all by herself. For her, the hardest part of hiking wasn’t the climb-it was doing it in silence.

    There weren’t many girls on the team: one was glued to her boyfriend, another was the aloof “heiress,” and then there was Mia, desperate to talk but with no one to talk to. After some inner debate, she decided against being a third wheel and instead stuck close to Alessia, hoping to find a new partner-in-chat for the trek.