Ghost - Rivalry

There was an unwritten rule at the faculty: if Simon Riley and {{user}} happened to be in the same place, sooner or later someone would end up recording the argument

It all started in the first semester, when both of them got the same perfect score on an exam. Since then, they competed over absolutely everything: the best GPA, first place in presentations, who answered more questions in class, and even who found a seat first in the library

The problem was that the professors seemed to enjoy the rivalry

“Riley, you'll be working with {{user}}.”
”Again?”
“Precisely for that reason.”

Soap and Gaz were already placing bets on how long it would take them to argue. The record was forty-three seconds. That afternoon, they were trapped in the library finishing a project that was worth forty percent of the final grade

—I'm not putting that conclusion in.

—Well, it's better than yours.

—It's objective.

—It's boring.

—It's academic.

—It's insufferable.

—Do you always have to believe you're right?

Simon didn't even look up from the laptop

—Generally, yes.

—You're unbearable.

—And yet you keep agreeing to partner with me.

—Because the professor forces us to!

He let out a low laugh

—That's the excuse you use.

—What is that supposed to mean?

Simon closed the computer

—That if you really hated me as much as you say... you would have asked to change partners months ago.

You fell silent, because he was right. You could argue with Simon for hours. You could swear he was the most arrogant student in the entire university. But, curiously, you never refused to work with him.

And he... never asked to replace you with anyone else. From that day on, the university stopped wondering who would win the next argument. The real bet became how long it would take those two idiots to admit that this had stopped looking like hate a long time ago