Chapter 16
On Monday, the exam results were posted at Sogin High School, and the bulletin board was surrounded by students, with layers of them pushing
cach other.
The monthly exams were always brutal for the students. The results could determine their fate, despair. On this day, many students were crying their hearts out.
SO
some felt joy while others were filled with
Simone and Claire squeezed their way in from the outermost layer. As soon as they entered, Simone looked up and just happened to see the name at the top of the rankings.
Simone’s name was displayed in the first line, with a total score of 1548.
Next was Stella, ranking second, with a score of 1520.
Following her was Joanne, ranking third, with a score
of 1
- 1518.
Meanwhile, Claire was still scanning from the bottom of the list until she finally spotted her name at number 300.
She couldn’t control herself and exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, Simone! I actually made it into the top 300! That’s a hundred spots higher than last
time!”
Then she asked, “By the way, where are you? I’ve been looking for your name but couldn’t find it.”
“Right here.” Simone indicated with a nod.
Claire followed her gaze and, upon seeing the name, her eyes went wide. She stared at it several times before making sure what she saw was real.
Suddenly glancing at the crowd packed around them, she quickly covered her mouth to avoid squealing.
“Simone, let’s get out of here,” Claire said, pulling Simone out from the crowd. Simone felt bewildered.
Once they were away from the crowd, Claire whispered, “Simone, tell me. Did you cheat?”
“Huh?” Simone was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Otherwise, how could you get the highest score? It’s way too obvious.” Claire’s expression turned serious as she began to worry for her best friend.
The two exchanged wide–eyed looks, and Simone couldn’t help but burst into laughter. She earnestly told Claire, “I really didn’t cheat.”
Seeing her serious expression, Claire didn’t think she was lying. Remembering the notes Simone had shared with her earlier, Claire realized that Simone wasn’t joking.
Then Claire suddenly recalled something she had accidentally discovered. Simone’s scores were similar each time, and her rankings hardly changed.
With this in mind, Claire began to have a guess. “Simone, I suddenly feel a bit proud of myself.”
“Huh?” Simone was confused.
“I managed to make friends with someone as outstanding as you.” Claire could hardly believe it was real.
Simone smiled and said earnestly, “That’s because you’re exceptional 100.”
Claire felt touched, and she couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy.
That day, the atmosphere at the Spence residence was tense.
Stella smashed everything she could in the room, leaving it in complete disarray.
The servants stood at the doorway quaking in fear, barely daring to breathe, afraid that any misstep might anger Stella and lead to their dismissal.
Norah saw the redness in Stella’s eyes and cursed Simone a million times in her mind.
Stella repeatedly murmured to herself, “Impossible. Simone is a complete loser. How could she possibly come in first?”
Turning to Norah, she said with certainty, “Mom, for the past six months, Simone has been at the bottom of her class. I refuse to believe she made such a leap.”
1/2
Stella had tried hard, studying until dawn just to maintain her top spot, and even then, the gap between her and the second–place student was barely a few points—it was never enough to widen the chasm.
But somehow, Simone had easily surpassed her and scored over twenty points more. Being in second place felt suffocating, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Norah watched her daughter’s furious expression and drifted into memories from the past. She suddenly asked coldly, “Stella, do you remember why the other kids didn’t like Simone when she was younger?”
Without thinking too much, Stella huffed, “It’s because she always stole the spotlight. She deserves to have no friends.”
Noral smiled but remained silent. Stella was still too young and naive.
But Norah understood well. Simone was exceptionally gifted; she could solve elementary school math problems in kindergarten and grasped middle school concepts when she was in elementary school.
Who would want to be friends with someone who constantly outshined them? No one wanted to be the fool who stood beside her to highlight her
brilliance.
A professor from Capitalton University once remarked, “Heri intelligence is remarkable; she’s a rare genius. But geniuses are fragile; if we nurture her well, her future will be promising.”
There was no reason for someone who shone so brightly in childhood to fade into mediocrity as an adult.
Whether Simone had been hiding her abilities or just got lucky to be ranked first, she couldn’t stay in school any longer.
Norah glanced at Stella and gently ruffled her hair, soothing her. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle this.”
She would get rid of anyone who dared to stand in their way.
After comforting Stella for a bit, Norah checked the time and added, “Alright, calm down. You don’t want your dad to see you like this.”
Mentioning Samuel helped Stella regain some composure. Still, the incident weighed heavily on her.
The next day at lunch, Stella intentionally told Raymond and his friends about the situation.
Raymond, a notorious bully in Class 2, was known for smoking, drinking, and fighting, and he didn’t care much about the affairs of the so–called good students.
However, he did know that Simone was at the bottom of her class, just like him.
Hearing that Simone ranked first was shocking enough that he nearly spat his food out.
“Is that for real?” he asked.
Stella nodded sulkily. Acting casual, she mentioned, “Simone has always been at the bottom; I don’t know what happened this time, but her total score was over twenty points more than mine. She’s really something.”
Raymond closed his eyes, thinking, ‘Stella has always been first in her grade. There’s no way Simone could score twenty points higher than her.
He concluded, “She must have cheated.”
Marico nodded angrily. He still held a grudge for the slap Simone had given him last time and chimed in, “Stella, I think Simone is just jealous of you and cheated to try to surpass you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she apologizes to you,” Marico promised, thumping his chest.
After how Simone had offended him last time, he was determined to make her regret it today. He was already conjuring up plans to torment her.
