Chapter 7: Math Scores
The mood in 11th-Grade Science 2 suddenly turned tense when Mr. Gunawan walked in carrying a stack of red-marked papers. Most of the students held their breath, remembering how the trigonometry quiz had been absolutely brutal on the brain.
"All right, everyone, I've finished grading yesterday's quiz," Mr. Gunawan announced, his voice echoing through the room and instantly silencing the whispers. "Overall, you did pretty well, but one score really stands out."
Kevin flashed a proud smile, straightening his uniform collar as he nudged Dimas's shoulder. "Hear that, Dim? That's gotta be my score. I studied until ten last night."
"Studied what—how to play games?" Dimas whispered suspiciously.
"Both!" Kevin replied confidently.
Mr. Gunawan picked up the top paper. "The highest score was earned by our new student, Reynald. A perfect one hundred."
The whole class burst into loud applause. Rey merely gave a slow nod and walked to the front of the class to collect his paper, his expression calm.
"That's amazing, Rey," Nayla praised him as he passed her desk on the way back. "You looked so relaxed while working on it yesterday. I didn't expect you to get a perfect score."
"Thank you, Nay. It was just a coincidence. The questions were similar to ones I'd studied before," Rey replied modestly.
At the back of the room, Kevin's expression instantly darkened. His confident smile vanished. "A hundred? He got a hundred?!"
"It's not a big deal, Vin. You don't have to look so shocked," Dimas teased as he accepted his own quiz paper, which had a sixty-five on it.
Mr. Gunawan then called Kevin's name. "Kevin, you got a seventy-five. It's not a bad score, but you made a mistake in the formula on number four."
Kevin dragged himself forward to collect his paper. The moment he returned to his seat, his eyes locked onto Rey's paper, lying casually on the desk beside him. The bright red number 100 was impossible to miss.
"Seventy-five versus one hundred," Aris remarked from the neighboring desk without looking up from his book. "A twenty-five-point difference. Your position as the class star has officially been taken."
"Shut up, Aris!" Kevin snapped under his breath, glaring at Rey. "You cheated, didn't you?"
Rey slowly turned and looked at Kevin with one eyebrow raised. "Cheated off who? My seat's all the way in the back by the window. Was I supposed to cheat off a bird outside?"
"Yeah... well, how should I know?! You could've brought notes!" Kevin shot back, too proud to back down. "I only made a tiny calculation mistake on number four! If I hadn't gotten it wrong, my score would've been higher than yours!"
"But the reality is, you got it wrong," Rey replied calmly as he slipped his quiz into a folder. "A small mistake is still a mistake."
Nayla turned around to face the two boys with a smile and a shake of her head. "Kevin, instead of making wild accusations, why don't you ask Rey to tutor you? He studies so calmly. He doesn't rush around like you do."
"Ask him to tutor me?!" Kevin shrieked hysterically. "Nayla! I'm the basketball Captain! When in history has someone like me ever studied under a new student?!"
"Fine, then, if you don't want to," Nayla replied with a small laugh. "But Rey really is amazing. His work is so neat."
Nayla's praise of Rey was like kerosene poured onto the flames of Kevin's jealousy and wounded pride. The tendons in Kevin's neck grew taut. He stared at Rey, who was spinning a pen between his fingers.
"You just got lucky," Kevin shot back sharply.
"Lucky twice in a row? On the basketball court, sure—but on a math quiz too?" Rey countered, wearing a faint smile that was unbelievably irritating to Kevin. "Maybe I'm not the lucky one. Maybe you just need more practice."
"What did you say?!" Kevin leaned over Rey's desk. "I'm gonna score higher than you on the next quiz! I challenge you to a bet!"
Rey regarded the challenge with a bored look. "What are we betting?"
"Whoever gets the lower score has to follow one command from the winner for a week!" Kevin declared firmly.
Dimas slapped his forehead dramatically. "Vin, are you sure? Your brain short-circuits whenever you see numbers!"
"Give it a rest, Dim! I'm definitely winning!" Kevin insisted, completely unshaken.
Rey studied the emotion on Kevin's face for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Sure. I accept your bet. But don't cry when you have to carry my bag for a week."
"I'm not gonna lose to someone like you!" Kevin vowed, puffing out his chest, even as panic began to set in at the thought of all those math formulas.
Rey chuckled softly, propping his chin on one hand as he looked at Kevin. "Good luck studying, Kevin. You'll be even more stressed when your score tanks again."