Art and Arts

intelligANT

Gibson walked into the Ant Farm. I noticed he was carrying sheets of paper. No doubt another notice from the school about an activity that we should try. It definitely worked out well when Olive was recommended for track.

"Okay, kids. I have some exciting news. Today, for the first time, you will be taking a state-mandated IQ test," Gibson announced.

"Seriously?"

"Oh, man!"

"Woo-hoo! Test! Holla!" Olive cheered excitedly.

"Now, for those of you who don't know, IQ stands for idiot quiz," Gibson explained. "It measures your level of stupidity."

"Actually, I think IQ stands for intelligence quotient," Chyna corrected him.

"And it's supposed to test how smart you are," I added.

Gibson hummed in thought. "That doesn't sound right. Anyway, good luck. I want you all to do really well. Or really poorly, depending on which of us is right about what IQ stands for."

"Do we have to take this?" Fletcher questioned. "IQ tests don't measure other forms of intelligence. Like artistic intelligence, emotional intelligence, or who can eat the most corn nuts intelligence."

"Well, I don't perform well on tests," Chyna admitted. "I fold under pressure." She pulled one of her tops from her desk and folded it. "See? I'm, like, really nervous."

~~~

"Inside these envelopes are the results of your IQ test." Gibson handed us the envelopes.

"Why does mine say to eat more leafy greens?" Violet asked, confused.

"Oh. Sorry. That's the result of my cholesterol test," Gibson said, handing her the correct test.

"Oh, I did pretty well," Fletcher said.

I looked over his shoulder. "You're holding it upside down."

Fletcher turned it over. "Oh, that makes more sense."

"Here, Fletcher. This is what a good score looks like." Olive showed him her paper. "How'd you do, Chyna?"

"Who cares? It's just a stupid test," Chyna said, trying to hide her score.

"Come on. Don't be embarrassed. I mean, not everyone can be a genius." Olive snatched it from her hand and compared her score. Her eyes widened. "What the heck!? Your score is higher than mine!"

"I'm as surprised as you are. Well, not as surprised. Your eyes are practically popping out of your head."

"There must be some mistake." Olive shook her head in disbelief.

"Maybe you should take the test again," Fletcher suggested.

"They could've mixed up the scores," I agreed.

~~~

"Okay. These are my new IQ test results."

The score was significantly lower than when she took it the last time. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and held up her last score. How was this possible? She knew this stuff was correct.

"Wow. Now your IQ is even lower than Fletcher's," Angus remarked. "And he's an idiot."

I snorted. "Smarter than you."

"Listen. It doesn't matter what your score is, and it doesn't mean you're not smart," Chyna assured her.

"Olive, I just want you to know I'm perfectly willing to love you just for your looks," Angus said, making me roll my eyes.

"This is impossible," Olive stated.

"I'm going to go... check something." I took the paper from Olive and walked out of the room.

There was a digital version of the test that I knew about. I went to the computer lab and logged on using Olive's school email. I put in the same answers she put on the paper test.

There was no way.

~~~

"Olive."

She walked over to me, smiling dumbly. She was acting like a dumb blonde. "You are the smartest girl I know. Smartest person I know." I took a deep breath. "I took your answers and entered them in the digital version of the test."

"And what? Am I dumber now?" Olive asked, rolling her eyes.

"Olive..." I trailed off, showing her the screen.

Her smile was back, but it was genuine. Like she was relieved. "How? Are you sure you didn't tweak them?"

"Nope. See?" I showed her the answers. "You're smarter than Tesla."

~~~

Olive and I walked into the Acadecathalon. Chyna was making a fool of herself. Olive ran up to her as I stood by Fletcher. He was trying to be her moral support. He smiled when he saw me.

"Chyna, let me take it from here," Olive said.

"So you think you can just come into the middle of this competition and save us?" Fletcher snapped.

"Yeah." Olive shrugged.

"Good. She stinks." Fletcher pointed at Chyna.

~~~

"An obvious trap," Olive stated after she finished.

"No. An obvious trap is a tuna net," Norton corrected her. "Webster wins the round."

I grinned as everyone clapped. I nervously fidgeted with a pencil I had in my hand. Fletcher took the pencil once he noticed and intertwined his fingers with mine.

"Don't worry. She's got this," Fletcher assured me.

"Yeah." I nodded, smiling at Olive. "She does."

~~~

"And that is the breakdown of the causes of how dinosaurs became extinct," Olive announced.

"Yes. And the same fate awaits you, foolish humans." Norton paused. "What? I didn't say anything. We have no plans. Webster High wins!"

"You did it, Olive!" Chyna cheered. "Thank you so much. You completely saved my butt."

"Well, if there's two things I really love, it's you and organizing timelines of dead authors."

"Well, I'm sorry I made you feel dumb," Chyna apologized.

"Thank (Y/n)." Olive pointed at me. "Turns out, they kept switching my test. I'm smarter than Tesla, and he has an IQ of 180."

Chyna grinned. "I know I'm smart, and that's all that matters."

"Shoot!"

We turned and looked at Angus. "So I did all this for nothing?"

"Did all what, Angus?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Never mind." Angus walked away from us.

Fletcher grabbed his shoulder, hard. "Angus. Did you do something to the test results?"

"If by something, you mean logged into the system, made Olive look dumb so it'd lower her self-esteem so she would go out with me... then no."

"Angus!" Olive shouted.

Angus screamed and ran away. We chased after him.