All The Way

THE SCORE

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All the formulae seem to be jumping into my mind. What was the integration constant? What's the value of g at the poles? 9.8 or 10.1. Shit, that's physics. Mr. Kumar is announcing some kind of instructions that seems to fly right over my head. Oh god, why do I get so nervous before every test, even after studying every single topic? Just as he hands me my sheet, I seem to snap back to reality. I look around the classroom to scan everyone's faces.

I see shock, a bored one, a few crybabies, Cassie who seems to not care, one girl (Avani, I think) excited, and lastly James, who's downright smirking. At me. Oh god, it's easy isn't it or there's no way James became smart enough overnight to beat me at calculus?

Picking up my pencil, I start to look at the questions. The first ten questions seem straightforward enough. Slowly and with careful revision, I manage to finish the test. 30 questions in an hour are not that bad when you got strategy and practice. I don't get why people hate math so much. It's just numbers, how hard can that be? The real struggle is something like history, where all you can and need to do is rote learning. Just soak up all the useless dates, which is so hard to do, like a sponge, and then squeeze it out onto the sheet. Straight-up waste of time.

After another revision, I turn around to see eeryone still writing aggressively and turning sheets at light speed. I turn to my left, where James is still scribbling furiously, constantly rubbing and writing over it. The satan inside of me is literally shaking with laughter right now.

Look who's smirking now, blondie.

♡

The bell rings and Mr. Kumar starts collecting the sheets one by one. Using the extra "charm" minutes, I go through my test one last time before handing it over to Mr. K. Everyone starts getting up, throwing their bags over their shoulders, and gossip-walking towards their lockers. I look over to see Cassie walking towards where I was sitting, with a grin plastered on her face. Looks like someone is gonna pass.

"Someone seems happy", I say in a sing-song manner.

"This someone just aced their test. I get more than a 24, and you get a pizza party in the cafeteria"

"Cass, it was a 60-mark test", I say with the most irritated look I could muster. Trust me, if looks could kill, Cassie would've been long dead. (James too)

Thinking of the devil and here he comes. Just as Cassie and I start walking to the door, James and his minions gang up in front of us. They might be 6 feet tall menacing creatures, but their stance stopped scaring me centuries ago. I, with a 5"1' long mass of cells, can look as scary as Erida (goddess of hate), even though I'm literally staring into his chest. Fuck you, genetics. Or maybe just my lazy ass who doesn't exercise.

"'Ello Anne. Good to see you.", he says with the biggest grin I've seen.

"Cut the chase and pleasantries, will you?" Everyone behind him starts laughing with him. I'm so used to this shit that I don't even give a reaction anymore. Scut away everyone, the Oscar's in my bag this year, though it's about damn time for Zendaya to get the best actress, isn't it?

"Hope you did better than last time, Bonnie. I'm still in the gold area.", he says, with a smirk on his face. Apparently, after searching for hours on the internet, I came to the conclusion that "Bonnie" is British slang for "pretty", and Mr. Alarie here likes to mock me with compliments. Reverse psychology is such a twisted form, that it infuriates me. Can't say it doesn't work, though. Cause it definitely does.

Trying to keep my cool, I look at him with the most killer eyes. "Oh, I did. You're not staying in the gold arena for very long, get ready to be benched. And we do have a biology pop quiz tomorrow, so don't get too sappy when I throw you to the silver zone." I might be looking all crazy, grinning like a Cheshire cat, but this is the most amount of fun I get in a day. Teasing James. The most entertaining activity in my 'Buzzfeed's Top 10 Most Fun Things to do Everyday".

With a scoff and a side-eye glance, he turns away with his gang of baboons following him not far behind. Natasha Anne Jones for the win again. James-0 Anne-1. Hehe.

I take one peek at Cassie and I know she's as confused as ever. Hoooof.

"How many times do I have to explain to you 'the score' system? This is probably the 100th time Cass" I say with a light chuckle.

"What can I do if I have the memory of a goldfish? And just a little info, the world doesn't revolve around you, my highness. So, what is it, again?" She says as both of us start walking towards the cafeteria for lunch.

"The gold's first place, The silver's second, and if we're both even we are 'benched'. Our rank in tests, quizzes, and exams kinda determines who stands where. And that is 'How to keep the Alarie-Jones *score* 101'" I finish with a laugh.

"Whoever came out with this shit is definitely too complex for their own good". She adds while grabbing two trays, handing me one, and standing near the line.

Punching her arm, I say, "Cut me some slack, I was a 12-year-old middle schooler".

I glance into my tray to find a sprite and a packet of lays on it. I see Cassie in front of me, with a burger and coke, munching on the fries spread all over a tray. "What's this for, I got my lunch, like always," I say, pointing towards the food in my tray.

"Consider it as a pre-party for the calculus test. Thanks for the notes, by the way," She mumbles, with a mouth full of fries, winking.

"And if you fail?"

"Firstly, that won't happen. And if it does, then consider it a token of my everlasting love for you," she adds while blowing a flying kiss. This girl always has fun with the rumors about us dating. I pretend along with, looping my arm through hers, as we pick a corner table and sit down. Observing how everyone started whispering as soon as we turned our heads, I guess it worked. Ha.

♡

Just in case anyone hasn't seen her, here's Erida, goddess of hate

A/N : do vote the story if you liked it, would mean the world to me :)