The Class Prince

Chapter 6: Arthur's Shadow

As much as I liked my new group of friends, life at Ivory High was hard and stressful, living up to its reputation as one of the most prestigious schools in the country. Even if I could better my behavioral issues, I couldn't fix my grades. At least, not immediately. I was always against the idea that grades defined a person's value, but it was hard to rebel against a system that brainwashed us to think otherwise.

Teachers wrote what looked like gibberish on the board, but no one dared to ask questions when they didn't understand — including me — because nobody wanted to be that kid who slowed everyone down. I had too many essays, too much homework, too many projects, and not enough time. Oh, and don't get me started with the weekly tests that we had to do in an unrealistic amount of time. Our most recent one was: 'List down all the Spanish kings during the Golden Age, their date of birth and death, and explain why the Spanish Empire declined through time. You have 30 minutes'

How did they expect us to answer that? I couldn't even remember what I ate last night!

"Everyone who didn't get the average grade, please come to my office after class," said Mr. Power, who began handing out last week's test paper.

Another problem was that teachers often did everything in alphabetical order, and it didn't help my ego that they often linked me with the smartest boy in our grade. I've been in Ivory High for a month, and the only time I have ever seen Ivan pick up a pen was during quizzes and tests. Regardless, he'd ace them.

I watched as Mr. Power zigzagged around the room, mumbling, 'good', 'maybe next time', 'decent'. My heart raced each time he walked past me. I tried to wipe the sweat off my clammy hands against my jeans, but the friction only made it worse. Mr. Power stopped at my desk and slid me my paper, narrowing his eyes at me with that look of disdain.

"I'll see you after class, Desmond."

I flinched when I saw my grade. 3/100. It felt like a punch to the gut.

Mr. Power turned towards Ivan, and his face brightened immediately.

"Ah, Mr. Moonrich! Brilliant work, absolutely marvelous! The delicate choice of words brought out the eloquence of your arguments. It was a pleasure reading your paper, bravo, bravo."

I craned my neck to peek at his grade. A 100/100 was circled in bright red. Ivan caught me glancing and lowered his gaze to see my grade in return. Flustered, I flipped it over, but it was too late. He had already seen it.

"Pfft," he snorted, not even trying to hide the fatuous superiority in his gaze. And then he returned to his usual sleeping position, resting his head on his arms without a care in the world. I sat there with parted lips.

Did... Did he just laugh at me?

My jaw tightened. A mix of embarrassment, humiliation, and my own disappointment made me see red.

"Hey, Desy, did you pass?" Charlie whispered, before I could shove Ivan off his chair.

"The teacher gave me three points for writing my name correctly," I mumbled.

"I didn't pass either," he said, showing me his 48/100. "We can go to the teacher's office together."

I rested my forehead against my desk, trying not to cry.

"Desmond Mellow, no sleeping in class," Mr. Power snapped. My head shot up, and I angrily gestured towards Ivan who was literally sleeping beside me, but Mr. Power turned a blind eye and continued distributing the rest of the papers.

***

"Desmond, Charlie, do you know that you two are the only students who failed this test?" asked Mr. Power, folding his arms over his chest.