Rivals

Competition

The night of the awards ceremony, I restlessly bounced my leg up and down while I sat in the front row of the bleachers with my family. The gym was full of families who's sons/daughters/brothers/whatevers were getting awards. I could barely contain my excitement and anxiety as people were called up to be recognized. After what seemed like an eternity, it was time to call out the math awards. My teacher walked to the front of the stage and painfully slowly announced the top math students in grade 8, then 9, then 10. Finally, it was time to call the top grade 11 maths student. 

"And for the top math student in grade 11.... Elizabeth Moore."

I stood up, smiling, and walked to the stage, I took the piece of paper that was the award and shook my teachers hand, stopping for a moment to let my mom take my picture before returning to my seat.

They then called the grade 12 math award, then moved onto the humanities department. Another one of my teachers came up and presented awards to top students in grades 8, 9, and 10. And finally...

"And the top Social Studies 11 mark goes to Elizabeth Moore."

Once again I made my way to the stage and repeated the process I had before, having yet another picture taken of me. 

Then my English teacher arrived on stage.

"And the top English 11 student is... Elizabeth Moore!"

For the third time, I made my way on stage and accepted the award.

Then, the big moment I'd been waiting for: my Physics/math teacher arrived on stage again. He stood at the microphone with a pile of awards in his hand and presented science awards to grades 8, 9 and 10, then, as if to tease, announced the top Biology student first. Then the next science.

"The top Chemistry mark goes to.. Tyler Kou."

Tyler walked up to the stage and accepted his award, shaking the teachers hand before heading back to his seat on the other side of the gym.

"And the top Physics mark goes to..." I was practically vibrating, I could barely contain myself. I thought about every time I told the class that I would get that mark, and every time I sacrificed my lunch hour to study for upcoming tests. "Tyler Kou!"

I swear I heard my heart chip and crack. I almost started to cry at that moment, as Tyler walked back on stage to accept the award. I looked at his smug grin as he held the award in his hand, with Top Physics 11 Student written in hand writing. I felt my mom's hand on my back as I stared blankly at the base of the stage.

"And now, we will award the student with the best marks in all three sciences."

My Biology teacher, Mrs. Weir, walked on stage then and took the microphone.

"This award goes to the student that excels in Biology 11, Physics 11, and Chemistry 11. This year, I would like to present this award to Elizabeth Moore."

My heart started to race then. I felt the liveliness return to my body as I stood up to claim my award. Not only did I get a paper award, but I also got a medal to wear around my neck, and my name was engraved into a plaque that they displayed in a show case in the school. I shook my teacher's hand and carried my possessions back to the bleachers with me. I could honestly say that that was a complete and utter shock. Sometimes, heroes don't wear capes. Thank you Mrs. Weir. It was then time to announce the top students in each grade. First grade 8, then 9, then 10. Then, the moment that I considered most important.

"The top grade 11 student this year..." the announcer seemed to speak in slow motion. I had worked so hard to earn this. Sacrificing my mental and physical health to study constantly. My social life became nonexistent and I gave up all of my hobbies to get this award. My mind flashed to my exam week, when I completed 50 total questions a day in studying for my exams and cried every single day for 6 days straight. I thought about when I had to tell my friends to hang out without me because I was busy studying for a test, or redoing an assignment that I got 95% in, because 94% isn't 100% so it isn't good enough. I thought about how exhausted I was even after getting 9 or 10 hours of sleep because I was dealing with so much stress. I thought about Harvard and MIT and Columbia and my SATs and my GPA.

"The top grade 11 student this year... is...." I held my breath. "Elizabeth Moore."

I still held my breath as I stood up and made my way to the stage. It didn't feel real, it was so incredible. I almost started crying as the award was hung around my neck. My legs shook uncontrollably as I walked down the stairs from the stage and back to my seat, where I finally exhaled. I felt as though all of my stress and worries were let go with that breath, and that everything would be okay now that I'd accomplished this. Sure, I didn't get the top Physics 11 award, but I considered what I got to be a million times better. And, I was happy for Tyler.