It's All For One

two; struggles

This place is basically a school play.

CC High was not a top school. It was more of an academy for students struggling with their grades. They helped students slowly get back up to what they're supposed to be, with kind smiles and hearts made of gold.

Have they helped? Have they been helping the struggling students raise their grades from the bottom up?

The bell rung. Saying goodbye, I walked to my next class, looking down at the ground. Near the French room, I bumped shoulders with someone.

"Watch it," a girl with blonde hair hissed at me with a glare.

I stayed quiet.

"Aren't you gonna say sorry?" she questioned, hands on her hips. The girl wore long, black boots and a white crop-top with an outlined flower printed on it, also paired with dark grey leggings. I felt intimidated by her presence, but I looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"How high is your overall grade?" I asked.

She raised her eyebrow. "90%. I'm a High Tier passing all of my classes including the miscellaneous ones. Do you have a problem?"

I stepped back. "I'm sorry then!"

Smirking, the girl flipped her hair over her left shoulder and strutted off. My bad mood just shot up like that. A High Tier made obvious, with their confidence and high percentage. I loathe them all, friend or foe.

My mind wondered as I continued to walk. What's it like having an 80% or higher in this place? Do you get treated differently? Do they give you privileges nobody else knows of? Just what do those High Tier people do, knowing that each and every one of them will be successful in the future with no disturbances?

I hope I make it to that level one day.

-

[POV - Jayla]

"Hear me out," I began. "If I shoot a bullet off a metal spoon and get the right angle, will it hit the tree?"

Aasia stared at me. I continued with, "It's a metal spoon. I'll be safe."

"No you won't. Please shut up," Aasia pleaded.

I was waiting for Aasia outside Mr. K's class once Oli and I parted ways. I managed to keep my cool as teachers walked by us, asking what I'm doing. I simply told them that I'm waiting for a friend.

"What's your overall grade?" a female teacher with jet black hair had asked with a hand on her hip.

"I believe it's an 87% as of now," I answered with a smile. "I'll be leaving soon, so please excuse me."

All of their reactions were the same — "You're a good student. Please, take your time. Your brain must be tired from all that hard work you've been doing." They smiled, patted my head, or just passed me completely. It felt weird, yet also a relief. I was a student they liked and admired. Everything was okay.

"Bro, you haven't told me your grade yet," I reminded, poking her arm. "What is it? You can tell me with your hands if you want."

She kept quiet.

"Okay. You don't have to tell me," I said with a small voice. "I'm always willing to help, you know? You're my best friend and I'm not leaving you behind."

We continued walking the hall in silence, listening to students talking about their daily lives, gossip, and the delicious stuffed shells at lunch. I glanced at their expressions and almost smiled to myself. A bad habit of mine — "overhearing" other people's conversations. Although, this time I needed to change the subject to free us of the quiet atmosphere . I liked to talk, and my friends really... "appreciate" it.

My ears picked up a juicy topic and I immediately tapped Aasia's shoulder. "Bro, bro, bro, bro. Hear me out—"

She narrowed her eyes. "What."

I hid my laugh. "Alright so, a girl and a boy apparently got dragged down the hallway by a teacher. The girl was trying to say that she raised her grade up, right? Then somebody else said that her grade dropped to —"

"40%."

"Exactly! That's such a low grade, bro. Like that's already hard that you had a 50%, and now it dropped to a 40%? I'd cry," I said with a sigh.

Aasia went quiet. I turned and saw her eyes widened, staring down at the white-tiled floor. She looked back at me and repeated the number: "40."

I raised my eyebrow. "What."

"Nevermind," she responded and walked at a faster pace. "C'mon, get inside the class, loser."

Something didn't feel right, but I ignored it, thinking that I was overreacting. Maybe it was the way Aasia stared down at the ground that made me feel uneasy. Was everything alright? Why did she keep saying 40?

My brain was so stressed out from those two hours that I couldn't even process the fact that Aasia meant her overall grade was at a 40%.