I dreamt of a devil that knew her

8

Two weeks had passed.
Everything was back to normal.
A sat next to Near again in all classes and there was no sign of B to distract them.

Autumn was coming to an end. All the leaves were a bright auburn color covering outside the orphanage  like a blanket.

Some roses had died. Petals falling down on the ground. On the graves. Falling like the self-esteem of many students. On the graves of their dreams of working and even becoming the next L.

Near stared down at his calculus exam score.  97.6%

Near's eyes travelled to Alternative who was looking at the ceiling. Maybe daydreaming. Probably praying to get a high score.
Then Near looked at Mello who was happily looking at his test score and showing it to Matt.

"Matt," Professor Smith said and Matt got up to pick up his exam.
"99.0% sweet!", Matt exclaimed and Mello and Matt high-five each other.

"Alternative," the professor called and he walked to pick up his exam.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips. Once A sat next to Near, Near could see A's perfect 100%.

Watching A process his perfect score was like hearing a house settle down. A's posture changed. He seemed more relax. His tense muscles becoming relax again.
He could relax again. He got another perfect score.
Everything was okay. A was still first in line. Nobody would beat his scores.
Near desperately wanted Alternative to know that everything was going to be okay.
But things weren't okay for long.

"Backup," Professor Smith called.

Silence.

"Right here," and the classroom's door opened.

Near looked up from his test score and saw B walked inside the classroom and grabbed his test score.

What was B doing here? He hadn't been coming to class in two weeks. Near even thought they moved B to a different class.

B grabbed his exam and began walking towards Near's and Alternative's direction.
Near didn't want B to seat with them. B was always kicking A's chair. The noise bothered Near. The kicking bothered A. Then A would move chairs again. Away from Near. Near didn't like change.

"Good job, Backup. You would of gotten a perfect score if you would of shown your work," Professor Smith told B.

"It's all in here," B said pointing to his head.

B finally sat behind A.
Near looked at B's test score.
99.9% Good job. show work for a perfect score.

How did Backup manage go get an almost perfect score? How if Backup hadn't been showing up to classes?
B was right behind A in line.

Apparently A had seen B's grade too.
A tensed up again. His face full of concern, fear, disappointment and confusion.

How did B manage to score that high without attending the class?

B noticed A's change of posture. Full of stress, anxiety, and muscle pain.

"If you're depressed then you should kill yourself," Near heard B whispered into A's ear.