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Spyder's occasional quips about his poor grades and failed exams had always lingered in the back of Harris' mind. Harris had a hard time believing that Spyder would be in the same grade level as Ryan and himself if he was having that much trouble. Or that he'd be in school, for that matter.
Not that Harris wasn't having his own school issues; he could have easily skipped high school if he wanted! His parents insisted that he continued to be in the school system to have social interaction and stay grounded. The results of that were debatable, but if he could stick around with his best friends, anything else was just trifling. Harris was going to get to the bottom of this mystery.
If Spyder's grades were as bad as he said they were, Harris could move onto discovering other ways that Spyder kept moving up in grade levels, like blackmail or...blackmail. He was definitely sure it was blackmail. Perhaps pity?
Harris and Spyder were seated in the lounge area of MECH-X4 in front of a file folder. Harris braced for impact as he started sifting through Spyder's past report cards. Spyder's parents had kept them going all the way back through first grade.
"Sweet pigeon of Tesla!"
Shock washed over Harris' face as Spyder remained woefully oblivious.
"...so is that a good thing, or...?"
Spyder adjusted his hat as the other boy broke into a cold sweat.
Harris found himself staring at the most shocking revelation of his young life, a paradigm shattering discovery that rattled him to his very core. He looked back up to Spyder and slowly stuttered out...
"None...n-n-none of these grades are failing. Like, at all. You're maintaining a solid B average this semester. That's been your average since elementary school!"
Spyder scoffed. "Harris, we've been friends forever. You don't have to say nice things just to make me feel better!"
"NO, I am absolutely NOT doing that! You're obviously not as smart as I am, few people are, but this isn't anything to be ashamed of!"
Spyder crossed his arms and huffed.
"Bobby in fifth grade told me that anything above a D was failing but I keep GETTING those grades! Mom and Dad are so embarrassed that they never actually talk to me about them, sometimes they even tell me to keep up the good work! It's horrible!"
Harris jolted out of his seat, strode over to Spyder, and started shaking him by the shoulders.
"SPYDER. Bobby in fifth grade lied. Anything below a D is failing! You've had normal grades this entire time!"
Harris stopped shaking Spyder's shoulders, but still held them firmly.
"If they were as bad as you thought they were, there would be no reason for you to be a high school freshman! You would have been held back! Or knowing you, far worse!"
Spyder squinted at Harris, still very skeptical of his claims.
"But why would Bobby lie to me? He always knew what the best tasting paste was!"
"Perhaps you shouldn't be basing your concept of other people's integrity on their literal taste in crafts supplies, son!"
Spyder stopped squinting and nodded in agreement.
"You know what, now that I think about it, that was a bad idea!"
Harris sighed, thankful for Spyder's occasional ability to listen to reason. Occasionally. He was glad it wasn't blackmail but strangely disappointed that he wasn't right.