Chapter Text
Look, Neil can't be good at everything. No one can. Still, (without bragging, of course) Neil likes to consider himself pretty close. He's in Mrs. Brauner's class, which he's told is the smartest class in second grade. Mrs. Brauner must think he's a good reader too, because she always lets him read out loud to the rest of the class. And whenever Charlie gets hurt (pretty often) and Neil fixes him up, Charlie seems to think it's amazing. So yeah, Neil thinks he's doing alright for himself.
Then, he gets a D on a science quiz.
"I don't know what happened!" He hisses, trying to avoid any teachers walking past. They've already been in here too long, bathroom breaks are supposed to be quick. He sinks to the floor beside one of the sinks.
Charlie takes the paper, squinting at it. "Maybe she got the answers wrong?"
"That doesn't happen! Adults are always right! I got all this wrong!"
Charlie bites his lip. "Well, that's okay. I get D's sometimes."
"What do your parents say?"
"They're... Not happy."
Neil moans and buries his face in his hands.
"Hey, cheer up. It's just one test. You're still straight A's, right?" A small nod. "There. Plus, you're still the smartest person I know."
Neil looks up. "Really?"
"Definitely. Pinkie swear."
He smiles a little. "Thanks, Charlie."
"Sure. Now, come on before Mr. Gregory throws a fit." He grins. "This is my third hall pass today."
~~~
"Why are you so quiet tonight?"
Neil looks up quickly. "What do you mean?"
"Typically, by now you're bouncing off the walls telling me you and Charles ate grass for the first time." Mr. Perry rolls his eyes at the thought. "Did something happen?"
"Um... Well..." Does he say something? He has to, doesn't he? Oh, they're going to be so mad. He doesn't even understand how he missed so much! They're going to be so disappointed...
"What is it?"
"Nothing, Mother."
Mr. Perry fixes him with a look. "Neil, what's the rule about lying?"
Neil blanches. He doesn't want to lie! How is he supposed to say this? He feels like he can't breathe. "I... I... IgotaDonatest."
"What was that?"
"Speak up, you know how frustrating mumbling is."
"I um... So, what happened was... Well, Mrs. Brauner handed out the test, right? And it was kind of short, like 10 questions, but-"
"Neil," he huffs, "Don't use 'like'. And don't stutter. It makes you sound unintelligent. Do you want to sound that way?"
"No, sir."
"Then speak normally and get to the point."
"I... We- we took the test, and-" He can't do it. He can't say this. "And- and-" Both his parents are getting annoyed, he can tell, he has to hurry up. "Um..." He grabs the packet out of his bag and shoves it in their hands. He can't watch. It gets handed back a minute later.
"Is this yours?" Mrs. Perry asks. She sounds shocked.
"Yes, ma'am," he mumbles.
"Why did you score so low?"
"I- I don't know."
"You studied last night, didn't you?"
"Yes, sir."
"How many times did you go over the material?"
"I don't really know..."
"Well, it clearly wasn't enough."
"Did anyone else score this low, Neil?" Mrs. Perry asks.
"I'm not sure..."
"Probably because of the aquarium trip. If you can't balance schoolwork with your friends, then we're not going to let you do things like that, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"You can't get grades like this, Neil. Do you expect to get into Welton this way? Do you expect to get into John Hopkins this way?"
Neil can feel himself tearing up. He hates getting in trouble. "No, sir."
"I expect this not to happen again. If it does, there's going to be serious consequences. For now..." Mr. Perry trails off. How the hell does he punish this? The only thing Neil really likes to do is read, and not reading got him here in the first place. "Go upstairs and get in bed."
"He hasn't eaten." Mrs. Perry says.
"I'm aware. Now, Neil. And let me see the test again."
Neil hands it to him, and Mr. Perry looks at it a minute. "Hm." He walks over to the fridge and promptly tears down one of Neil's report cards, hanging the test up in its place. "Let that serve as a reminder to do better. Go to bed, then."
Neil walks past them and to the staircase. "N-night. I... love you."
~~~
No next meal becomes his standard punishment, to the point where Neil's learned not to ask when he knows he's in trouble. It's awful for the first little while, but his stomach must adjust, because soon he can just ignore the cramping. The habit follows him to school too, confusing Charlie.
Knox, the new kid who braids flower crowns and marries Casey Landon and starts sitting with them later that week, ends up asking Charlie why Neil doesn't eat all his lunch.
"I dunno. He used to."
~~~
By the time he reaches Welton, all his classmates just take it in stride. "Yeah, Perry needs some meat on his bones." "He's got to live up to the title of twink somehow." "I swear, he never has an appetite." "In his defense, no one likes Hellton Hash." "Bet you he sneaks out at night and gets real food."
Charlie, who still remembers Neil "I Could Eat A Food Truck And Still Want Dessert" Perry, finds himself constantly stuck between "he had an early growth spurt" and "something's seriously wrong". But as a host of Neil's other problems come to light, "Neil doesn't eat much" ends up fading to the background. Todd's the one that ends up finding out first.