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Your heart dropped again as you looked down at your school report for the fifth time since receiving it. You just can’t fathom this! All that hard work, all for a B? Worse, there’s two of them! How are mum and dad gonna react to this?
Edmund sees your reaction. You know, his grades aren't that good either. Always has been. B’s, and then a couple of A’s. He’s planning to change that, once they enter uni or something. You guys were Year 12s, anyway. He still has a lot of time to do that. But you, you have a different mindset. Every day is a chance to do better, to continue doing better. He could see just how much effort you put into this.
So it’s kind of a bummer to see you like that.
He walks over to your desk, awkward like he always is, and sits on the chair beside yours. All the other students have already walked out, all smiling and bragging to others that they got an A, or that they passed, or that they reached the grade where their parents won’t be mad. All that just rubbed salt into your wound, like they were saying it all just to taunt you. Edmund snatches the report out of your hands, prompting you to look at him.
You were so close to crying, he could sense it from a mile away.
So what if he did like you?
You were pretty, smart, and basically every other thing he could think of. You were perfect.
He reads the report, eyes skimming over the countless A’s and even more A’s. Then he reached the bottom. B in Maths. Wait, isn’t that a good thing? And a B in Physics? He even forgot they taught Physics here!
“Hey, [Reader], it’s not even that bad! Some guys in the team would kill someone for that grade, for real! I saw Miller running around the car park after getting a C a while ago. If you’re concerned that you’re not gonna get a good ranking, well, look at your opponents! There’s like only 6 genuinely smart people that I know, and you’re five of them. It's really not the end of the world, trust me in this. Do you think that one semester in one level is gonna hurt your uni application? Here, look at mine!” He says, pulling out his own, crumpled report out of his pocket.
English Lit - B
Core Maths - B
Chemistry - B
History - A
Media Studies - A
Economics - B
You gotta admit, it’s not the best. This lets you look at how good you’ve been doing, how those other parents will be happy to see a grade like that. It’s a breath of fresh air for you. You look up at him, as you wipe your tears away with your hoodie sleeve.
“Thanks.. I guess. Though, you have better grades than I thought you'd have. Nice to see someone going against the stereotypes.” You joke lightly, trying to get his attention off your tears. He laughs, wanting to change the subject so as not to embarrass you too much as he knows it'd probably be uncomfortable being in your position.
“So.. if I'm not mistaken, you're the one who lives in the house like two blocks away from me, right? I always see you driving that one grey car, and one time, I saw someone else drive it into your driveway!”
“Oh, really? I never noticed you!” You say, interested. “I only ever thought that you were just another random boy, since I had a cousin that looked somewhat like you, and that led me to think you had a common face.”
“What? That's really interesting to hear! Never thought I'd be the type of person to have a doppelganger, but here we are I guess. You should come by sometimes. Mum will be happy to bake you some biscuits!”
“Yeah, maybe I should.”