The professor quickly reached for the answer sheets on the desk. He looked around the room one last time before stepping out from behind the desk and standing near the first front row of the students desk.
"I will call each of you by your roll number. Everyone must come forward and collect your answer sheet when your number is called," Professor Jaxon announced, tightening his grip on the stack of papers he held with both hands.
The students who were eager to see their marks quickly nodded their heads.
Even though all of them had just started at the academy and this was their very first test here, and even though the professor had never explicitly said the marks from this mini test would count toward their final grades, none of them took it any less seriously.
From what Alex could read in the others' eyes, every student was staring expectantly at the stack of answer sheets in the professor's hands, certain that they must have given their best.
And it was a no-brainer that they had given their best, since they were the cream of the crop, placed in the finest class among all the first year students. They were a cut above everyone else, and every one of them was ambitious. They were hungry for the juiciest part of the pie.
Alex, who had been watching everyone in the classroom, kept his thoughts to himself and waited silently in his seat as the professor began distributing the answer sheets, starting with roll number one.
Apparently, roll number one belonged to Lucian, who had ranked first overall, since the roll numbers were assigned according to one's ranking at the final.
Alex turned his head toward the back of the room, searching for Lucian, since even after the professor had called his name, no one had walked to the front. His eyes finally landed on the last bench of his row, beside the window, where Lucian sat fast asleep.
Like Alex, everyone else had turned to look at him too, and some stared with their eyes wide as they were unable to digest that the top ranker was sleeping in the class.
The loud crack of a hand slapping against the wooden desk thundered through the classroom, and Alex quickly turned his head back to the front, where he saw the professor striking the desk, the sound ringing sharply in his ears.
The desk didn't crack under the blow. It had only been struck in a measured, controlled way, the sound amplified by some technique the professor must have learned over his years of teaching.
"Roll number one, Student Lucian Vaelorian, please come to the front and take your answer sheet." The professor's voice rang through the classroom, and Lucian, who had been fast asleep at his desk, startled awake. With dazed eyes, he rubbed them and looked toward the front, his eyelids still drooping.
Alex, who had quickly turned his head back to where Lucian's desk sat, noticed that Lucian looked exhausted, his yellow hair unkempt as though he had just woken up, which, of course, he had. Suddenly, as Lucian rose from his seat, his eyes met Alex's, and for a moment Alex felt fingers tightening around his neck, a memory of how Lucian had once gripped him there. Lucian's black eyes bored into him with contempt while Alex shook off the lingering fear that memory stirred. Lucian clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned his head away.
Alex took a deep, steadying breath. For a moment he had thought Lucian would walk over and toy with him again. But he quickly calmed his nerves and reminded himself that he was strong now, no longer the weak boy he had once been. He could defend himself, and he wouldn't be toyed with the way Lucian had done to him during the final exam.
Lucian walked slowly to the front, passing Alex with a haughty look, and cast that same disdainful glance over the entire class. His hands stayed tucked in his pockets, and he didn't bother straightening his rumpled uniform.
Lucian walked in silence until he stopped before the professor, who had watched the whole display without a word, only raising an eyebrow slightly. Alex thought that would be the end of it, but instead the professor's eyes narrowed as Lucian stood silently before him.
"I expect you to set a good example for the others, student Lucian. After all, you received first rank and even managed to score full marks on this test," the professor remarked, holding out Lucian's answer sheet.
The students around the room simply nodded, as though they had already known beforehand that the one who had impressed the professor and outscored everyone else would be Lucian.
Alex, meanwhile, simply sat and watched. In his heart he quietly felt that he too should have given his best, but he only sighed, comforting himself with the reminder that he hadn't been in a good state, which was true, and nothing could be done about it now. He would give his best on the next test.
Lucian, for his part, merely nodded, turned on his heel, and made his way slowly back to his seat. The professor didn't so much as glance at him as he walked away, and moved on to call roll number two.
Lucian walked past Alex once more without sparing anyone a glance, sat down at his bench, folded his arms on the desk, and promptly went back to sleep.
Alex turned his gaze away from the now sleeping Lucian and toward Natasha, who was walking down the aisle between the desks without a single misstep or stagger, despite the white ribbon covering her eyes.
Natasha walked with her head held high and soon reached the front, stopping before the professor.
Alex didn't know much about her, but he could tell just by looking at her that she had to be strong and high level to have earned second rank. That much was obvious, hardly worth questioning. But Alex also knew that Lara was formidable in her own right, having watched her fight against Eldric and even hold her ground against Lucian, and he couldn't help but wonder just how much more powerful Natasha had to be to have claimed second rank and pushed Lara down to third.
Alex's eyes drifted to Thalia. He didn't know her exact rank, but he could tell it had to be within the top ten, since she came from one of only four grand ducal houses.
Suddenly, the sound of clapping drew Alex's eyes away from Thalia and back to the professor. He had set the remaining answer sheets down on the desk and was clapping his hands with a smile on his face. The classroom fell silent, and every face wore the same puzzled look, unable to understand why all of a sudden the professor was applauding.
The professor finally stopped clapping, and Natasha, who had stood silently before him throughout the entire ordeal, remained just as still and composed.
Professor Jaxon picked the answer sheets back up from the desk and handed Natasha her own sheet, which she took without any difficulty despite her eyes being covered by the ribbon.
"Student Natasha, you have exceeded my expectations." The professor's words made everyone's eyes widen, and some students' jaws dropped as they glanced back and forth between Lucian and Natasha.
The same question filled everyone's mind: wasn't Lucian the one who had exceeded the professor's expectations, not Natasha? Then why was the professor saying otherwise?
"I didn't expect you to write your answers in such detail and with such wonderful flow. You explained the theories so thoroughly that I had to read your answer several times myself. Your work was flawless, and you even went further, pointing out flaws I hadn't mentioned in class." The professor's praise seemed endless, and only after a minute or more of praising the girl did he finally stop and turn to face the class, Natasha remained standing before him.
He continued, "Student Natasha wrote the best answer in the class, and I had to add five extra marks to her already perfect score just to do her work justice. She has exceeded my expectations, and I expect every one of you to strive to be like her. Do not simply accept my lessons at face value and repeat them on your tests. Study and research on your own, and write more than what I have taught you, because that is how you will surpass me, and everyone else." He let the words settle, and with a slight nod and a faint smile, he added, "A good student remembers what the teacher teaches. An excellent student goes further, and studies each topic in greater depth and uncovers things that are often overlooked and not seen by eyes."
Alex made sure to commit the professor's final words to memory. He understood them, believed them to be true, and could find no fault in what the professor had said.
The other students nodded as well, though some cast jealous, competitive glances at Natasha, who remained standing in silence.
"You may return to your seat now," the professor instructed, his eyes lingering on Natasha.
Natasha simply nodded and walked silently back to her seat, her steps quiet and rhythmic. Her expression showed no trace of a smile or arrogance, despite having earned full marks plus five bonus points on top of that.
The girl looked as though she had accomplished nothing at all. But Alex could see that the others didn't regard her kindly. They watched her with competitive, calculating eyes, the kind that wanted nothing more than to see her knocked down from her position.
The professor resumed his work and called roll number three. Lara, seated in the front row, quickly rose from her desk, silently collected her answer sheet, and returned to her seat. The professor added nothing further.
In the same manner, the professor continued calling roll numbers, skipping roll number four, which belonged to Eldric, and moving on to roll number five, apparently Thalia's. She quickly rose from her seat beside Lara, accepted her answer sheet from the professor, and returned to her place.
The professor offered her no words either. He continued distributing the remaining answer sheets in the same fashion, without adding anything more.
From the murmured conversations of the other students while the professor called the roll numbers and handed answer sheets, Alex gathered that most had scored within a solid range, forty five, forty six, forty four, forty eight, forty nine, and that only a rare few had scored a full fifty like Lucian, though the professor said nothing while handing any of those papers over.
From this, Alex deduced that the professor had only intended to single out and praise Natasha, and had merely mentioned Lucian's perfect score in passing to correct and reprimand Lucian's attitude and behavior in the class. The professor's true concern had been making certain everyone understood who had truly excelled, and that person was Natasha, and Natasha alone. And had only mentioned Lucian's marks in passing to correct him and nothing more.
Slowly, one by one, all the students received their papers, until at last Alex's turn came. The professor called roll number fifty.
Alex rose quietly from his seat and walked to the front in silent steps. The students who had been murmuring fell quiet and turned to look at him, their eyes eager to learn how many marks he had earned.
Alex soon reached the front of the classroom and stopped before the professor.
In the professor's hands remained the final answer sheet, the last one, while the papers belonging to the absent and suspended students sat on the desk behind him.
The professor's brows furrowed, and shaking his head slightly, he handed the sheet to Alex.
"Your answers weren't coherent. I expect better from you. Since this was only a mini test that I hadn't considered anything serious, there are no failing marks, as everyone was simply expected to try their best." The professor said, regrettably.
This was the only time the professor had spoken to a student other than Lucian and Natasha. He hadn't said a word to anyone else. Was this favoritism? No, it wasn't, because when Alex looked down at the marks written in red, his hands trembled slightly. Alex stared at the number thirty out of fifty.
Alex had received the lowest marks in the entire class. From the whispers and murmured conversations he had overheard from the other students, no one else had scored below forty. He was the only one under that mark, and not by a single point, but by a full ten points.
His fingers trembled, and his breath caught in his throat. He tried to calm himself, and in doing so, only crumpled the edges of the sheets he was barely managing to hold onto.
"You may return to your seat now, student Alex," the professor told him, and Alex, who barely registered the words, walked back to his seat without so much as a nod.
The students eyed him with smirks, some leaning their heads toward him to catch a glimpse of his marks as he walked back to his desk. He quietly slid out his chair and sat back down.
He pulled the paper in front of him, and without a second thought, crumpled the answer sheet into a ball with trembling fingers. He had known his answers weren't perfect, and he certainly hadn't written them coherently, yet he hadn't expected it would feel this bad to get his answer sheet back and discover that he had scored the lowest marks in the entire class.
***
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