Chapter 4
As Nancy walked in, she noticed Ryan holding the registration form.
"Ryan, are you causing trouble again?" she yelled.
Alex let go of his wrist with a sulky tone.
"Ms. Davis, I was worried Sophie might sign up impulsively. She's been kind of moody lately," he explained.
Emily said in a low voice, "Ms. Davis, don't be mad at Sophie. She really wants to show what she can do."
Nancy took the form from Ryan. "Sophie, this tryout isn't a game for you to blow off steam. Focus on bringing up your regular grades first."
I asked, "If I make it into the top ten next time, can I sign up?"
Nancy gave me a look. "Let's talk about it when you actually make it."
Ryan went back to his seat and slid a stack of practice sheets over to me. "Finish these tonight."
I flipped through them. Every question was handwritten.
The problems were strange, like they'd been taken from all kinds of tests and mashed together.
I asked, "Aren't you the one who always comes in last?"
Ryan slumped back onto his desk.
"The last-place kid can copy questions," he muttered.
After school, Alex stopped me at the stairs. "Why have you been hanging out with Ryan lately?"
"He doesn't use my stuff to impress others," I said, glancing at him.
Alex's expression shifted. "It's not what you think. Emily's family has some trouble. I was trying to help her."
"So that gives you the right to take my notes, my seat, and my registration form to please her?" I shot back.
He rubbed his forehead, looking frustrated. "Sophie, when did you start keeping score like this?"
I didn't bother to answer.
Ryan shouted up from the bottom of the stairs. "Let's go. You haven't solved those problems yet."
Alex gave him a cold stare, his voice icy. "Ryan, don't flatter yourself. She's always been clinging to me since we were kids."
"That's history." Ryan slung his backpack over his shoulder.
I walked past Alex and headed downstairs.
Alex called after me, "Sophie, if you leave now, don't regret it later."
I didn't stop.
Before the second weekly test, rumors started flying that I was copying Ryan's answers.
The gossip was so convincing that people actually bought it.
Some said Ryan knew a bunch of shady people outside school and got the test questions ahead of time.
Others said I was a transfer from a regular class who had no place competing with the honor students.
When Emily heard the rumors, she stood up for me in front of everyone. "Hey, lay off Sophie. She's really stressed out."
"Emily, you know they're making stuff up," I said, staring at her.
She fidgeted with her water bottle. "Of course, I believe you. But people are only suspicious because you've been spending so much time studying with Ryan."
Ryan stood up from his seat. "What school rule says I can't explain the math problems to her?"
A guy in the front row snorted. "You're the one tutoring her? Come on, what grade did you get?"
Ryan grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote a problem on the board.
"Your turn," he said.
The guy was caught off guard. "Why should I listen to you?"
Ryan shoved the chalk into his hand. "Shut up if you can't solve it."
The guy's face burned with shame.
The next second, Nancy walked in. The math problem was still up on the board.
She took a look at it, and her face suddenly went still.
"Who came up with this problem?" she asked.
"Me," Ryan said.
"Where did you find it?" she asked in surprise, her fingers pausing against the edge of her binder.
"I made it up myself," he replied.
There were a few scattered laughs in the classroom. But Nancy didn't crack a smile.
She stared at Ryan for a while, then jotted the problem down in her lesson plan.
"This math problem's got something to it. Let's talk about it today," she said.
For the first time, people in the class started looking at Ryan differently.
And for the first time, Emily's smile faltered.
On the day of the weekly test, I turned in my answer sheet ten minutes early.
As Alex walked past me, he muttered, "Don't overestimate yourself."
I didn't bother looking up.
Before the grades were announced, Emily suddenly stood up during the class meeting.
"Ms. Davis, I request that everyone's grades be made public right now," she said.
"Why?" Nancy raised an eyebrow.
Emily shot me a glance. "Everyone's been working hard this time. If someone's score suddenly jumps, making the grades public is the fairest way to clear up any doubts."
She didn't mention my name. Everyone knew she was talking about me.
Nancy nodded in agreement.
During the study hall, all the answer sheets were projected onto the screen.
When my name showed up, the whole class went dead silent.