I Was Sick Of Second Place So I Took Everything Chapter 06

I Was Sick Of Second Place So I Took Everything Chapter 06

Voices drifted over from the crowd in front of the board.

“What happened this time? Estelle is actually first. Where’s Caleb?”

“He had a high fever on exam day. He missed it.”

“Oh, that explains it. Honestly, how else would first place ever land on Estelle?”

The smile on my lips froze completely.

Before the rankings came out, I’d run through every possible scenario. The worst one? Still second place.

Never, not once, had I imagined this. Caleb had missed the exam.

Which meant, in everyone else’s eyes, he had just handed first place to me. I was furious.

Back in the classroom, classmates I was on good terms with all came over to congratulate me on taking

first.

On the surface, I smiled

But the moment I got

ctly and said thank you.

ome, I collapsed into full gloomy mode.

That night, just before bed, Silas suddenly called me on video.

I hesitated, then picked up. On the other end, he was in his dorm, sitting at his desk with headphones on.

“What?” I muttered, still sulking.

He smiled, a little teasing. “Your mom said you got first on your monthly exams but you’ve been moping

around.”

“She sent me to cheer you up. So why so glum, top student?”

ressed my lips together and didn’t say a word. But Silas had patience in spades, and eventually, I spilled.

ter listening, he was quiet for a beat.

Then, with a knowing tone, he said, “No wonder your eyes are all red.”

“My eyes are not red!” I shot him a glare.

He laughed again. “Estelle, I checked. You’re almost twenty points ahead of second place. That means

you’ve improved.”

“People are saying I didn’t earn it fairly,” I said, still down.

I might be a show-off, but every single time I showed off, it had always been backed by real ability.

“Even if he had taken the exam and you still came out on top, people would still say it was a fluke,” Silas said, speaking from experience.

“He missed one exam-he’s not going to miss the next two or three. And your goal isn’t just first place

once.”

“Give it time. Prove yourself again and again. Those doubts will fade.”

His words calmed me down a little.

I knew he was right. I’d just been fighting this ranking battle for two years-and I’d backed myself into a

corner.

“You good now? If so, go get some sleep.”

“You’re too young to be carrying all this around in your head.”

The call ended.

I took a deep breath, lay down, and tried to fall asleep.

Ten minutes later, I got up again, sat at my desk, and worked through half a test paper before finally falling

asleep peacefully.

The next day at school, I slipped right back into my serene, unbothered top-student persona.

My homeroom teacher even called me into the office for a little talk.

“Estelle, you’ve really hit your stride this semester. But don’t put too much pressure on yourself.

“If you ever run into any problems-school, life, whatever-my door is always open.”

I knew the teachers also felt that my first place this time wasn’t entirely well-earned.

But like Silas said, there was plenty of road ahead. Time would tell.

After the monthly exam, the next major test was the citywide standardized exam.

Caleb was already back in class next door.

Not long before the exam, I happened to overhear a group of boys from his class as they passed by.

“Don’t forget to reclaim your throne this time, man. First place belongs to you.