I Studied With the Last-Ranked Boy… Then Came in Second Chapter 05

I Studied With the Last-Ranked Boy… Then Came in Second Chapter 05

Students swarmed the bulletin board. Murmurs grew louder.

Adrian stood by the window with one hand in his pocket, listening to the commotion with a confident smile.

Beside him, Sienna leaned against his shoulder as they chatted quietly.

Neither of them even bothered to check the rankings.

They looked as though they already knew they’d finished first and second.

I gripped the hem of my sweater and squeezed through the crowd, heart pounding.

“Excuse me! Can I see the rankings?”

Someone at the front peered at the list and gasped.

“Oh my God! Did they post the rankings backward?”

Another boy gasped. His finger pointed at the very top of the list.

“First is Declan! Perfect score! One hundred!”

“He sleeps through class and turns in blanks. He must’ve copied!”

Whispers erupted all around us.

“I must be seeing things. Adrian’s second with ninety-five.”

“Third is Elena with eighty-two, fourth Sienna with eighty-one… Only four people scored above eighty.”

“The two geniuses who’ve always dominated first and second were actually beaten. That’s insane!”

“Didn’t Elena and Declan finish at the bottom last time? And now they’re in the top three? How is that even possible?”

Every word echoed in my ears. I stood frozen.

Then I pushed through the crowd until I reached the front.

My eyes locked onto the ranking sheet.

First: Declan Rhodes, 100.

Second: Adrian Whitmore, 95.

Third: Elena Brooks, 82.

Fourth: Sienna Caldwell, 81.

One point. I beat Sienna by one point.

All those days of anxiety, doubt, humiliation—they crumbled in that moment.

My eyes burned. Tears blurred my vision.

I’d done it.

No one could accuse me of cheating anymore. And I wasn’t going back to the General Education class.

“The rankings have to be wrong.”

A familiar voice sounded behind me.

I turned around.

Adrian walked over casually with Sienna beside him. Neither of them seemed to care about everyone else’s reactions.

Adrian didn’t even glance at the bulletin board.

His eyes went straight to me and frowned. His voice was as dismissive as ever.

“You know your own grades. Mr. Bennett will correct the rankings in math class.”

“With your level, there’s no way you scored higher than last time.”

“You should start packing now. Transfer back to the General Education class before you embarrass yourself.”

Sienna laughed behind her hand, giving me that dismissive once-over.

“Exactly. Adrian got a national coach to design those problems. The hardest questions were practically national-level. Even we got stuck.”

“You and Declan could barely understand the questions. And you’re dreaming about a high score?”

“Mr. Bennett will announce your transfer after class.”

I looked at her calmly. Then I spoke.

“But I scored higher than you. By one point.”

Sienna burst into laughter as if she’d just heard the funniest joke in the world.

Adrian laughed too. His eyes were full of ridicule.

“Elena. You really should know your place.”

He crossed his arms. His voice turned cold.

“Sienna’s been second since forever. Her Math Olympiad skills are leagues ahead of yours. You think we’d believe you outscored her?”

“What kind of joke is that?”