IV

At Rosewood Academy, students are sorted among classes depending on their academic success. Every student has to take an entrance exam when they’re 13 or 14 - only the top 150 are accepted. They’re divided among 5 classes, ranging alphabetically from A to E, with the best naturally making it to A.

How are tiebreakers done in case two people at a breaking point between classes have the same score? Strangely enough, lineage comes first here - whoever is from a more prestigious family will earn their spot in the better class. Despite the rather egalitarian stance within school grounds, status still matters. Money, a close second.

However, entrance exam rankings aren’t ever revealed, so whether it happens or not is only known to a few academy administrators. And since grade average is the metric used to divide people between classes, amongst the many grades you get every year, it’s very unlikely that you’ll be tied with someone whilst on the brink of demotion or promotion. But, on the extreme off-chance that it happens, you’ll have a reason as to why.

As all exams are standardised for all classes, and mid-year test results are publicly announced, you’d naturally expect the top of the leaderboard to be dominated by class A.

That much holds true. But what most people didn’t expect was that a hierarchy would be built within class A itself.

Indeed, there was no greater competitiveness anywhere at school than amongst the two highest-rated students of the 1st of A class. These were the ‘most eligible bachelor’ Augustin Vigil and the ‘most unorthodox’ student Nanami Underland.

In 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years, it was considered a minor incident that a class B student would have the highest or 2nd highest result on a test. B class was still fearsomely strong and it wasn’t impossible that one of its members got lucky with the right questions. But amongst first-years, it was unheard of that neither of the two held the prestigious first place.

It was a warm late-summer day, which is quite average around the more temperate Penshire with its refreshingly warm summers and cool winters. The 1st years had just finished writing their 2nd of three natural sciences exams. A subject dreaded by many, its passing let most students sigh relaxedly as they made their way to catch up on rest in their respective dorms.

Augustin himself was relaxing in one of the school parks as he waited to be joined by Vincent, who was running late as he was anxiously comparing his answers with other classmates’. As other students were passing by, they often snuck glances at his tranquil form on the side of one of the busier walkways at this time of the day.

“Mr. Vigil…?” he heard being called out from behind, but did not respond. His mind was still hazy from nearly dozing off after a sleepless night.

“Hey, Earth to Mr. Vigil!” The culprit reached out to him again.

“What is it?” he turned around a bit grumpy, the test having clearly taken a toll on him. “Oh, it’s just you, Ms. Waldstone.” His composure relaxed and he got up and sat down on the grass to face her.

Cynthia Waldstone was her full name, and she was Nanami’s roommate and a foreign noble studying at Rosewood on diplomatic ties, as her father was the plenipotentiary to Alvaria from some country across the sea to the south. As with Nanami, Vigil hadn’t heard of her name before, but ignored her since the name of the last person called for class A was called while he was too busy analysing Nanami’s height.

“I suppose you could greet me with more courtesy, Mr. Vigil,” she smiled as she leaned on the back of a wooden bench in the park next to Augustin.

“You have my apologies, Ms. Waldstone, but I’m simply too exhausted at the moment.”

“Because you were studying all night to beat Nanami, right?” Augustin looked away out of embarrassment, confirming Cynthia’s suspicion.

At Rosewood, students are predominantly from the upper crust of nobility, but many of them also hail from commoner families. Moreover teachers are largely chosen by merit and not status - and the fact that status cannot get you far at Rosewood. In order to promote an equal status amongst students on academy grounds, the school practises something known as egalitarian rule of address.

It’s a policy where you are to address your fellow classmates the same way you’d address strangers of equal status - in other words, with formality, but only a little of it. Usage of courtly titles was heavily discouraged, and most people only used the simple title ‘Mister’ and ‘Miss’ instead. However, friends generally addressed each other by only their first name, or perhaps a nickname, which is why Cynthia has been referring to Nanami only by her name, whereas Augustin has been using the more official form instead.

“So? Is there anything you need my help with?” He was still a bit dazy, and it showed in his rather sluggish tone.

“There’s something I’ve been wondering about for a while,” she responded. As opposed to Nanami, he had no cold blood with Cynthia. Although he didn’t speak with her much more than most other classmates, they both knew each other well enough to be on somewhat casual terms. “But for what reason are you two even competing? I’ve been spectating your conflict since the day Nanami returned to the dorm all grumpy, and it’s clearly not a friendly rivalry, but I couldn’t find any trace of hostility either.”

Augustin only looked at the grass quietly, so Cynthia continued. “This clearly isn’t healthy for either of you. I don’t know if you’ve seen it yet, but it has taken quite a toll on Nanami, dual-wielding school and her…strange hobbies, or whatever they are. She’s been losing out on sleep quite a bit since summer started.”

After a few moments of silence, she let out a sigh. “Not willing to talk?”

“It’s not that I’m unwilling, it’s that…forget it. The reality is that I don’t know why we’re competing. It might be childish, but in the end, I just want to beat her. I want to prove to her that I was right all along. That my opinion is better than hers.”

“Is this still about that dumb fight you had at the start of the year?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It goes far deeper than that. If you want to know more, just ask Ms. Underland herself.”

Cynthia gave him a reluctant nod. “Well, if you say so. And I suppose it might be better seeing you two giving it your all rather than slacking off and falling a grade lower.”

Worth noting, you can’t be held back a year here. At worst, you’ll end up in an E Class and have to live with a bad reputation…which might be worse to quite a few people. Or, if you’re particularly disobedient, you might end up having to say goodbye to Rosewood for good.

“You’re right about that. In fact, shouldn’t you be happy your best friend’s giving it her best and staying on top. If you’re that worried about her, ask her about the whole ordeal.”

Cynthia plopped herself back on her two feet and started walking to the girls’ dorm. “I don’t want to ask Nanami because I know she won’t be honest with me about it. She isn’t the type to let me worry about her, which is why I came to you first. Regardless, please think this through. Do you really want to be on bad terms with someone throughout all four years of your school life?”

Augustin didn’t respond to that question, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t leave him contemplating.

“In the end…just what is my relationship with Nanami?” he asked himself.

He had been competitive with her ever since he saw the results of the first arithmetics test at the start of the year. “That smug expression of her as she stood above him on the leaderboard, that puffed up attitude, that greedy hunger for superiority…why do I feel so inclined to give her the time of day and go along with it? I’ve not been studying for myself nor for my grades since the year began - it’s all been because of her. In other words, if she stops trying her best, even if I win, will I still do everything in my power to stay at the top…?”

He stood up and patted down the back of his pants, clearing dirt off them. Reflecting back upon the day, he faintly smiled to himself.

“Yeah…there’s no way I’m beating her at this test. At least Calligraphy is up next.” He admitted defeat before ever seeing the results.

SECTION END

“So, do you think you won or lost this round?” Vincent jokingly poked Augustin with his elbow. “Don’t be ridiculous,” Augustin sighed. “I did my best. To ask whether I ranked above or below Ms. Underland is rather irrelevant.”

A few days later, test results were published at the floor’s announcement board, right where first years would usually see their results. Although a movable printing press had yet to have been invented at that point, a sort of stamp-like press was in limited circulation, primarily used for mass-produced formats such as tables or indexes - they were expensive to produce, but nevertheless a viable alternative and definitely not an expense a prestigious academy wouldn’t afford for themselves.

There was a lot of muttering coming from students as they were searching for their names across the indices.

Augustin, Vincent and another classmate named Jonathan Joyce - Marquees Howe of Corwen’s oldest scion - arrived at the scene a bit later than most. He was a dependable student and sometimes jokingly referred to as ‘Class A’s daddy’, a title that was surely attained partially because of how much care he put into his role as 1st of A’s President.

Augustin stepped closer to the board. Students around him quickly moved out of the way to give him space.

1. Underland, Nanami - A - 97%

…

2. Vigil, Augustin - A - 94%

Vincent followed up behind him and glanced at the board. “Well, it was a pretty hard test. You’ll get ‘er next time,'' he patted him on the back. Augustin glared at him in silence in response.

Jonathan walked up from behind and asked: “Hey, Vincent, do you see either me or you up there?” Vincent moved along the board, trying to find either of their surnames. After a few murmurs, he confirmed an utter lack of success: “Nope, can’t see either of us!”

His response earned him a frown from Jonathan. “You know we’re both bad at Natural Sciences. Try a bit further down the lane…hold on, I’ll help you, “ he offered his help as he jumped into the fray of busy students.

Augustin took a step back to the edge of the board, where his name was written. At the back of his head, he did think about her, but dismissed the thought.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I study for myself, not her. Besides, if she tries to rub it in, I’ll just rub it back when we get to Calligraphy,” he promised himself before looking around, scouring the crowd for a particular white spot amongst it. However, it appears that, in the crowd of average people, finding someone particularly short is harder than he’d assume.

As he threw in the towel and stepped towards his classroom, he heard a sudden commotion coming from the other side of the hallway, and instinctively turned his head to see just what was happening.

It appears Nanami herself was even more late than the rest and was sluggishly making her way down the hallway. Immediately surrounding her was an array of people from her class wishing to offer her their congratulations as the rest anxiously looked on, wondering what would happen next. They looked at her, then at Augustin and back to Nanami. He immediately started feeling uneasy and excused himself to the classroom, knowing what would happen if she saw him right next to the results scoreboard.

She awkwardly smiled as she accepted their acclaim and made her way to the edge of the board to ascertain it herself. In the end, just being told you’re the best wasn’t enough - she didn’t care until she saw her name above his.

A minute or so later, he heard a sound he’d rather not have.

“Oh, Miiiiister Viiiiigil…are you here, perchance?” The smugness and sarcasm radiated from her voice as she peeked into the classroom from behind the wall.

Augustin’s expression soured the moment she called his name whereas hers lit up like sunshine. Nothing could dampen her mood during such occasions.

She jumped into the classroom and stepped in front of him, smiling smugly. Although the height difference was severe, it did little to change the flow of the conversation. “Say, I couldn’t help myself from checking the scoreboards and, would you look at that, it appears that you’ve fallen behind yet again, haven’t you?”

Augustin’s previously-serene expression cracked slightly. “Laugh at me all you want now, we’ll see who gets the last laugh next week after calligraphy,” he told her provocatively.

“Yeah, just like you told me you’d rub my face into the ground with this test, right?” she asked him sarcastically. “Face it, you’ll never beat me, so might as well submit, don’t you think? Go ahead, admit it, tell me I’m superior!” she demanded conceitedly as she put her hands on her hips.

“Oh, I sure will…the moment you beat me in calligraphy. Which I’m sure you don’t need to worry about happening…ever, to be honest. In fact, I’m sure that my victory in calligraphy will be even sweeter with social sciences coming next,” he puffed out his chest proudly and crossed his arms as he looked down at her. Literally.

“Oh, goodness, you’ll make me blush with how much I’m excited to wipe that grin off your face when you see how you’ve fallen below me yet again. Ah, I can’t even imagine my name not appearing one or two slots above yours. It feels like nature itself demands that I - hey, wha-” Nanami’s increasingly-questionable tirade came to an abrupt end as she was dragged away from Augustin’s seat by Cynthia, back to her 2nd row, mouth muffled by her sleeve.

“Guh…” Augustin grunted as Vincent slapped him on his back with a lot more force than usual as he whispered into his ear: “Careful, Agatha is almost here.” Realisation hit him as he scratched the back of his head and looked around the classroom. Many eyes were peeled on their charade and he quietly bowed as to apologise.

Cynthia, meanwhile, also whispered to Nanami: “Be careful, Ms. Woodbead is here.” A look of realisation hit her as she scratched her temple. “Ahaha…sorry about that, Cynthia, I got carried away…” she apologised earnestly.

“Not the first time it happened, you know.” she responded curtly and turned away.

“Yep, she’s feeling grumpy, alright,” Nanami thought as she looked at her pouting roommate. Although Nanami and Augustin had a bone to pick with each other - for whatever irrelevant reasons - both still held deep respect for Professor Woodbead, who would undoubtedly be disappointed at herself if she found out such disputes broke down every time test results came back. With a gaze at each other, they vowed to settle this after the next exam - a resolution that they’ve decided upon several times before.

In the end, both of them were somewhat considerate to those around them amidst their pesky dispute that seemingly had no end.