Top Ten

September 25th. Monday, 11:53 AM.

"The results will be posted in a few minutes", Frank said to Alexander while finishing writing his last sentence.

"Indeed", He responded.

"Are you nervous?" He questioned, putting down his pen.

"No. I know I got 50/50 on every test. I don't expect the same from my partner, but I know I'm not the problem if our score isn't 500", he said almost robotically.

Frank moved his eyes towards Isabella to see if she heard. She might have heard, but it looked like she was busy with her own thing.

"I don't think you'll be first on the leaderboards because of that guy who got 100 points already", Frank told Alexander to make sure he knew.

"I know. If he isn't at the top of the leaderboard, then we know he truly is an idiot", Alexander replied, looking out the window, the sight that entertained him for almost every lesson.

"He may have had a bad teammate. You never know." Frank tried to reason with him, making him try to see the other side of the story.

"Please, anything but a number 1 place would be embarrassing for him".

Frank knew what Alexander was saying was true, but he wanted Alexander to show a bit of empathy. Usually, Isabella would join in on the conversations, but today, she was too indulged in her notebook. It was clear she was nervous. She wasn't worried about herself but how she could ruin Alexander's points. Being partners with Alexander was a gift and a curse. You get a guaranteed 250 points, but on the flip side, can you provide the total 250 points in return? Disappointing and bringing down Alexander would make Isabella feel guilty. Frank noticed and could understand why she was feeling how she was. Knowing Alexander personally, he knows how he is. Alexander's cold, blunt, harsh and perfect nature. He could look at a person a certain way, which could put immense pressure on you. His gaze would make you question your actions even if what you were doing was right. However, it isn't on purpose; it's just how he was raised. Anything that isn't perfect, he looks down upon. He understands why people do things differently, but he doesn't truly understand why. His interpretation is that they can't do it the way he can, so they use other methods; they aren't capable of completing it perfectly. That's Alexander. Condescending, blunt and perfect. You can't blame him for who he is; he is just a product of his environment. Frank has tried to change him little by little, but it's hopeless. Alexander shuts down everything Frank tries with logical responses. Ever since Frank entered this Academy, he hoped someone could change Alexander, maybe not even one person but a group. But who knows?

Frank didn't want Isabella to feel uncomfortable, so he didn't include her in the conversation. It would have been best if Frank was Alexander's partner, but what could he do? It was randomised.

12:00 PM.

Phones started pinging. It was time—results of the first challenge. The results came via email, showing how many points they got together. But it didn't show how many points they got individually. Not showing how many points the individual got stopped people from fighting and arguing with each other over who ruined their score. Alexander looked at the email.

"494 points", He read out.

"That's great", Frank congratulated with a smile.

"Could've been better", he said, turning his phone off and going back to look out the window.

Isabella turned around,

"I don't know where I lost six points from. Maybe from English, as the marking can be subjective", Isabella said, hoping Alexander wouldn't be annoyed.

"Maybe", He replied, not looking at her.

Frank wanted to intervene and say

"Maybe Alexander lost one or two points".

But he knew if he said that, it might be more detrimental and affect Isabella more, as he knew Alexander would give a condescending reply. So he kept quiet.

"What did you get, Frank?" Isabella asked, shifting the topic.

"I got 486 points", He answered.

"That's good", She replied, smiling.

"Thanks, not as good as you", he said, trying to motivate her.

"Let me check the leaderboard", Frank said, tapping the academy app. He scrolled to the leaderboard,

"Woah, everyone in the top 10 is from 1-A, except Malakai". He said, looking at the leaderboard.

"That's expected", Isabella said, finding the leaderboards on her phone.

"Malakai Junior. 558 points. So he got 458 points, that's not bad". Frank said, trying to tap on Malakai's name to see if it did anything.

"Yeah, he wouldn't have made it into the top 10, though, without the 100 points", Isabella replied.

"I barely made it. I'm 9th", Frank laughed.

Isabella closed the app and placed her phone on the table.

"It's only the first challenge; he won't be there for long", she said, slightly directing it at Alexander to get his attention, but he didn't take the bait. He was looking out the window; it looked like he was meditating. He'd stopped listening after he heard Malakai's name. Before hearing it, he had forgotten it, but now he's heard it again … he will probably forget it the next day.

"Are you pissed you're not in the top 10?" Lorenzo asked Ryan, leaning on his desk.

"I'm not pissed. I expected this, but I still had a little hope I could make it", Ryan replied, looking at the leaderboards.

"I? WE both got 481 points", Lorenzo emphasised the we.

"You know what I mean, but 481 points still wasn't enough. I guess 1-A isn't just a title; they're the real deal", he said, adjusting his glasses.

"I'm sure the next challenge will be different; WE'LL get them." Lorenzo again emphasised that this was a team effort.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you".

"HAHAHAHA".

They heard laughter approaching their classrooms. They both looked in the door's direction to see what was coming.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" They heard a voice laughing. Soon, they saw Malakai and his friend walking alongside each other, laughing. Ryan watched while he walked past the doorway.

"That's the guy at number one", Lorenzo said as they passed the doorway.

"He can stay comfy up there, for now".

In the corridor, the six boys were walking to the cafeteria.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN!" Malakai screeched.

Benjamin and Lucas were laughing.

"I ain't letting you spend my credits", William replied.

"I'm number one. I deserve something." Malakai said, clinging onto William, having an arm around his shoulder.

"You had to get number one. If you didn't, you would get bullied", William argued back.

"By who?" Malakai challenged.

"Everyone", David jumped in.

"Mally, I'll buy you something", Ray offered, looking back at William and Malakai.

"Ray, he's gonna get more credits next week. You don't need to buy him shit", William said, escaping Malakai and walking next to Ray.

"He deserves something", Ray replied.

"See, why can't you all be like Ray?" Malakai questioned.

As they continued walking, they saw Dillon standing on the side.

"Yo, Dillon. What'd you get?" Malakai casually asked like they were friends, walking closer to him.

"Fuck off", Dillon replied, looking up.

As the group walked past,

"I was just tryna be nice", Malakai mumbled, walking away with his friends.

Dillon stood alone in the corridor and looked at his email, which showed 419 points. Seeing Malakai's name on that leaderboard, he was burning, but he couldn't do anything about it. Maybe things would change in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, the higher-ups were in the meeting room again. All of them were present except for the 'outsider'. All of them were sitting in their seats, once again bored.

"The leaderboard is looking close", one of them opened with.

"Different kettle of fish this year".

"Two students got 250/250, Full marks. That has never happened before".

"Yeah, but then you look at who they are and expect they would achieve that".

"The next challenge will be good", one of them said sarcastically.

"When is it again?" One of them questioned.

"In a month or so".

BANG!

One of them slammed their fist on the desk.

"Something needs to change." Everyone's attention was caught.

"We can't have these students doing the norm. This was boring".

"Well, this had to be the first challenge; there couldn't be any other challenge", one of them said.

"That's fine. But the next challenge will be different, I'll make sure of that".

"What are you going to do?"

"Don't worry about that. I plan on making some changes".

"Like what?"

"Ha. Just wait and see".

LEADERBOARD

1) MALAKAI JUNIOR (1-C) - 558 POINTS

2) ALEXANDER BURRELL (1-A) - 494 POINTS

3) ISABELLA GRACE (1-A) - 494 POINTS

4) EVE MASON (1-A) - 489 POINTS

5) ELIZABETH MOORE (1-A) - 489 POINTS

6) MARK HARISON (1-A) - 487 POINTS

7) ASHLEY MADSON (1-A) - 487 POINTS

8) LUNA WOLFE (1-A) - 486 POINTS

9) FRANK CARTER (1-A) - 486 POINTS

10) BRI LOPEZ (1-A) - 485 POINTS