Mid terms went as quickly as it came and before we knew it everyone was logging in to their student pages to check their GPA.

"Come on just check it" I say to Anne sounding exhausted. It's taking all my will power not to slam my head on her locker door  . How hard could it be to just check your damm result .

"But what if I failed ?" Anne asked as she nervously fidgets with her phone in her hand .

"Then you'll cry. Just open it" I say in a bored tone.  I genuinely hope that she does well . I spent a lot of time helping her get ready for the exam .

"Here. Just check it for me " Anne said giving me her phone . I typed in her password and not so patiently waited for the  result to finish loading

"It's done . You got a ....umm...its 2.49" I said sounding disappointed in myself.  Do I really suck this bad at teaching? . is she going to be okay?

".....Oh...." was all Anne said as her shoulders slumped foward in disappointment . The saddened look on her face makes me want to give her a hug . I really want to say something to make her smile again but I have no freaking clue what to say . If I was in her position there would be nothing that anyone would say to make me feel better . I looked at her face expecting to see tears but instead I saw a smile that didn't reach her eyes . It almost looks forced

"Well, at least I didn't fail right ? It's not good but it's not terrible either.  There's no point crying over spilled milk. I just have to work harder next time " Anne said to me although it sounded more like she was talking to herself.  I was about to assure her that I'll help her every step of the way when Tolu and Haru came rushing in our direction

"Yo guys , the top ten students have been posted on the notice board. Haru  and I are going to check it out thought you might wanna come along" Tolu said .

"Hey Eleanor.Hello Anne , have you checked your result ? " Haru asked politely

"Umm yeah it was okay as always.  Nothing to worry about " Anne replied with a nervous smile

"Yeah im not worried.  You're doing great. " Haru said giving her a thumbs up with an encouraging smile .
I looked at Haru for a short moment. He looks good as always,although his smile seems to have been different as of late , almost as if there is something that he's dreading . I pushed away all thoughts of Haru to the back of my mind as the four of us walk over to the notice board . Tolu got there first and eagerly beg to look for a name of interest

"Ha . There I am . Right at number 7 just like last year ,and the year before that. I'm either blessed or cursed with this number " Tolu said proudly.  This makes absolutely no sense.  How could an idiot like him even make it to the top ten .

"Impossible.How did you make it to the top ten ? You barely stay awake in any class " I say surprised

"The answer to your question would be that I have haru " Tolu said with an annoying smirk . Is Haru really that great of a teacher?

"He teaches you ? But you guys dont have the same classes " I asked

"Well I won't exactly call it teaching . I basically hand him my textbook then he reads everything I've done in class , then he summarizes it for me while I watch TV with his little brother " Tolu said leaving me speechless

"Speaking of which, thanks man " Tolu said patting Haru on the back

"It's okay , but don't forget that you've got Mun this Saturday " Haru said to Tolu. I thought Haru didn't like leaving his brother in the hands of others this is none of my business  I push Tolu out of my way as I made my way to the front of the notice board then began to search for my Name . Number 5...4...3...2...wait 2nd?

"What.the .actually. fuck" I Said heaving. How the heck am I second? Who the fuck got first? What the heck is happening

"What happened?" Anne asked . When I didn't reply she stretched her hand out to touch me but I lightly smacked it away with my full attention on a number that wasn't number 1 .

"Eleanor, are you okay? " Haru asked seemingly concerned.  I can feel my heartbeat on my head . I want the ground to swallow me .

"Oh I see what's happening here . Haru won their little competition " Tolu said plainly.  Something about his annoying voice makes me want to blend his tongue

"I-i don't get this crap . We both got a 4.0 , what makes him better than me" I say confused

"He probably got higher A's. Like if you got a 94 he probably got a 95 or 94.5" Tolu said lazily . The more Tolu speaks the more I feel like hitting him with a shoe

"It doesn't mean that I'm better than you. This is just half term.  You can still beat me in the main exam" Haru with his unnecessarily charming voice. does he pity me? He thinks I'm below him?  I picked up my bag then began to walk to the exit

"Wait , where are you going? We're still having classes today " Anne said . I took out my phone and dialed my driver

"I'm getting the fuck out of here" I say as I walked through the doors .

The ride home seemed longer than usual . I spent a lot of time prayingthat my mom wont be home. am I a failure?  one ,two three  as tapped my feet to the right would he be disappointed?  one , two , three  as I tapped my feet to the left . I didn't wait for my driver to fully park the car before I leaped out of it. I opened the doors to my house only to find my mother waiting for me in the living room with her arms crossed. she must have heard that I skipped school she must have noticed the look on my face because her angry expression changed to a worried one

"Baby,what happened?" She asked rather sweetly . I hesitated to tell her at first but she'll find out anyways 

"My mid terms I ...I came in second " I said with a type of shame that I haven't felt in years

"Oh ,umm that's not too bad . Getting second place isn't the end of the world" my Mom said sweetly as she gave me a pat on the head what a hypocrite

"Have you ever gotten second place?" I asked her
"Well....maybe in early elementary..but umm" my mum rambled.  Of course she has never been second to anyone she will never be less than perfect

"Will Dad be disappointed?" I asked with a disheartened tone

"What ? No . Absolutely not . If anything he'll be glad that you have someone to challenge you.  Your Dad will always be proud of you , even if you get 5th place" My mother said soothingly . I was about to say something else when she interrupted me.

"Anyways I know what will make you feel better.  So you and I are going to a ball party tomorrow.  It's being hosted by Mr chen " My mom said excitedly.

"Who's Mr chen ?" I asked.  I don't recognize his name as anyone on my mom's clients

"Some rich guy . He has a son and a dead wife. Some say that his wife died during labor and now her spirit hunts him every now and then but anyways that's not important right now . I don't really know or care about the guy like that but one of my old clients is going to be there . And that means that you get to know more people that I work with ." My mom said never loosing her excited smile . My mom always loved to show off whenever I'm around.  She always wants to make me proud just like I always want to make her proud
I wonder what tomorrow's ball will be like