The classroom buzzed with tense, anxious whispers.Everyone was waiting for their test grades.Julia, however, was completely unbothered.Her confidence showed in the rare smile on her face.
Someone equally confident was standing behind her, leaning against the wall. Charles was talking to his friends— or rather, admirers —but he occasionally glanced over at Julia, grinning mischievously. He had been waiting for the announcement of the results, which was now minutes awayHe was eager to see how she would react to losing her place at the top to him..
The bell rang, signalling the start of class. The students retreated to their seats, the tension on their faces evident. The teacher entered and the usual greeting followed. Then she pulled a sheet from her folder, which was surely the result. The class held their breath, some even sweating. However Julia and Charles sat carefree.
"OK class, I'm going to announce the results now. Please listen carefully as I am not going to repeat."
" So the top scorer is... "
"Charles."
A loud gasp followed the announcement and several faces turned towards Charles. Even the teacher paused for a moment, surprised by her own words. The she continued the announcement with the next name being Julia's,who had lost by a mere half mark. However the attention of the class had been diverted. All eyes turned to Julia, waiting for some reaction — even the hint of tears. But the smile on her face from before was still there.
The lesson began, similar to many previous ones. The only difference was that people kept stealing glances at her.Everyone, including Charles, struggled to accept that she wasn't reacting. But she refused to give them the satisfaction of that. She paid even more attention to the teacher, determined to make up for her mistake. She even watched Charles trying to understand his study strategy. But he, ever the carefree one, and was doodling in his notebook. Julia became pretty angry though she refused to show it.
Maybe he really does have potential… and I underestimated him.If that's the case, then he's wasting his potential.