Failed for Trying Too Hard

I'm not naturally academically gifted. No matter how hard I push myself—staying up until three in the morning only to drag myself out of bed at six—I can barely keep my grades somewhere in the middle of the class. For most of my school life, no one pays much attention to me. That changes three months before the college entrance exam. One day, my homeroom teacher, Victoria Bennett, calls class president Ethan Sterling and me into her office without warning. She looks at me sternly, asking, "Did you cheat off Ethan during this month's exam?" I shake my head. "No." Victoria turns to Ethan. "What do you have to say?" Ethan quietly chuckles. "I was focused on my own test, so I didn't really notice what he was doing." He pauses, then adds, "Although… I did get the feeling that someone kept turning around to look at me." I stare at him in disbelief. "Me? Looking at you? I never even looked your way!" Victoria's expression hardens, and her voice rises. "You're still going to argue with me? "You ranked 23rd in the class on the last exam, and now, all of a sudden, you're in the top ten?" Before I can respond, she picks up my exam paper and casually draws a thick line through my score. "Since you cheated, I'm giving you a failing grade on this exam." She looks at me coldly. "And you'll write a 3,000-word self-criticism." My heart sinks. "Otherwise, you can forget about staying in school." Chapter 1 Ethan Sterling, the class president, made it back to the classroom before I did. The moment he returned to his seat, several classmates crowded around him. "Ethan, what did Ms. Bennett want with you guys?" one of them asked. "Yeah," another chimed in. "Just look at Adrian. He looks like he's about to cry." Even from across the room, I could hear Ethan chuckle. "Nothing much. Adrian copied off my test, and Ms. Bennett caught him." The moment he said it, the classroom erupted. Whispers spread from one desk to the next, followed by snickers and curious glances in my direction. I shot to my feet, my chair scraping loudly against the floor. "I didn't!" My voice shook with anger, but it was immediately drowned out by the whispers spreading through the classroom. "No way. Adrian always seemed like a pretty honest guy." "Honest? Come on. You know what they say—you can't judge a book by its cover. He was ranked in the twenties on the last exam, and now he suddenly makes the top ten? You really think he pulled that off on his own?" "Exactly. Ethan's the top student in our class. If you were going to cheat, copying him would be the safest bet." A few people laughed under their breath. I clenched my fists as I understood that not one of them believed me. I had no idea how I managed to make it through the rest of the school day. The moment I got home, I threw myself onto my bed and buried my face in my pillow, too humiliated to say a word. At dinnertime, someone knocked on my door. "Adrian, dinner's ready. Come eat." It was my sister, Julianne Cole. When I didn't answer, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. "How did you do on this month's exam?" she asked casually. But the moment she noticed my swollen, red eyes, her expression changed. "What happened? Did someone bully you?" Those words shattered what little composure I had left. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I sat up and told her everything that had happened in the teacher's office. The smile slowly faded from Julianne's face as she listened. By the time I finished, the sadness in my eyes deepened. Julianne suddenly slammed her hand against the table so hard that I flinched. "Don't worry about it. We're not writing that damn self-criticism. If they want to kick you out, then fine. We'll transfer schools!" She looked at me with fierce determination. "With my grades, I can get into whatever school you want. We'll transfer, and you're coming with me." I looked up at her and saw no hesitation in her eyes. Seeing that determination, I nodded firmly. … The next morning, I walked into the classroom with my backpack slung over one shoulder. Every eye immediately turned toward me. Even Ethan glanced up from his desk. I ignored them all, walked straight to my seat, and dropped my backpack beside my desk. Just as the class began, our homeroom teacher, Victoria Bennett, entered the classroom with her arms crossed. Her eyes swept across the classroom before finally landing on me. "Adrian. Stand up and read your 3,000-word self-criticism to the class." The room fell silent. I looked at her but didn't move. "I'm talking to you!" Her voice rose sharply as she slammed her hand against the teacher's desk. "Adrian, did you write it or not?" A few girls in the front row flinched at the sudden outburst. I met her gaze and answered calmly, "No." Ms. Bennett froze, as she clearly hadn't expected me to answer so directly. "What did you say?" she asked. "I said I didn't write it." I held her gaze. "Because I didn't cheat." The classroom erupted. "Oh, my God! Has Adrian completely lost it?" "He actually just talked back to Ms. Bennett!" "Is he trying to get himself expelled?" Ms. Bennett's hand trembled with rage. She pointed at me, her face turning red. "You… Get up here!" She stormed toward the front of the classroom, grabbed the metal pointer leaning beside the blackboard, and slammed it against the board. "Get up here! Now!" The sharp crack echoed through the room. "Immediately!" Chapter 2 I pushed my chair back. With the entire class watching, I walked toward the front of the room, one slow step at a time. "You didn't write your self-criticism, did you?" Ms. Bennett gave me a cold smile. "Fine. Then explain yourself to everyone. Tell the class exactly how you cheated on the exam." My eyes flicked toward the metal pointer in her hand before meeting her gaze again. "I didn't cheat." I stood firm. "Still denying it?" Ms. Bennett suddenly raised the pointer and slammed it against the desk. A splinter of wood flew from the edge. Someone in the classroom sucked in a sharp breath. "You think refusing to admit it is going to make this go away? "I've seen students like you plenty of times, Adrian! You slack off all semester, then try to take shortcuts when it matters! Did you really think you could suddenly jump into the top ten without anyone noticing?" She stepped closer, her voice growing louder with every word. "Do you think I'm blind? Do you think the entire class is blind?" She jabbed a finger against my shoulder once, then twice. Each shove was hard enough to make me stumble backward. "Say something! Cat got your tongue?" she taunted. I bit down on my lip, digging my fingernails into my palm. "I didn't cheat," I insisted. "Didn't cheat?" She sneered and turned toward the rest of the class. "Everyone, listen to this." She gestured toward me. "He says he didn't cheat!" Ms. Bennett walked over to Ethan and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Ethan, tell them. Did you see Adrian turn around and look at you during the exam?" Ethan slowly stood. He lowered his head, hesitating as though he was carefully choosing his words. "Go ahead," Ms. Bennett urged. After a moment, Ethan raised his head and glanced at me. "Ms. Bennett, I was completely focused on my own exam." He paused, then added, "But… I do remember feeling like someone was watching me the entire time." "Do you hear that?" Ms. Bennett snapped. "You heard him yourself!" She spun around and pointed straight at me. "Ethan said he felt someone watching him during the entire exam, and you're still going to deny it?" My eyes burned with tears, but I forced them back. "I didn't look at him. I never even looked up." "Never looked up?" Ms. Bennett scoffed. "Then explain this." She snatched the score sheet off the podium and slapped it down in front of me. "23rd. That's where you ranked last time." Her finger jabbed at the page. "And this time? Ninth." She looked up at me, her expression hardening. "You jumped 14 places!" Her voice echoed through the classroom. "So tell me, Adrian. How exactly did you pull that off?" She gave a mocking laugh. "Did the answers magically appear in your head? Or did some divine intervention whisper them to you while you slept?" Laughter broke out across the classroom. "I'm giving you one last chance." Ms. Bennett folded her arms and looked down at me. "Are you going to admit you cheated or not?" I lifted my head and met her eyes. "I didn't cheat." "Fine." Her expression hardened. She spun around, grabbed the grade book, and drew a thick red line straight through my score. "You cheated, and I'm failing you. That's final." She tossed the pen onto the desk. "And if you don't like it, you can leave. Drop out. Transfer somewhere else. I don't care." Under the weight of all those eyes and accusations, something inside me finally snapped, but I didn't back down. I looked her straight in the eye and said, "Fine. I'll drop out." The classroom went completely silent. "With a teacher like you, I don't want to stay here anyway." The room erupted in murmurs. No one had expected the usually quiet, withdrawn person I was to talk back to a teacher like that—let alone for me to openly say he was willing to leave the school. Even Ethan, who had been sitting back and watching the whole spectacle unfold, straightened in his chair. Ms. Bennett, meanwhile, was shaking with fury. She stormed toward me and pointed a finger inches from my face. "Fine! Fine, Adrian!" Her voice trembled with rage. "Just wait." She lowered her hand and glared at me. "I'll give you exactly what you want!" Then she spun around, yanked open the classroom door, and slammed it behind her as she stormed out. Once she was gone, I returned to my seat. Without a word, my deskmate quietly shifted his books aside, creating a clear dividing line between us. Senior year was already suffocatingly dull. So when gossip like this came along, it didn't take long for the story to spread throughout the entire school. During math class, whenever the teacher called on students, his eyes would sweep across the room, deliberately passing over me as if I weren't there. When I got up to refill my water bottle, students along the aisle quickly pulled their chairs out of the way, leaving me an absurdly wide path. No one spoke to me. No one even dared to meet my eyes. I didn't care. I simply returned to my desk and began packing my things. I carefully put my books and pens into their proper compartments in my backpack, one at a time. Then the dismissal bell rang. I slid the last book into my bag, zipped it shut, and swung it over my shoulder without rushing. When I finally walked through the school gates, I spotted a familiar person waiting outside. Chapter 3 Julianne was leaning against the old tree outside the school gate, her backpack slung over one shoulder. She stood out immediately in the crowd. The moment she spotted me, she straightened and walked over. "Hey, Julie," I greeted. Without hesitation, she took my backpack from me and slung it over her own shoulder, saying, "It's all taken care of." I blinked. "Taken care of? What is?" "Your new school." She smiled. "It's a private school. A lot better than this place." She paused, then glanced at me with a faint smile. "The principal has been trying to recruit me for ages. I never bothered because it seemed like too much of a hassle." Her smile faded slightly. "But nobody gets to bully my brother." I looked at her. The setting sun washed her face in a warm, golden glow, softening the edges of her features. For the first time, I found myself looking forward to what came next. Now all that was left was for Ms. Bennett to hand me my withdrawal papers herself. On the morning of the third day, I was packing the last few books into my bag when the classroom door suddenly flew open, causing everyone to jump. Ms. Bennett stood in the doorway for a moment before striding straight toward my desk, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. "Adrian." She slammed the documents in her hand onto my desk. Papers scattered across the desk as the folder slid to the floor, revealing the expulsion notice inside. "Pack your things and get out of my classroom!" My eyes dropped to the document in front of me. The expulsion notice was printed in stark black ink on plain white paper, with the school's official red stamp across the bottom. It said, "Adrian Cole, due to cheating on an examination, refusing to acknowledge your misconduct, and displaying an unacceptable attitude, the school has decided to expel you." The classroom fell completely silent. Someone sucked in a breath. "Oh, my God. They actually expelled him." "That's harsh." "He had it coming. What good was arguing with the teacher going to do?" Ms. Bennett swept her gaze across the room and snapped, "What are you all staring at? Get back to studying!" Then her eyes settled on me, filled with contempt. "What more do you have to say, Adrian? Weren't you so defiant? Didn't you refuse to write your self-criticism?" She gave me a cold smile. "Happy now?" I said nothing. I'd been expecting this. I had already packed everything I needed the day before. My textbooks and notebooks were neatly stacked inside my backpack. Only one book remained on my desk now. Apparently, my calm reaction wasn't what Ms. Bennett wanted. She frowned. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and leave! Don't waste everyone else's time!" I slung my backpack over my shoulder and stood. My chair scraped softly against the floor. That was when I noticed someone standing in the classroom doorway. Sunlight streamed down the hallway behind her, casting her figure in a warm, golden glow. Every head in the room turned at the same time I noticed her. It was my sister. Julianne walked toward us at an unhurried pace, her backpack slung over one shoulder and one hand casually tucked into her pocket. "Oh, Julianne!" Ms. Bennett's eyes lit up immediately as she hurried over to her. "Why do you have your backpack with you? Are you heading somewhere?" She smiled eagerly. "You should've let me know! I could've arranged everything for you." Julianne didn't even look at her. Her gaze swept across the room before settling directly on me. "I'm waiting for someone." Ms. Bennett froze. "Waiting for someone? Who? Just tell me. I'll go get them for you." Then, with a concerned smile, she added, "You should get back to class. The college entrance exam is coming up. You can't afford to waste time." As she spoke, she reached for Julianne's arm. "Come on. I'll walk you back." Julianne didn't move. The smile on Ms. Bennett's face grew stiff. "Julianne?" Julianne finally lowered her head and looked at Ms. Bennett. "The person I'm waiting for is in your classroom." Ms. Bennett's expression changed instantly. She turned and scanned the room, her eyes finally landing on me. "You… you're waiting for Adrian?" Julianne didn't answer. Instead, she walked into the classroom and stopped in front of me. "Ready to go?" she asked. I nodded. She reached for my backpack, took it from my shoulders, and casually slung it over her own. "Let's go." Ms. Bennett finally understood what was happening. She stepped in front of Julianne, still struggling to believe what she was hearing. "Julianne, what exactly are you saying?" Julianne's expression hardened. Her voice was flat and ice-cold when she finally answered, "My brother is leaving. And so am I."