Chapter 1: The tie

I just started high school a few weeks ago. I’m still so adjusted to middle school so all of this just seems off. I have an exam coming up and I’ve been studying like no other but I’m confident in it, after all I was top student in all of middle school, why would I go down now?

Tomorrow’s the day of the exam. It’s just to test my knowledge and prepare me for the upcoming year, you know the typical exam, but I still want to do better than everyone else on it. Its now nearly 12am and I hear a knock on my door. “Can I come in?” I recognize my mothers calming yet worried tone. “Yes.” I respond, not even looking up from my books and pencils. She comes in and sits beside me. “Aren’t you tired Olivia? Its late and you have your exams tomorrow..” “Thats exactly what I’m preparing for mom. I want to ace those exams.” I tell her, using an irritated tone. I feel bad for using it, after all she’s just looking out for me, but I just want to be left alone. The mere thought of someone passing me academically made my blood boil and I wasn’t going to let a small conversation with my mother ruin my streak of never losing.

I woke up the next morning with pure excitement. I put on my gray and blue uniform and tie my dirty blonde hair up into a ponytail before rushing out of the house. My brother, Tyler, just watched me in confusion wondering why I’m so jumpy and excited since he’s well aware exams are today. When I get to school we are given our exams and are warned these will be more difficult considered these are to test our knowledge and whatnot, but the second I look at those questions I know exactly what I’m doing. I take my time with each question and look through it over and over just to be sure despite knowing that my selected answers are correct. After a while of working I finish, raising my hand to notify the teacher but before I do another student had already called her attention. I watch in confusion as this young boy, who seemed quite arrogant and full of himself turned in the exam with a smile. “How did he finish before me?” Is all I thought to myself. I raise my hand and turn it in to the teacher telling myself he was probably the type of kid to rush through exams. That was the only logical explanation since I’m the best one here of course.

As the weeks went by I noticed this kid more and more around my school. He was loud and obnoxious and never put his tie on correctly. That made me more upset than it should’ve. I never noticed him before... that was until he submitted that damn exam before me. Suddenly I found myself looking for him in class, the cafeteria, outside, and even the library. I always expected and got the same outcome of him being irritating, but what I did notice was that he was good at everything. Me and him indirectly competed with answering questions first in class, playing sports, submitting quizzes, and even eating. I not once learned his name but we would glance at each other clearly competing.

Finally the exam scores were released. I rushed to the scoreboard shoving through mumbling crowds in excitement before pausing in shock at the sight of the score board. My name was first as always, but someone els was also first. Me and an Alexander Payne had the exact same score. I don’t recognize the name so I look around until my eyes land on the same obnoxious boy from the previous weeks who looks just as surprised as me. Could he be this “Alexander Payne”?

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