Chapter 322
“How bad could it really be? You’re overreacting Parrish frowned and leaned in for a closer look.
His words died the second he saw the score next to Charlotte’s exam number. He sucked in a sharp breath, staring in disbelief. Was he seeing this right? Was there some glitch with the system? That number just didn’t make sense.
Shirley, still searching for the score from her end, grew more anxious by the second. She squeezed through the crowd toward her two frozen friends, her heart pounding. Had Charlotte really bombed the test? Why else would they look like that? She hated the idea of Charlotte getting her feelings hurt.
She crouched down in front of Andrew and started scanning the list, mumbling as she went. “505, 474, 609, 400, 720
Wait, 720?
She almost skipped right past it, but something made her stop and look again. Her eyes went wide. Oh my god. Afraid she’d misread it, maybe confused 120 for 720, Shirley rubbed her eyes hard and checked again.
Nope, still 720. Was it the wrong name? She double-checked the name and exam number, over and over, but everything lined up perfectly.
Which could only mean one thing… Charlotte really did get a 720.
Andrew and Parrish weren’t the only ones shocked anymore. Even Shirley, who’d seen plenty of impressive scores, couldn’t believe her eyes. The three of them just stood there, frozen, completely at a loss for words.
Nancy had been hanging around, waiting to see Charlotte’s supposed disaster. When no one said anything, her curiosity got the better of her. She pushed in, smirking. “What, is it so bad you can’t even say it out loud?” she teased.
“Four hundred Nancy laughed out loud. “Wasn’t Charlotte supposed to be some kind of genius? How’d she end up with that?”
A girl next to Nancy frowned, looking shocked. Nancy, I think you’re looking at the wrong line.” She swallowed, then spoke slowly and clearly “Charlotte’s score is the one underneath. She got 720content
“Wait, what?” The words just hung there. No one could believe it.
In all their years at school, hardly anyone had ever seen a score that
high, especially on a test. a test everyone
knew was insanel
yhard Even
breaking 650 was a huge deal this
time.
As more students spotted Charlotte’s score, the crowd exploded with chatter. It was
all anyone could talk about. She did all that with an injured hand?
“If Charlotte really got 720, that’s six points higher than Olivia,” someone whispered.
“So that makes Charlotte the top student at Vanguard High. Actually, does that
mean she’s number one in the whole country now?”
“And the craziest part? She spaced out during the English exam. The proctor said she finished the answers in like fifteen minutes.”
“Geniuses are just built different…
one girl sighed, slumping. “This is the king of score you only see in
dreams. I’m just here to make up the
numbers.” It felt unreal, like
something out of a story.
“I need to go tell Charlotte!” Shirley finally came back to her senses, snapped a
photo of the score, and ran for the classroom, clutching her phone.
Andrew and Parrish just looked at each other, still stunned, before trailing after her in a daze.