NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 53: The Unexpected New Seatmate
Evening arrived, signaling the start of the first evening self-study session. The supervising teacher for Class 1-3 tonight was their math instructor, Mr. William El Pantomina.
The assignment for the evening was to correct their mistakes and categorize them into their "Error Collection." This collection was an essential study tool for future exams, ensuring they wouldn't repeat similar mistakes.
For Xanthia, this task was a breeze. With her minimal mistakes, she could complete the corrections in just ten minutes. The remaining time was hers to enjoy as she pleased. This kind of high school life was exactly what she envisioned: academic excellence granting her the freedom to indulge in her hobbies.
Xanthia's love for school stemmed from a mindset that might earn her a punch from others if known: while her classmates were exhausted from studying, she could freely play, sleep, read, or even sneakily use her phone. As long as she wasn't caught, there was no real issue. Even if she did get caught, her stellar grades acted as a safety net.
This leisurely "heavenly life" was a stark contrast to her previous life as an overworked office worker, making her savor every slow, joyous day in high school.
However, her sudden rise to the top of the class had drawn significant attention from the teachers. A promising student like her couldn't be left to grow wild.
About ten minutes into the self-study session, Mr. William walked over to Xanthia's desk and said, "Xanthia, come with me for a moment. I need to talk to you."
Dematero, her deskmate, moved aside skillfully, and Xanthia followed Mr. William out to the corridor. This was the consequence of scoring first in math: personal attention from the teachers. Previously, she would never have been singled out for a private conversation.
Mr. William praised her performance in math class again before getting straight to the point. "Xanthia, I believe you have a natural talent for mathematics. It would be a shame not to participate in math competitions. Many prestigious universities both inside and outside the country value competition results. Even if you don't win first prize, simply earning an award can grant you eligibility for independent admission exams. This could mean being accepted into your dream university before the college entrance exams, turning the exams into a mere formality..."
Mr. William's persuasive argument was compelling, and most students would have been swayed. He wasn't wrong; even a small achievement in competitions could give a significant advantage over regular college entrance exam takers. Excelling in competitions, potentially being selected for winter camp or the national team, and representing the country in the International Math Olympiad could even lead to guaranteed admission to top universities across the world, albeit with limited choice of major. But once in, students could often change majors, giving top performers plenty of options.
However, Xanthia wasn't an ordinary student. She had no interest in the benefits of participating in competitions. Training for competitions would only eat into her happiness. Without hesitation, she declined Mr. William's earnest invitation.
Mr. William maintained his elegant smile outwardly but was anxious inside. Letting such a gifted student slip by was unthinkable. He decided it was time to involve the homeroom teacher, Mr. Emmanuel, to help convince her. "Mr. Emmanuel, you wouldn't want our class to miss out on a potential provincial champion, would you? This is all part of our performance metrics!"
Following this, the physics and chemistry teachers also targeted Xanthia. They believed she had immense potential in the sciences and that competition training, even if not for awards, would broaden her horizons and help conquer tough exam problems.
If won, she could get many merits based on the awards she get but...
Xanthia suddenly felt the title of "class top scorer" wasn't so appealing anymore. Previously, with no expectations, she could enjoy her freedom. Now, everyone seemed to want to mold her into the star student of Class 1-3 the way they expected of her.
All she wanted was to enjoy a relaxed and joyful high school life...
It wasn't until Mr. Emmanuel personally intervened, after several persuasive attempts and signing a few "unfair treaties," that Xanthia reluctantly agreed to join the math competition training class.
This exaggerated scenario involved Mr. Emmanuel promising that as long as she attended the competition class and maintained her current grades, staying within the top 20 in each major exam, she would have absolute freedom and privileges in the class.
Mr. Emmanuel had keenly observed Xanthia. Even if he had previously ignored her, he knew she had her own "study methods," possibly receiving private tutoring. Thus, there was no need to pressure her too much at school, which could backfire. He understood the importance of teaching according to students' aptitudes and believed that her unique methods might work wonders in competitions as well.
Not to mention her family background.
When it came to the regular difficulty of the university entrance exam if not college entrance exams, one could improve through hard work, drilling with practice questions, adopting the rigorous methods of zero-free-time-style education, and so on. However, competitions were a different beast altogether; they emphasized natural talent. You either had it or you didn't. Some students, faced with the four major problems during competition trials, could sit for hours and produce only a single "solution."
For Xanthia, the true reason she chose to give face to her homeroom teacher was another task chain she encountered in her system taskbar, related to "mathematics competitions." This could accelerate the upgrade speed of her "Study Expert" attribute... Ah, yes, there indeed was a compelling reason now—she was quite eager to achieve the highest level "Perfect Study Deity" (Golden) attribute.
On the other hand, attributes like "Study Expert," which were perfectly suited for specific tasks, seemed somewhat wasted if only used for the "entrance exam." Even without it, she could dominate her class with her intellect attribute. Hence, she might as well try her hand at the competition's trial version.
However, accumulating happiness points was equally important, so participating in a mathematics competition would suffice.
In the realm of mathematics, it held the most weight. Every year, the International Mathematical Olympiad received significant attention.
As for physics and chemistry competitions, they also involved practical experiments. Xanthia found this troublesome to contemplate. No wonder in this world, pure mathematicians stood at the apex of the disdain chain; physicists and chemists were considered fools in their eyes.
After persuading Xanthia to join the mathematics competition class, Emmanuel was in exceptionally high spirits.
Although his mood was upbeat, when he entered the classroom that day, his expression remained grim. During his morning class, he tapped the podium with a set square and announced, "Students, pause your reading. I'm going to rearrange the seating now."
Afterward, Emmanuel proficiently brought out a newly printed seating chart and used a projector to display it on the screen. Students hurriedly moved according to the seating chart projected on the curtain.
This seating rearrangement was quite significant.
As for Dematero, he completely lost the chance to sit beside Xanthia.
However, Emmanuel didn't give up on this "star student." He arranged Dematero's new seat next to the class monitor, Ryan, who excelled in science and was reticent.
As for Xanthia's new seatmate, the students were shocked when they saw the new seating chart—
"What? Xanthia's new seatmate is actually Elena La Loannou!"
"Darn it, the terrorist really wants to consume two innocent and beautiful girls, damn!"
"Xanthia excels in science and math, while Elena is stronger in english and humanities but weaker in sciences. Teacher Emmanuel really understands complementary strengths and weaknesses..."
"Incredible, Xanthia's front seat is still Luciel, and the seat diagonally in front is the literary committee member Lhoraine La Bustamante. The four beauties of our class are all arranged in the northeast corner of group four, watching over the water dispenser. Emmanuel really knows how to spice things up!"
"You know, it's great near the water dispenser. You get to admire the beauties when fetching water, hehehe."
"Glen's seat is so cool, still behind Elena, with Xanthia diagonally in front, and Xenia La Sagrada as his seatmate..."
"He deserves it. He's engrossed in philosophy, clear-headed about the world, and his grades are so stable; he won't be swayed by beauty!"
"Poor Dematero, he's in a tough spot now, surrounded by the guys. Haha, let this be karma for him occupying Xanthia earlier!"
"Oh damn, suddenly I'm so motivated for the next midterm exam. I really want to be surrounded by beautiful girls!"
