The students were puzzled for a simple reason: during the previous English morning dictation sessions, Xanthia was seldom called upon to go to the blackboard and write.
Indeed, for some students, being called to the blackboard for dictation was akin to a public execution!
Mathilda, the teacher, typically chose students who were neither top performers nor completely hopeless, often those who had a lackadaisical attitude towards memorizing vocabulary. High achievers and those considered beyond help were rarely called upon.
Previously, Xanthia might have been categorized as a lost cause. However, after her stellar performance in the recent monthly exam, the teachers could no longer overlook her.
Here was a student with potential who just hadn't been applying herself—a source of frustration. If she were truly hopeless, there would be no disappointment. This was why Mathilda, unintentionally influenced by Xanthia's efforts, felt compelled to call her out.
After Xanthia, Mathilda called out "Troy," "Yannis," and "Dematero," all of whom had shown noticeable declines in their recent exams.
The selection of these four students seemed coincidental, yet it stirred up the imaginations of some students:
"Wow, does Ms. Mathilda secretly lurk in our gossip group? How did she accurately pick out Xanthia, Yannis, and Dematero, the center of recent rumors?"
"Gossip lovers, unite! I can't wait to see what drama unfolds on the podium."
"If only Troy were replaced by Elena, Ms. Mathilda would be the ultimate gossip queen among teachers!"
"Troy is no stranger to gossip either. To avoid being tattled on by Lilim, he once pointed out that Yannis was late to evening self-study. Yannis definitely knows about this by now."
"Among these four, Xanthia is the only reliable one. Her English was the best in the class in the last monthly exam. She should handle this dictation without any issues."
Before being called, Dematero had a grin on his face. Even as Mathilda called Xanthia’s name, he looked up eagerly, embodying the classic “I look up when the teacher calls your name” or “daydreaming in class because I have a crush.”
Of course, Dematero wasn’t smiling because he had a crush. He was still lost in his delusion of being a “reborn” protagonist, unique and invincible.
The protagonist of the universe!
Even when Mathilda called his name, Dematero remained unperturbed. His mentality had entirely shifted from his past infatuation with Elena.
Could this be his first major move since his "rebirth"? No, Elena La Loannou was no longer his focus, so it didn’t matter.
Previously, he would stay up late writing, hoping his love poems would move Elena. Now, with that fantasy gone and a resolve to improve his grades, he adhered to a strict sleep schedule, ensuring he was always alert and ready for morning classes.
He was now fully dedicated to making incremental changes to improve his life.
Dematero had always been smart; his initial placement exam ranked him seventh in the class. Now that he had “seen the light” and was channeling his efforts correctly, his academic performance was back on track.
He meticulously completed Mathilda’s task in fifteen minutes and reviewed it multiple times to ensure accuracy. This level of dedication was something his pre-“rebirth” self couldn’t have imagined.
When called upon, Dematero confidently walked to the blackboard, grateful for the chance to showcase his progress. He even fantasized about Xanthia getting stuck during dictation and him heroically helping her out.
Such situations, where a student suddenly blanks out on a familiar word, are common during dictation. Mathilda’s method involved calling out the words directly for single-word dictation and the Latin meanings for phrases, which students had to write out in English.
Compared to Dematero’s confidence, Yannis and Troy appeared dispirited, lamenting their bad luck. They now had to rely solely on themselves without the chance to glance at their peers' answers on the blackboard.
Among the four, Xanthia’s demeanor remained unchanged. She had diligently completed the assigned tasks, though her speed had led the English teacher to misunderstand her capabilities. This misunderstanding was beneficial for Xanthia, as even small victories contributed to her growing confidence.
Her desk mate, Elena La Loannou, was nervous for her. Elena doubted Xanthia’s dictation skills despite her recent top score in English. She worried that Xanthia might not live up to expectations of others
Elena, the English class representative for Grade 1, Class 3, feared Xanthia’s declining interest in studying might reflect poorly on her. As evident from recent Dematero's poor academic performance.
Despite her concerns, Elena kept her thoughts to herself, not one to meddle in others’ affairs. She silently prayed that Xanthia wouldn’t let herself down.
Xanthia stepped up to the blackboard, taking her position on the far left, as was customary for students from the fourth group.
Dematero, supposed to be on the far right, deliberately positioned himself next to Xanthia to “protect” her during the dictation, even rudely pushing Yannis aside and warning her not to copy his work.
Dematero’s transformation had turned him into a more assertive, albeit abrasive, individual, except towards Xanthia. To the other girls, he had become an unapproachable "brute" and "delusional"—no longer a clown but a force to be reckoned with.
Yannis had discovered yesterday that her mocking of Dematero behind his back had been exposed in the class chat group. This revelation left her feeling vulnerable, while Elena's image remained untarnished, hers was completely shattered.
Adding to her distress was the aftermath of Sequanni's prank, which left her bed reeking of an unpleasant odor. The psychological toll was immense. In response to Dematero's scornful remark about copying his work, she simply lowered her head in frustration and shifted further to the right side of the blackboard.
Troy, too, remained silent and withdrew to the far right. He felt guilty about betraying Yannis for his own benefit, knowing such behavior often led to social ostracism among students.
Thus, a comical scene unfolded at the podium. An invisible yet palpable barrier separated Dematero and Yannis, a stark demarcation of their territories. Meanwhile, Dematero sidled closer to Xanthia, basking in the anticipation of a potential "heroic rescue."
His overt maneuvering didn’t go unnoticed by the boys in the class, who silently cursed him. It was clear to them that Dematero had shifted his affections from Elena to Xanthia. After all, who wouldn’t prefer Xanthia, whose outward kindness matched her inner integrity?
Even Elena noticed Dematero's shameless behavior, feeling like a once-loyal dog had been easily lured away with a simple bone. This wasn’t Xanthia's fault; Elena actually admired her for her sincerity and consistency. A friend like Xanthia, who never backstabbed, was rare and precious.
Elena sighed inwardly and shook her head then shifted her focus on the answers on the blackboard.
As for Dematero, apart from his decent essays and mediocre poems, what else did he have to offer? Letting go of such a person was hardly a loss.
Finally, English teacher Mathilda started the dictation, focusing her attention on the four students at the blackboard. Her primary concern was Xanthia.
As time passed, Mathilda's expression softened. Xanthia was the quickest and most accurate of the four, with her handwriting neat and precise.
Mathilda realized she had misjudged Xanthia. No wonder the girl had aced the last English exam. Clearly, Xanthia had access to significant resources and perhaps private tutoring. This revelation meant Mathilda could relax, having discovered a “king” level student in English.
Dematero’s performance also pleased Mathilda. Despite his recent setback in the monthly exam, it seemed to have spurred him in a positive direction. As for Yannis and Troy, their performance was expectedly poor; neither had paid much attention during the earlier reading session, with Yannis appearing particularly distracted.
When Mathilda called out an obscure word, Xanthia smoothly wrote it down, while Dematero found himself stuck. He scratched his head, staring intensely at the chalk in his hand, but his mind went blank.
How could he play the hero now? he raged inwardly. Glancing at Xanthia to see if she needed his “protection,” he was struck by her serene and graceful demeanor as she wrote, her profile exuding quiet elegance.
Noticing Dematero’s distraction, Xanthia finished writing and lowered her arm, unobstructively leaving her work visible. Dematero could have easily copied her answers, but instead, he found himself daydreaming.
She’s helping me again... He felt a pang of guilt and an inexplicable urge to cry.
“Dematero, focus on your own work and stop these distractions. This dictation is to help you identify the words you haven’t mastered yet. Understand?” Mathilda’s rebuke was meant for both Dematero and the other students who might be tempted to cheat.
Mathilda regretted calling Xanthia up for dictation. Her flawless performance set an unfair standard, potentially enabling the cheaters in the class. She resolved never to call on Xanthia again and to overlook any minor infractions as long as her English grades remained top-notch.
Elena was pleasantly surprised for a while rereading sentencies. Her worries had been unfounded. Xanthia was not just a high achiever but also someone who thrived under pressure.
Mathilda used the students' work on the blackboard as a reference for the rest of the class to exchange and correct their dictation notebooks. This task was simplified by Xanthia’s impeccable answers, a stark contrast to the usual corrections Mathilda had to make due to the mediocrity of other students' work.
"I hope everyone can learn from Xanthia," Mathilda praised. "Look at how thoroughly she has mastered the material and how serious her attitude is. Her top score in the last English exam wasn’t by chance. Her success comes from consistent effort. Some people might appear relaxed on the surface, but they work harder than anyone else in private."
Along with praising Xanthia and setting her as an example, Mathilda also encouraged Dematero. Aside from missing the meaning of one word, his dictation was correct.
Yannis and Troy, however, became the classic counterexamples. Yannis, in particular, failed to even reach 60 points and faced the prospect of redoing the dictation.
Troy managed 65 points and only needed to correct and repeatedly write out the missed words and phrases. Yannis’s poor performance could be attributed to the previous day’s gossip, Sequanni's prank, hidden backstabbers in the dorm, and her troubled relationship with Elena, all of which had utterly destabilized her mindset.
A tear dropped across her cheek as cold chalk tears away the warmth on her palm.
The world looked colorless and dull right before her.
The weight of her failures pressed down on her like an oppressive fog. The room buzzed with the murmurs of other students, but for Yannis, it felt like a void, an empty space filled only with the echoes of her own inexplicable pain.
She glanced sideways at Troy, who was diligently correcting his mistakes, his demeanor focused and determined. It only deepened the chasm of inadequacy she felt within herself.
‘Am I a failure?’ she wondered, the question echoing in her mind, growing louder with each passing second.
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