Despite the fact that this was one of the country's leading preparatory schools, this place allowed students to enroll for purposes other than academics.
Seeing Amanda's irritated look, Miss Elena spoke again.
"Furthermore, you may be too hasty in proclaiming that no one would be happy to be incorrectly evaluated. Take Class A for instance. They are under incredible pressure from the school and also the target of extreme envy from the lower classes. Competing every day with that kind of pressure bearing down upon you is far more difficult than you might imagine. There are some students to be incorrectly evaluated at a lower level."
"You are joking, right? I can't understand such a person."
"Is that so? I think Class D also has some of those people. Strange students who would be happily be set at a low level."
It was almost as if she was talking about me.
"You still have not given me a proper explanation. Was I honestly sorted into Class D? Something had to be wrong in the grading process. Please reconsider."
"I am really sorry Amanda, but you were not sorted by mistake. You are definitely in Class D. You are at that level."
"Is that so? Then I will ask the school again, at another time."
Apparently, she was not going to give up. Amanda had merely determined that her homeroom teacher was the wrong person to ask.
"You will get the same answer from anyone in a higher position. Besides, there is no need to be disappointed. As I said earlier, it's possible for one class to overtake another. If you try, you could reach Class A before you graduate."
"I can't imagine it will be easy, though. Forget about overtaking Class A; how in the world could those immature Class D misfits gain more points? I can't see how it's possible." Amanda really stated the facts. The difference in points was overwhelming.
"I don't about that. You alone get to decide how you head down the path. At any rate, Amanda, What's the real reason that you are so eager to go to Class A."
"Well…I suppose that's enough for now. Excuse me. But you should know that I am not yet convinced, that I was sorted out correctly."
"Very well. I will keep that in mind."
A chair squeaked against the floor, signaling that the discussion was over.
Finally, their heated debate was over & after finishing my talk with Miss Elena, I could go back to my room & sleep for the rest of day.
But that thought didn't last long, as I heard Miss Elena's voice again.
"Oh, that reminds me. I have another acquaintance of you in the guidance room."
"Acquaintance of mine? No, you can't mean…bro---"
"Come out, Philip," the teacher said.
Really. This was a very bad time to reveal myself. Maybe I just would not go.
"If you don't come out, I will have you expelled in mid-terms."
Jeez. A teacher should not casually wield expulsion as a weapon.
"How long do you intend to keep me waiting?"
With a sigh, I entered the room.
Naturally, Amanda appeared surprised and perplexed.
"Were you listening to our conversation?" she asked.
"Listening? I know you guys were talking, but I did not really hear anything. The walls are surprisingly thick you know."
"Oh, really? As per my knowledge, voices carry pretty well into the kitchen." Now Miss Elena was dragging me into the mess.
"Mam, why would you do this?" Amanda realized that this was all planned from the beginning and was clearly angry.
"Because I deemed it necessary. Now then, Philip, I will explain why I called you here." She completely dismissed Amanda's concerns & shifted her attention to me.
"Well then, if you will excuse me, I should probably get going," Amanda muttered.
"You know Amanda, if I were you, I would have probably stayed." Miss Elena said.
"Why?" Amanda asked without any hesitation in her voice.
"Come on, don't you wanna know, why both of you were called to the same place at the same time? And who knows, if you stay and listen, you may find something that can help you reach Class A."
"But I won't stop you, though. It's your choice after all." Miss Elena said in a little sarcastic tone.
Hearing this Amanda stopped dead in her tracks & sat back down.
"Well, then. Please explain, what the hell is going on here?" Amanda said.
From her voice and look, I could tell she was definitely pissed off about this whole thing. I didn't blame her though. I mean, if somehow, I ended up in the same situation as her, I probably would do the same.
Miss Elena chuckled as she glanced over her clipboard.
"You know Philip; you really are an interesting student."
"Not at all. I am certainly not as interesting as a teacher who planned this whole fiasco."
"Really?" Miss Elena smiled and spoke again.
"Well, when I read over the entrance exams results, your score piqued my interest. I was shocked."
On her clipboard, I saw a familiar answer sheet.
"Fifty points in English. Fifty points in Mathematics. Fifty points in social studies. Fifty points in Science. You scored exactly fifty points in all subjects. Do you know what that means?"
A stunned Amanda looked over my test paper and shifted her attention to me. "This a rather frightening coincidence." She said.
"Oh? Do you really believe that getting 50s all across the board was a coincidence? He did it intentionally as if mocking the school entrance exam."
"As Amanda said, it's just a coincidence. And there is no evidence that it's not. Besides, what would I gain by manipulating my scores in the first place? If I were intelligent enough to achieve high marks, I would have tried to get a perfect score."
As I feigned ignorance, Miss Elena sighed in exasperation.
"You really are an odious student, aren't you? Listen. Only 2 percent of students solved the seventh math problem successfully. However, you solved it perfectly with the best possible formula out there, which is literally too complex for these students to comprehend. However, the ninth problem on the test had a completion rate of over 85 percent. Did you make a mistake on that? Or is that normal?"
"I don't know about anything that you just said, I just did, what I knew. And like I said, it was just a coincidence. Why don't we leave it at that?"
"For crying out loud! I respect your frank attitude, but it will cause more problems in the future." The teacher said.
"I will think about that when the time demands."
Miss Elena shot Amanda a glance that seems to say, 'What do you think?'
"Why do you pretend not to know?" she asked.
"As I said, it was just a coincidence. It's not like I am hiding that I am some sort of genius or anything."
"I wonder. He may be even more intelligent than you, Amanda."
Amanda flinched. 'Please don't say anything unnecessary.'
"I don't like studying, and I never planned to play hard. That's why I get those scores."
"A student who chose this school would never say something like that. However, some students may have different reasons for getting in. You, for example; I think you are fine with being in either Class D, A, or in general in any class."
This school was not the only abnormal thing, I had seen so far. The teachers were also weird. Moments earlier, Miss Elena had upset Amanda with just her words. It was almost as if the teacher knew everything about the student.
"What other reasons do you have?" Amanda asked me.
"You want me to explain it to you in detail?"
I noticed the sharp gleam in Miss Elena's eyes. It was almost as if she wanted to provoke Amanda.
"No, it would be best for everyone, if we stop here. Any more discussion is futile because you all know that this whole thing was just a coincidence."
"Well, I suppose our conversation is over. Enjoy your lives then."
Wow, what an incredible way to end the conversation.
"It's almost time for the faculty meeting, so I'm leaving too. I am going to close the door, so please get out."
She pushed both of us into the hallway. Why had she called us in together? She did not seem like someone, who would do meaningless things. What was she trying to do?
"Well, we should head back then," I said.
Amanda didn't respond, and I walked away. Probably best if we were not together right now.
"Wait," Amanda called out, but I didn't stop or you could say, I did not want to stop. I was not in the mood to discuss the same thing even further. I knew what she was going to say and I was getting really mad.
"Was your score…really just a coincidence?" she asked.
"What do you think…?"