(Ally's POV)
The tests concluded well, and I was hoping that I'd do well. My parents had high expectations and I didn't want to let them down. I had a week off from school and I wanted to spend it with Chloe, so my parents invited her over for the week. Her parents did not object and I was very happy. I had gotten better at speaking after spending time with Chloe. I told her about my condition, and she opened up more after finding out that I had my issues too. We spent the week shopping, reading books, and watching movies. My mom would spend time with us when she was available, and she'd tell us stories about when she was our age. I enjoyed the week off and I learnt a lot more about my only friend.
At the end of the week, I decided to escort Chloe home. We stopped by a park and decided to play for a bit. While we were on the swing, we saw a group of girls bullying a younger girl. Chloe rushed over and she looked quite angry. I wondered how she was going to resolve the situation when she was a lot smaller than the bullies. But to my surprise, the bullies dispersed and let the girl go. I rushed over to Chloe who was talking to the girl that was bullied. "What did you say to them that they left her alone?" I just had to ask because I was confused. "I told them that I had sent a recording of them to the police and that if they didn't run away, they'd get arrested". I was surprised by her words. How exactly did she get such an idea? She never ceases to amaze me. We helped the girl treat her wounds and we asked for her name. "My name is Riley. Those girls were seniors from my school. They would continue to do this so don't bother yourself with this." She left after speaking. Chloe and I felt a bit offended because we weren't thanked for helping, but we let her go. I took Chloe home and said my farewell.
School had resumed again, and I got up from my bed anticipating my results. My parents encouraged me and told me that even if the results weren't good, I shouldn't beat myself up. I held onto these words and left for school. I got to school a bit late and saw everyone gathering around the notice board in front of my class. It was too crowded, so I walked into the class hoping to check when everyone had left the board. When I walked in, I saw Zack sitting alone like he usually does. I had noticed that he doesn't like being in crowded places. I wondered if he had gone through something that made him that way. His head was placed on his table, and it looked like he was asleep. "How could he be asleep when everyone is so tense because of the midterm results".
Soon after, the morning bell rang, and I lost the chance to check the board. Everyone came in talking amongst themselves and amid the crowd, I saw Chloe walking towards me. "YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU WERE SMART!!" She yelled. I was caught off guard. "Why? did something happen", I asked. Before she could reply, the homeroom teacher walked in.
"As you've seen already, you all did quite well in the midterm tests, but we had exceptional students this year. Two of your classmates were ranked in the top ten in the whole school and I'm sure you know who they are?" After the teacher said these words, the whole class became quite noisy. Everyone was surprised that someone from our class could actually be in the top ten in the whole school, evenI was amazed. The teacher hushed the class and everyone kept quiet, then she continued speaking, "The top three students in this class are Roy Coleman in 3rd place, Allison Green in 2nd place and Zack Williams in 1st place." Before the teacher could continue speaking, a student spoke "teacher, please we would like to know who this Zack is, we don't have anyone in this class that goes by that name" Afterwards everyone supported her claim and the class was in disarray, until Mike spoke. "He's the kid at the back that none of you talk to. How would any of you know his name when you don't even act like he exists?". Everyone kept quiet upon hearing his words. The teacher continued speaking and talked about the students who were ranked top ten in the school. My name popped up in 7th place and I was a bit overjoyed but what I was waiting to hear was where Zack's place was. When I heard that he was in first place, I was amazed. How could he be that smart? Someone who sleeps through most of his classes was able to get first place in the school. How's that possible? The whole class was in uproar and everyone was confused as to how he was in first place. People continued to talk about it till the day ended. One thing that surprised me was how Zack paid no attention to any of it. He wasn't even surprised that he was in top place. "Was he expecting it? Or did he already know about it beforehand?" I wondered.
When the closing bell rang, a lot of girls swarmed towards Zack and started asking him random questions. I also wanted to speak to him like they did but I didn't know what I was supposed to say to him. I looked at his face to see what his reaction would be to this sudden reaction from the girls. Something was off with the look on his face. He looked very tense and extremely nervous. He looked like he hated the fact that people were around him. Honestly, I thought for a second that he looked scared. He just sat there without saying anything and the girls just kept asking him questions. I felt a bit angry on his behalf. He obviously didn't want them around. I don't know how, but I found myself in front of him and I yelled, "what is wrong with you people? Can't you see that you're making him uncomfortable? Stop asking these questions and just let him be." I was panting really hard after screaming these words and I felt my legs getting weak. I can't believe I just did that.