Chapter 194
As soon as class started, Ethan walked in with a stack of answer sheets and announced, "The grades are out. Mr. Baker wants to hold a parent–teacher meeting this Friday afternoon. Make sure to let your parents know."
"A parent–teacher meeting? But we’re seniors. Is that necessary?" Zinnia was caught off guard.
She thought anxiously, 'My lousy grades will be discovered then.'
Zinnia knew exactly how poorly she had done in the exams. Without even glancing at the answer sheets that Ethan was holding, she could guess her scores.
Ethan replied, "Yeah. That’s why they’re holding the meeting. Mr. Baker needs to talk with our parents about our future plans."
Participating in the SAT exam wasn’t the only path for students at Evershine High School to enter college. Many planned to study abroad, while others used family connections or generous donations to get into universities.
Of course, the majority of students there got into top universities through genuine academic merit, so the school held a parent–teacher meeting in the first month of the last academic year in high school.
As the answer sheets were handed out, Zinnia stared at the glaring “D” on her physics paper. She had expected it. She crumpled it up and stuffed it into her desk.
Next, she checked her chemistry grade and found it was also a “D“. She crumpled the paper hastily and stuffed it into her desk, too.
The biology grade was slightly better. She got a “C“, as she did in terms of the geography grade. Zinnia crumpled the two answer sheets up together and stuffed them into her pocket.
Social studies and history were mostly about memorization. She passed both, scoring a “C” on each. Zinnia folded the answer sheets up carelessly and slipped them between the pages of her textbook.
Zinnia glanced at her math score and found it was also a “C“. She immediately covered it with her textbook. She told herself in her heart, ‘It doesn’t exist if I don’t see it.’
The only remotely presentable scores were in reading, writing, and language. The subjects scored an “A“.
Zinnia stashed away all her answer sheets.
She peeked at the answer sheets of Lydia, who was stuffing them into her desk. By the time Zinnia turned to look, only the newly distributed one remained in Lydia’s hands. Without glancing at it, Lydia was about to slip it in with the rest.
Zinnia glanced over and found it was Lydia’s math paper, where there was an “A+” on it.
Zinnia’s eyes widened in disbelief. She quickly stopped Lydia and leaned in for a closer look. Zinnia asked, "Lydia, you got full marks? How do you make yourself so smart just like that?"
"Well, thanks for your praise. I just did what I could do." Lydia worried Zinnia might fall and regretted that she had hidden the papers so slowly.
Zinnia pouted and teased, "Lydia, don’t be so humble."
She thought, ‘I also tried my best. Compared to her, I’m like an idiot.’
Maisie gave Zinnia a comforting pat on the back and said, "Zinnia, Lydia’s grades are unmatched by anyone. Let’s not compare ourselves to her, okay?"
Lydia was specially invited to study at that school. Her grades were practically untouchable by ordinary students. She consistently ranked in the top two. Only Isaac would compete with her for first place.
"I feel like half my brain has been eaten by zombies." Zinnia rubbed her cheek against the desk in frustration.
Zinnia pressed her cheek against Lydia’s answer sheet, hoping to absorb some of Lydia’s wisdom. She was really envious of Lydia’s high scores.
"The desk is cold," Lydia said and gently slipped her hand under Zinnia’s cheek to cushion it.
Ethan chuckled at Zinnia’s remark. He asked, "Zinnia, where are you planning to study abroad?"
Ethan had hardly seen such poor grades. Except for those with family connections or generous donations, most students there at least got decent grades, though they were still far behind the top students from across the country who worked very hard to get in.
Zinnia was truly one of a kind there. She got such poor grades even after Lydia had tutored her in every subject. Without Lydia’s help, it would have been an absolute disaster.
Given Zinnia’s poor academic performance, studying abroad was probably her best option. With her family background, getting into a foreign university would be a breeze.
After a moment of hesitation, Zinnia said, "I guess I’ll choose Mealinia."
Zinnia remembered how, back in the small town, her poor grades got her called to the office, where the teacher scolded her as a hopeless case.
Back then, her master went to bring her home and reassured her by saying, "Don’t take your teacher’s words to heart, and don’t worry about your future. As long as I’m here, all you need to do is be happy."
After they got home, her master suddenly asked, "Zinnia, would you like to go to Mealinia in the future?"
Now that her master had left, Zinnia had no idea what her future held.
With such terrible grades, there was no way she could get into a good university in Mealinia on her own. She guessed she could just buy her way in.
Zinnia asked, "Do you guys know which university in Mealinia I can get into just by throwing money at them? And roughly how much would that cost?"
Zinnia didn’t know much about universities abroad. She thought she had better start preparing early. She needed to know how much it would cost and how much medicine she would have to sell to save up that much.
Maisie said, "Zinnia, you want to go to Mealinia? I’ll tell Mom as soon as I get home. Let’s go there together."
Maisie wasn’t exactly a top student, so she was likely to study abroad in the future. When she heard Zinnia planned to go to Mealinia, Maisie thought that sounded like a good option too.
"Mealinia?" Lydia took mental note of Zinnia’s words. She thought, ‘Maybe I could try for guaranteed admission.”
"With you all going abroad, I’ll be the only one left in our country. My brother won’t let me study overseas," Ethan grumbled.
Maisie said, "Brian is definitely staying at home to help his brother, because his brother is his only family member."
Ethan said, "With Lydia’s grades, she can pick any top university in our country. She even received guaranteed admission to Cindaford University last year. She doesn’t need to study abroad. Will we end up going our separate ways?"
Maisie replied, "Come on. What are you so worried about? It’s still early days. Even if we do leave, it won’t be until the second semester, and we’re not gonna lose touch."
If the students got their families‘ approval to study abroad, they would likely leave in the second semester of the last academic year. For example, Betty was currently absent from school because the Shaw family was probably planning to send her abroad later.
The students attended school now for two reasons: to build connections with their peers from other prominent families and to keep up with the curriculum.
Whether they could master all the knowledge was another story, but they still needed to understand the fundamentals. After all, even if they studied abroad in the future, they would need some basic competencies to get by.
"I can’t bear us splitting up someday," Ethan grumbled with a long face.
Maisie just said nonchalantly, "Even if we go our separate ways, we can fly back to meet you when we are free."
"You’re right. With how easy travel is these days, we can fly to visit you when we’re free. Besides, it’s still early. We’re not parting ways anytime soon." Ethan felt it made sense.
As she was walking Zinnia home after school, Maisie said, "Zinnia, I’ll tell Mom when we get home and make sure she comes to our parent–teacher meeting."
"Maisie, do you think Mom will be mad at me?" Zinnia asked hesitantly.
"About what?" Maisie was puzzled.
"My scores," Zinnia said in a low voice and bit her lower lip.
Zinnia ranked last in her class, while Maisie at least made it into the top fifteen.
Zinnia didn’t care about it, but she worried that Yvette would be upset. After all, when Maelis checked her previous grades back then, Maelis looked at her with obvious disapproval.
Zinnia did try to study hard, but knowledge just wouldn’t stick in her mind. It went in and slipped right out immediately.
Maisie said, "Zinnia, don’t worry about it. Our family doesn’t care about this. Happiness comes first for us."
She added, "Zinnia, don’t sweat it. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Nobody is perfect.
"Look at your medical skills. None of us can do that. Besides, you play the zither very well. Zinnia, you have so many talents. You’re truly amazing."
Maisie noticed Zinnia’s nervousness. She gently ruffled Zinnia’s hair and gave her a bright, reassuring smile.
"Thanks," Zinnia said. Maisie’s words did comfort her.
People often got anxious when happiness was within reach. They were afraid of not being good enough, scared of upsetting their loved ones, and terrified of letting them down.
Zinnia genuinely loved Yvette and other family members, so she cared deeply about how they saw her and feared they would be disappointed about her poor grades.