Fading Away ✅

Chapter Twenty

"Mr. Ames, keep up the good work", Mr. Holland says with a full-blown smile. He hands the paper to Blaze and addresses me

"Miss Magnus, you can do better. You should emulate Mr. Ames, he joined us from Calculus and he is already exhibiting excellence"
He hands me my test paper and moves to the next table

What just happened

Mr. Holland just smiled, he smiled

To Blaze

I have never seen that man crack a smile. He is either scowling or has a bored expression.
And from the rumors I heard, Mr. Holland's wife had left him and his daughter for his brother. I don't know if the rumors are true but I do know that ever since I was placed in his class, I had never seen a smile on his face earning him the name "Mr. Grumps".A name I call him.

" Someone is jealous", Blaze says, a smirk on his face.

"You wish", I snort

" Jealousy and denial are not nice traits on you Belle"

"I am not jealous, just surprised"

"I don't blame you, have you seen this face? He points towards his face
I am naturally charming"

"I didn't think anything could ever make Mr. Holland smile, what is your score?"
He raises an eyebrow at me

"Do you really want to compare answers"

"After the man told me to emulate you, I'm pretty sure there's nothing to compare"

He hands me his paper. A large bold A+ sits at the top left side of his paper. I flip through the sheets and there is no sign of red ink to show corrections like Mr. Holland does

A solid hundred percent

"Damn!, even when I got my first A+, Mr. Holland had made corrections on my test paper. Minor, but they were still corrections. How are you so freaking good?"

"If I tell you, I have to kill you afterward"

I give him a blank look

"I honestly don't know, Calculus comes to me easily. It's straight to the point"

"But this is AP"

He shrugs

"I don't believe you"

"Yeah, because you're jealous"

The bell rings cutting me off from what I'm about to say and Mr. Holland speaks up

"Put your hand down Anderson. I know the bell just rang. I am not deaf."

" Anyways, I believe in the idea of giving appreciation where it is due and Mr.Ames has been performing exceptionally well. During the past month, I have conducted a lot of tests for you to take, the former more difficult than the previous"

"And with every test, Mr. Ames comes first. I want you all to emulate him. It helps to know that my effort in teaching doesn't go to waste because it shows in every test he takes.
Bear in mind that we have another test to take in the course of this week, make sure to study before coming to class"

The whole class groans

"No matter the number of complaints you give, the test will take place. You are dismissed"

What the hell!

Within the last months, my marks have been ranging in Bs and I am proud of myself.
I scored a B+ on this paper.
I am not jealous of him but to be honest, it does sting a bit because I was the one being praised a while ago but now I realize someone is bound to take over, and to Blaze, the person I least expect