Chapter 66: Over 80 in Every Subject?
But as he continued grading, Mr. Hale discovered something wasn’t right. ’Is this really a test Chloe York would turn in?’ It was a massive improvement over her previous work.
Previously, Chloe York couldn’t even handle the simplest questions on the language arts exam, yet now he felt her essay deserved a perfect score.
Mr. Hale looked the test over and over. He even dug up Chloe York’s previously submitted papers to compare the handwriting and see if she had written the answers herself. After comparing them, he had to admit it was indeed her writing.
He wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Other teachers who had started grading the tests were having the exact same thought.
As they graded, they discovered that Chloe York’s answers were almost all correct. She had only missed a few of the more difficult questions she hadn’t yet mastered.
"Oh my God, Mr. Hale, Chloe York from your class scored over eighty on her history test!"
"Mr. Hale, Chloe York got an eighty in geography!"
One by one, teachers from various subjects came in to report the news. They were all utterly astonished. How could someone who scored a single point on the first mock exam make such a huge leap on the second one just a month later, getting over eighty in every subject!
"I’ve finished grading, too. Chloe York got an eighty-six in math. I knew that girl had it in her. I was right about her, after all." The math teacher came over to the group, holding the test, and placed it on the table. The other teachers picked it up to take a look.
Just then, the English teacher stood up as well. "Chloe York, eighty-three in English."
"How is that possible? How could Chloe York score above eighty in every single subject!" Mr. Hale was in total disbelief. ’No genius could improve that much in just one month, and Chloe York is no genius.’
"We can’t believe it either, but those are the scores we just graded."
"That’s right. Chloe York answered basically all of the questions. It’s just some of the harder ones she doesn’t know yet. If we taught her those, I’m afraid getting a ninety-five wouldn’t even be that difficult for her!"
All the teachers nodded in agreement. If this was real, it was truly a shocking event. They had to use this to motivate their other students.
Besides, if Chloe York ended up getting into King’s College or Sterling University, it would be a huge point of pride for them as teachers. After all, raising a student’s score from a one to an eighty in a single month was an incredible achievement.
Their school’s college acceptance rate would go up, and enrollment would skyrocket.
The PE teacher sighed. "I never would have guessed. Her grades are so good now... looks like she’s heading to college. My prized athletic prospect, lost to me in the end!"
With that, the PE teacher dejectedly left the office. He had already spent the last little while planning how he was going to train Chloe York.
He was hoping to turn her into a national athlete, which would be like fulfilling his own dream. But now she was going to be a college student, so there was no way she could make that dream come true for him.
"Um, I have to go, class is starting!"
"Oh, right, me too!"
"I haven’t finished grading my tests, I need to get back to them!"
The teachers filed out, but as soon as they reached the doorway, they began to huddle together, whispering amongst themselves.
The only ones to be pitied were the teachers who shared an office with Mr. Hale. Their work wasn’t done and they didn’t have a class to teach, so they had to suppress their urge to gossip and get back to work.
Mr. Hale still refused to believe Chloe York could have improved so much. He began examining the test papers again, determined to find out where things had gone wrong.
Seeing him like this, Ms. Chase shook her head. ’Young people these days... still so headstrong. With something like a bet, even if you’re completely certain, you should always leave yourself some wiggle room. Never be so absolute.’
Soon, the news spread among all the teachers in the school: Chloe York had scored over eighty in every subject, and her homeroom teacher, Mr. Hale, would really have to apologize in front of the entire student body.
At the same time, they all used the news to pump up their own students, telling them to believe in themselves. If they worked hard, they too could see massive improvement—maybe even more than Chloe York.
"Did you hear? Chloe York scored over eighty in every subject. That’s a full thirty points higher than the score they bet on!"
"Yeah, it’s incredible! It suddenly makes me feel like I could improve that much too. If I did, wouldn’t I be able to take my pick of any university I wanted?"
"Come on, she had that much room for improvement. You might not!"
「Principal’s Office」
"Mr. Hale, how do you intend to handle this situation?" Jordan Walton asked. As soon as he learned that Chloe York had scored over eighty in every subject, he knew he would have to deal with the bet between the teacher and the student.
Chloe York’s massive improvement had surprised him as well. In all his years as a principal, he had never seen a student this incredible.
"Principal, the idea of Chloe York scoring over eighty in every subject just seems too unrealistic," Mr. Hale said, voicing his thoughts.
"So, you’re suggesting she cheated, Mr. Hale."
"Principal, I’ve been in education for a long time. And you’ve been in it even longer. You should know that even with every teacher tutoring them, it’s impossible for a student to improve this quickly in just one month. Her progress has been... exponential. It’s not realistic, is it?"
"What you’re saying has merit, but every classroom has security cameras, not to mention proctors. Neither the cameras nor the teachers caught her cheating."
"I’ve reviewed the footage myself. She sat there quietly and answered the questions on her own the entire time. There was no cheating."
"What you should be thinking about is your apology in front of the entire school. After you do that, as a teacher, will you have any dignity left?"
At Jordan Walton’s words, Mr. Hale’s face went deathly pale. He hadn’t thought he would actually have to apologize. If he really did it... forget being famous at school; given Chloe York’s recent heroic act of saving someone, the entire internet would probably find out.
"Principal, then... what do you think we should do about this?" Left with no other options, Mr. Hale could only turn to the principal for help. He didn’t want to apologize to Chloe York in front of the entire school.
Jordan Walton thought for a moment. "Right now, your only hope is that Chloe York will agree to let you apologize to her in private."
"Will she agree?"
"That, I don’t know. You’d better be on your best behavior. If she doesn’t agree, your only option is to apologize in front of the entire school. And in that case, I imagine this school will no longer have a place for a ’great master’ like you."
Mr. Hale stumbled back a couple of steps. He never imagined his teaching career could end in such a dismal fashion.
’No, I can’t leave this school,’ he thought. ’It took me so much time and effort to get a position here in the first place.’
’And if the whole internet finds out what happened between me and Chloe York, no other school will ever hire me. What would I do then? I probably wouldn’t be able to find any other job...’