Bittersweet Candy Bowl

29. Midterm Time, original chapter posted 1/12/07

Page 1 of 5

Transcript

*Mike blissfully twirls around, surrounded by sparkles and hearts.*
Mike: ♪

*Paulo watches him with a disturbed frown.*
Paulo: What is he doing NOW?
*Abbey glares at Paulo.*
Abbey: He gets on your nerves no matter what, doesn’t he?

*Mike, grinning proudly, spins to face them both. He presents his report card.*
Mike: You’d be dancing too if you got HONOR ROLL!

Mike: I didn’t even come CLOSE last semester, so it’s a huge turnaround for me!
*Paulo stares at Mike, unimpressed.*
Paulo: Loser.
*Abbey warmly smiles.*
Abbey: Congratulations!

*David turns to Mike, shocked.*
David: You aced MATH?
*Mike sweats a little.*
Mike: No, that one was a B-minus..

*David frantically waves his hand at Mike.*
David: How are you two whole letters higher than me?! We have the same teacher!
*Mike glares in return.*
Mike: For one thing, I stay awake in class..

David: What a silly notion!
*Daisy looks at Tess, who is resting her head in one of her hands and pouting.*
Daisy: …

Daisy: You okay, Tessie?
*Tess looks over at Daisy.*
Tess: Yeah, I’m cool.

*Daisy points, worry suddenly in her eyes.*
Daisy: It’s not because of your poor grades, is it?
*Tess tenses up and blushes.*

*Tess gets up, furious, and leans close to Daisy’s face.*
Tess: WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT MY GRADES?!
*Daisy begins to sweat and raises her hands to block Tess.*
Daisy: I sit behind you in homeroom.. It’s kind of easy to notice..

*Lucy glances at Tess, blankly.*
Lucy: Is your report card really THAT bad?
*Tess looks back at Lucy, a little exasperated.*
Tess: I didn’t FAIL anything.. but you know..

*Lucy sips her drink.*
Lucy: Just slip the teacher a fifty, rich girl.
*Tess’ face falls.*

*Tess looks disgusted.*
Tess: That’s horrible!!
Lucy: Could work.
*Daisy watches on, with worried, puppy-dog eyes.*
Daisy: …

*Daisy sheepishly smiles.*
Daisy: At least you’ve got midterms coming up!
*Tess presses a finger to her temple and looks down.*
Tess: Oh, don’t remind me.. I’m dreading more exams..

*Daisy brightens up.*
Daisy: Let me be your tutor, then!
*Tess flinches.*
Tess: What?

*Daisy raises her finger excitedly.*
Daisy: If you do well in the midterms, it’ll really boost your final grade. I’ll help you ace ’em!

*Daisy beams at Tess. Tess looks a little taken aback.*
Tess: But.. you’re just a freshman..

*Daisy turns away and rests her chin on her hand.*
Daisy: No offense, but they DID put me in your math class.
*Tess looks disgruntled.*
Tess: Did your ego skip a grade, too?

Author commentary

Veronica: Even though I was beginning to really plan out the entire story around this time, there were still chapters made purely in response to reader feedback. One reader remarked that they thought Tess was too perfect — they got particularly annoyed by Tess tipping the Christmas carollers a ton of money in the previous chapter. Looks, money, a cute and sassy personality, Tess just seems to have it all. And it really annoyed this person! Understandably, honestly!

So I decided to make Tess not very impressive at school, and that idea snowballed into this chapter! Where Daisy, who Tess was initially getting pretty annoyed by, gets to help her!

It also reveals a little snarky side to Daisy, where she’s a little too blunt, but it’s for your own good, she swears!!!