Inspirational Campus Short Stories & Face Slapping Novels

All because of Leo Cullen’s words, I gave up a place at a top-tier university in Ceres and stayed behind to retake the entrance exams with him—three times. By the fourth year, a girl arrived at our cram school, and Leo forgot the promise we made. He started skipping class, picking fights, smoking—doing everything but studying. One day, I stood at the school gate, blocking his path with a textbook in hand as he tried to ditch class. He smirked, unimpressed, and blew a bubble with his gum, letting it stick to the ends of my hair. “Naomi…,” he began, “who still cares about studying these days?” So I stopped caring and avoided him entirely. When he fooled around in the classroom, I went to the library. When he played basketball, I sat in a quiet corner with my books. Even when I craved noodles from my favorite shop, I’d scan the room first to make sure he wasn’t there. “Are you avoiding me, Naomi?” he asked later, his face in a frown. I shook my head. “Why would you think that?”

One month before the college entrance exam, I ask my childhood friend, Nicholas Lund, about a test question I don't know how to answer. He doesn't even let me into the house. Instead, he casually sends me a link to a cheap online tutor. "I hired you an online tutor. It's only 20 bucks for the next 30 days." I am stunned for several beats, but a moment later, he sends me another message. "Marissa, do you know that everyone is saying you're like a piece of gum attached to my shoe? Stop bothering me with all these stupid questions. How are you going to bear the responsibility for disturbing my and Hails' revision time?" When I lift my head, I happen to spot the school belle, Hailey Lane, sitting at his desk. His jacket is draped over her shoulders as she munches on some apple slices he prepared for her. Instead of kicking up a fuss, I calmly tap on the link and add the tutor's contact number. "How do I solve this question?" The other party's response is immediate. "Do it systematically. First, take a look at the conditions. Don't rush it. I'll walk you through it step by step." Ten minutes later, I stare at the ridiculously detailed explanation filling my screen and fall into a thoughtful silence. How is it that a cheap online tutor was better at explaining how to solve a problem than our entire year's top student?

During my senior year of high school, my grades are completely erratic. I can ace three subjects while completely bombing the other three, leaving me dead last in my class. My homeroom teacher, Janet Bennett, throws me and my backpack out of the classroom. A classmate waves my report card around as the rest of the class laughs. "You're a total loser. You even failed your language test. Even a factory wouldn't hire you." The next day, my homeroom teacher throws out the student ranking second to last, Ethan Hoppe, as well. "One bad apple spoils the whole bunch. And somehow, our class has two of them. You think the college entrance exam is only going to test what you're good at? You two can rot together for all I care. Just don't drag everyone else down with you!" My eyes light up. I finally found someone who gets me. We compare our report cards and realize our combined strengths put us way ahead of the school's top students. Someone with uneven grades is a loser. But put us together? We're basically unbeatable. I throw an arm around my new deskmate. "Ethan, how about we aim for first place?"