There were only me and Xiao Ge in the last row. It seemed that he only did two things at school: skipping classes and sleeping. So, roughly speaking, there was only me in the back row.
I worked according to my own rhythm throughout the day: studying and doing exercises in the morning, taking a nap during the first class in the afternoon, and working on the content of my account during the next three classes. Occasionally, Xiao Ge would wake up and find that he had a new deskmate. But he didn't show any interest. In half a month, we didn't say a single word to each other.
Until the mid-term exam ended. I ranked 50th in the grade, improving by 500 places compared to my entrance ranking.
"Half of the semester has passed. You still remember the bet, right?" Mr. Ma stood at the door of the classroom, looking like a gas tank. Since I had slapped him twice in public, he surely wouldn't give up until he gave me a lesson.
The mid-term exam was only a month after the bet was made. I was so busy reviewing the knowledge of senior one and senior two that I didn't have time to revise other things.
"I remember. I'm going to record a video of you on my phone that day." I swaggered and chose a seat in the last row.
Mr. Ma had no way to vent his anger, so he scolded all the students whose grades had dropped. The last one to choose a seat was Xiao Ge. He was a head taller than Mr. Ma and had to bend down to take the test paper from the teacher's hand.
"You want the test paper? Do you have the nerve to ask for it?"
"There's not a single correct answer on one side of the paper. Can a person with normal intelligence get such a score?"
"You little punk. You're always hanging out on the streets, aren't you? Why don't you just go and collect usury with your gang leader? If you get caught, you can at least get free food and accommodation!"
Xiao Ge didn't say a word. The classmates sitting in the class kept their heads down and didn't dare to speak.
I really couldn't stand it anymore and stood up to leave.
"Xue Fan, what are you doing!"
I picked my ear. "My ear is dirty. I'm going out to clean it."
Mr. Ma pointed at me with his index finger, spitting as he spoke. "The teacher is talking. Do you have any manners?"
Some classmates in the front row secretly looked back at me. My urge to perform suddenly came up.
"Report, teacher! My mother has always taught me to be polite, to treat others with a smile, and not to swear!" I stood at attention and said loudly, "I hope everyone has a mother!"
There were faint chuckles in the classroom. The classmates covered their stomachs, and their shoulders were shaking hard.
Mr. Ma became the laughingstock. He angrily crumpled up the test paper and threw it at me. I reached out and caught it, then trotted out through the back door.