Julia Hansen walked down the hallway toward her classroom, silently praying to every deity she could think of.
Please… please let my grades be good.
"Oh my dearest good lord above me, please bless me," she murmured under her breath.
Still worrying, Julia slipped into her seat.
Tap.
A hand gently patted her shoulder.
Julia turned and saw her childhood best friend, Lexi Arora, sitting beside her.
"You seem upset," Lexi said, studying her face carefully. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing..." Julia replied quickly, her voice slightly unsteady.
Her grades are always good, Julia thought to herself. She wouldn't understand worrying like this.
"Come on, tell me," Lexi said, grabbing Julia's arm and lightly swinging it.
"Arey, it's just... I'm worried about my grades," Julia admitted reluctantly.
"What grades? Did we have any important exam?" Lexi asked, suddenly confused.
"No, no," Julia said quickly. "We're getting the results for our mock test today."
"Ah!" Lexi leaned back in her chair with a relaxed smile. "It's only a mock test. Why are you taking it so seriously?"
"It's not that I'm taking it too seriously," Julia said seriously. "You know na, 7th is the base for 8th and 8th is the base for 9th..."
"And 9th is the base for 10th!"
Both exclaimed together, looked at each other, and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha!"
This dialogue had been on the lips of almost every teacher and parent who wanted kids to excel in their studies.
"The paper is already done and it's already corrected. Don't take tension. Worrying now won't change anything. Anyway, your parents love you," Lexi muttered, trying to console Julia, though a slight trace of envy hid beneath her tone.
"Yeah, I know they love me," Julia replied softly. "That's why I have to get good grades even more."
As the class was about to start, more and more students came in, greeting Julia and nodding towards Lexi.
"Hi Julia."
"Hi Marie."
"Hi Jules."
"Hi Rohan."
"Hie Mehak."
As the greetings continued, Julia suddenly stopped.
"Wait, Mehak!" she called.
Mehak turned around.
"You forgot your notebook yesterday," Julia said, pulling it from her bag. "You were panicking about the homework."
Mehak's face brightened. "Oh my god, I thought I lost it!"
Julia just laughed. "See? False alarm. You scared yourself for nothing."
Lexi watched silently.
Julia remembered things about everyone.
Julia had always been the popular. After all, who wouldn't love a ball full of sunshine?
Julia chatted with everyone easily, laughing and replying to greetings, but every few seconds her eyes drifted back to Lexi—just to make sure she wasn't feeling left out.
Lexi watched her for a moment and muttered quietly,
"Everyone likes you so easily."
Julia could reply casually:
"Because they're nice."
After a moment, she suddenly asked, her voice softer than usual,
"I'll always be your best friend… right?"
Julia blinked in surprise, then smiled warmly.
"Of course. Always."
Lexi smiled back.
But her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of her desk.
Lexi brought out her little finger and asked cutely,
"Pinky promise?"
Julia laughed lightly and hooked her finger with Lexi's.
"Pinky promise."
After a few classes passed, it was finally recess. The grades were going to be revealed in the last class.
Julia started fidgeting in her seat again, clearly nervous.
Seeing this, Lexi chuckled softly to herself. Then she grabbed Julia's arm and said,
"Let's go to the canteen and have something to eat. It will divert your mind."
Julia originally wanted to refuse since she wasn't in the mood to eat, but seeing the expectation in Lexi's eyes, she agreed.
Arriving at the canteen, Julia looked around and decided to go for vada pav.
She went to the counter to place her order, then turned to Lexi.
"What do you want?"
"I'll have a frankie," Lexi replied.
Julia nodded and told the shopkeeper,
"One vada pav—make it extra spicy—and one frankie."
Lexi looked at her in surprise.
"You can't eat spicy."
Julia nodded proudly.
"Yes. My tongue will die, my eyes will cry, and my soul will regret it."
Lexi burst out laughing.
"Then why order it?"
Julia grinned.
"Because suffering builds character."
Lexi shook her head at her but didn't say anything more.
While paying the bill, Julia quickly took out the money. When she turned to Lexi, she noticed Lexi opening her purse and pursing her lips.
Lexi looked up at Julia with pitiful eyes.
"I seem to be out of money, Jules. How about cancelling my order?"
Julia simply patted her shoulder and smiled.
"Today's my treat. Just enjoy."
The grades were going to be revealed in the last class.
Julia's fingers tightened around the edge of her desk.
Please… let it be good.
---
Note from Future Julia:
Kindness is beautiful. But when it only flows in one direction, it slowly turns into quiet exhaustion.