By the next day, the rumors had spread through the entire school.
"Did you hear? He finished the test in ten minutes."
"They say he corrected the teacher too."
"Who does he think he is?"
Some students looked at him with curiosity.
Others looked at him with something darker.
Jealousy.
He walked through the hallway like nothing had changed, his expression calm, almost bored. The whispers followed him like shadows.
But he never slowed down.
Inside the classroom, a group of students stood near his desk.
One of them crossed his arms. "You think you're better than everyone, don't you?"
The room went quiet.
All eyes turned toward him.
Slowly, he placed his bag on the desk and looked at them.
"No," he said.
For a moment, the tension eased.
Then he continued.
"I know I am."
The words landed like a stone in water.
Anger flashed across a few faces.
"You're arrogant," one student snapped.
"Maybe."
His voice remained calm, almost indifferent.
"But arrogance only matters when it's wrong."
No one spoke.
Because deep down… they all knew something.
He had never been wrong.
A girl scoffed. "You think people will like you if you act like that?"
He shrugged slightly.
"I don't need them to."
He looked around the room at the silent faces.
"So hate me all you want."
He picked up his book and sat down.
"It won't change anything."
And at that moment, the class understood something unsettling.
This boy wasn't trying to be liked.
He wasn't trying to fit in.
He was simply living the way he wanted.
And that made him far more dangerous than they expected.