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Most movies I watch make it seem like very smart people are all nerds who get bullied at school, but I have seen the exact opposite. There was this boy at school, Dan, my sister's classmate. Everyone in my school knew Dan, even people who were not in the same class as him. He was one of the most intelligent people in the entire school and had so much pride in it. They even said he didn't talk to people who were not on his level or as smart as him.
My sister is a very quiet and free person. You would never know how smart she is. Even I didn't know she was as smart as she was until the day Dan came over to our house so they could read together. I still remember that day like it was yesterday.
The doorbell rang; I was in the kitchen making noodles, and my mom and brother were not at home. The doorbell rang about three times, and there was no answer. When it rang again, I dropped the carrots I was chopping and went to answer the door—my sister was probably in her room. I was rather surprised to see who it was on the doorbell screen; it was the popular Dan. I wondered what he was doing at my house. I opened the door. “Hi,” I said. I felt nervous starting a conversation with him because Debbie once told me a story of how he was having a conversation with a teacher, but the teacher didn't understand a thing because of his vocabulary. Till today, I still feel stupid for even believing that story a little.
“Hi, I am here for Hafi,” he said politely.
“Oh, come in,” I said as I showed him in. “You can wait here while I tell her,” I said as I went to Hafi's room. She was with earbuds in her ears and didn't notice me till I tapped her. She removed the buds.
“Dan is here, and he said he came for you,” I told her.
“Okay,” she said as she got up. I went back to him and told him she was coming, then went back into the kitchen.
When I was done cooking the noodles, I went to eat in the dining room. They were now both in the sitting room with a lot of books; they were studying. When I was done eating, I went to the sitting room and sat on the other couch with my phone.
“I wonder who will be the best in maths,” my sister said as they studied.
He scoffed and then let out a little laugh, “Who else do you think will win it?” he grinned.
"You always won. It doesn't mean it can't change; life can be funny sometimes. And all our classmates are serious about this exam,” my sister replied to him. “Besides, we were ten who got 100% on the maths test.”
"It's not about life; it's about the brain, and we both know I am the one with the brains for that award,” he said with pride. I sat there silently and was disgusted by his pride. He thought himself above everyone.
Later that night, I went to ask my sister a lot about her academics because, after what I saw, I became really curious about how smart my sister was. She was like a secret genius.
Fast forward past the exams and then to the graduation party. At the graduation party during awards and results, they usually started from the senior class, and I left the hall immediately after they were done with my class. But this time, I stayed after and waited for my sister's class’s turn to take their results. When they started giving out the results, I was stunned by the way he kept getting called out for the awards.
“The best student in mathematics,” our vice principal read from a paper.
“Daniel Ababio,” our vice principal announced. Dan went up the stage once again to take his award. Just then, a teacher rushed to the stage and whispered something to our vice principal before going back to his seat. Our vice principal looked confused and squinted his eyes to read the paper again. He cleared his throat.
“So sorry, there has been a mistake, the best student in mathematics goes to Hafi Bhale," he said.
I jumped from my seat as I applauded my sister. She walked to the podium, and the medal and certificate were taken from Dan and given to Hafi. I watched his face carefully, expecting him to be upset, but he clapped the loudest for her. It was like the universe heard him back when they were studying and decided to turn the tables to prove him wrong. When Hafi went back to her seat, her classmates praised her, and Dan praised her the most. He looked genuinely happy for her, and my view of him changed.
Later, when most people had left, I overheard Dan talking to Hafi.
“Congratulations, you earned it,” he said, smiling. “I always thought I was the only one who could pull that off.”
Hafi smiled back, saying, “Thanks, but I always knew you were my biggest competition.”
He laughed. “Well, you beat me fair and square.”
Seeing that, I realized maybe he wasn't as proud as people saw him, and everyone only saw him that way because he always won. There was more to him than what people thought.
