Chapter 74 - Moment of Truth

Eighteen young hearts were beating in sync. Nobody really had any decent sleep. Jasper was probably the one most affected of the lot. Scarlet didn't know if the hard work these boys put in would pay off. They've definitely improved by a huge margin but reality didn't always reward hard work with the success a person often deserved. The young writer wished that for once the odds would work in their favour.

"This is it. Whatever the results are is going to be a fact, nothing can change them even if we beat the teachers up or bribed the principal. However, before I announce the results, I just want to thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to try. The deal is still on and I won't back out of it. If anyone fails, I won't be returning to the classroom to bother anyone. If everyone passes, you're mine to command. Anyone who doesn't agree with the terms can still choose to back out now," Jasper announced and waited.

Not a single student stood up to leave the class and the young entrepreneur felt touched by the resolve. Still, what must be done will be done.

Jasper took a quick look at the red digits on the first paper. The papers were usually arranged with the highest marks on top and the lowest at the bottom. For the first time, the boy wished that wasn't the case. The suspense of knowing the lowest score in the class would determine his immediate failure or success. In a bittersweet way, postponing the idea of his execution made Jasper feel slightly better. Even if he failed, at least for the next ten minutes or so he could still be a part of the class.

Scarlet's heart was beating as fast as Jasper's. Even though she knew that they did their best, the small doubt in her heart grew with the devils whispering to her that she didn't do good enough and that she should have done more. If somebody fails, Scarlet knew that she would never forgive herself even if it wasn't anybody's responsibility to bear. If Claire was around, she would have watched the demons try to pull Scarlet away from them again and would have done something to stop the depression from getting her. However, nobody was able to tear Scarlet away from the tendrils this time and the dark feelings used the opportunity in Scarlet's weakened emotional state to dig their roots deeper in.

Unbeknownst to the delinquents, Jasper and Scarlet stayed up late last night in the chat room to debate about who they thought would do well and who they thought were risky candidates. In Singapore, the passing grade is 50. Half marks were a thing for some schools but not in Joyville International. The school principal did not support indecisiveness and this could be a huge risk factor for them. As of the final mock test, three students were still failing. Although it was a borderline failure, it still didn't count as a safe clear. They could only hoped that the setter was more lenient than them.

Now came the moment of truth. As Jasper read out the names and their scores, Scarlet was pleasantly surprised by how well the class did. While Jasper had a few names in mind who would potentially be the hope of the class, they never expected the most flippant student to be the one to pull through the best.

"Tom Makino, 90..." Jasper announced and the class applauded. Scarlet smiled brightly as the class Casanova went forward to collect his script before doing a short jig in celebration and fist-bumping a few boys back to his seat.

"Jeff Kumar, 88. Good job," Jasper smiled. Contrary to Tom's announcement reaction, the class was both stunned and happy that the runt of the class would do so well.

"Hey Joker!" Dragon yelled. "Is this a joke?"

Scarlet didn't take kindly to that jab and threw Dragon a glare. Kesha FB stepped in and made Dragon apologise to Joker who felt rather awkward. Still, he received a few mutters of congratulations instead of mocking for being a closet nerd. That went better than he expected.

"Next, Roy Lee, 87. Didn't think you could do it."

The school's High Jump stud grinned haughtily. "Told you I would make it."

Jasper rolled his eyes and the class jeered good-naturedly. Rowan Harris the class delusional got a whooping 82 and the school Idol - Jin Si-han got  a rounded 80. Those were where the good scores ended. Vivian Valentino was the only person in the seventies range scoring 75. The popcorn lover got a bag of popcorn from Scarlet who had bought it earlier as a congratulatory gift. She knew that the Spaniard would pull through.

"We're now down to the sixty range, I can see that many of you studied well. You should be proud of yourselves for coming this far. First up, Samuel becker at 68. Congratulations."

The class applauded as the germaphobic boy almost burst into tears, looking like a nervous wreck. He accepted offers of tissue to blow his nose when the waterworks burst. Next up was Jeremy Loh (or Jerry in Scarlet's books) who was just one mark lower than Samuel.

"Congratulations," Jin ru the class leader nodded at his right-hand man. He was proud of their achievements. At this point, even if not all of them made it, he would be happy enough to make concessions. What happened was considered a miracle. In two weeks, they were getting more than half the class to pass despite some closet nerds who shall not be named.

"Thank you. Don't worry, you will definitely pass," he told Jin Ru. The leader might not be very intellectual but for the last two weeks, he worked harder than anyone else. Hard work will always pay off.

Jin Ru wasn't too sure about it but he tried to stay positive as Jasper continued reading the scores out. Khalid Deezer the DJ wannabe got a nice 65 and Teddy Brown the strongest boy in class got a 62. Issac the one with a scary face and benedict Lam the class fix-it guy tied at 60. That closed the people who got the sixty range and things were starting to look a little shaky for those who yet yet to receive their results.

Jin Ru felt his heart pounding hard. What if he wasn't in the fifty range? What if he was the only one? he would have let the class down horribly. That same thought was racing through Reggie, Dragon and Mustafa's minds. it was a known fact that they were the less academically capable students. Scarlet put in a lot more effort trying to help them while Jasper concentrated on pulling the grades up on those who could learn at a faster pace. Each of them had a special one to one training and lessons. If they still couldn't make it, they would give up after this.

"Wen Jin Ru, your hard work paid off. Never give up, you can overcome any difficulties in life just like this if you work hard. 56, congratulations."

The class applauded and Jeremy was especially proud of his best friend. Other than Scarlet and Jasper, he was the only person who knew about Jin Ru's disability. To come so far... it was like a miracle. God was fair.

"Reggie Patron... although you might forget a lot of things all the time, you managed to remember enough to get 55 marks. Congratulations, you passed."

The chubby boy smiled and had to be smacked and told to go get his paper before he moved from the seat. "Thank you! Thank you teachers... this is like a good dream, thank you."

Scarlet smiled. Octopus Head will always be the same carefree and forgetful person. It must have been hard on him for a while during the test where he had to pressure himself into remembering things he didn't understand. She was proud of him.

"Next up, Mustafa Shakur. Scarlet and I did everything we could and left the rest up to you. You are one of the two students we didn't know if you understood anything we were teaching but you proved to us that you could do it. Congratulations, you passed with 52."

The talented soccer player beamed and ran up to collect his script before yelling out in triumph. Jasper let him have his moment with the class but his eyes met Scarlet's. The young writer was nervous. Dragon was the only student they were positive would fail. Until the last day before the test, the Bruce Lee fan was still remembering his six times table wrong.

The excitement died down eventually and was replaced by a tense silence. Everybody wanted to know the score of that last student who was playing with his nunchucks to hide his nervousness.

"Dragonfly Chan... I'm sorry to say that because of you... this class will have to officially accept me as your teacher and leader from now on. You scored 50, just on the passing line but congratulations, you passed!"

The class roared in excitement and threw the test papers in the air. They were piling on top of each other on the floor in what they called a group hug. Teddy grabbed Jasper and threw him into the air as the boys cheered. Jin Ru shared a look with Jeremy that Scarlet caught on. It was a look of silent acceptance and resignation. The young writer felt that while Jasper was splendid, the heart of the class should and would always still be Jin Ru even if he didn't know that.

The girl joined the delinquents in partying and was actually surprised at how much they'd secretly prepared. Joker later then admitted that they spent quite a lot of time planning the party for both Jasper and Scarlet.

"We wanted to thank the both of you for what you have done for us even if we didn't all pass. Nobody has given us this much attention and concern liek the both of you so we want to always welcome you as friends even if you lost the bet. Thankfully that doesn't happen so now we have little teachers to teach us older kids."

Scarlet was touched to tears in which some boys panicked after seeing it. Thankfully, Tom had some sense and offered the girl tissue while Si-Han shooed the boys away to give the lady her space. Jasper was not as lucky. Every boy took turns to smack him in advnace for the future torture he would no doubt put them through.

While the day ended on a joyous note, a new chapter was creeping up on them for those in the Wilde house.