Holidays were over, and we were back at school. And life was no longer all about playing and sleeping, there was class, and there was waking up early in the morning.

I didn’t like that part of waking up early, although I didn’t mind the class work so much. See, I didn’t have to put in a lot of effort to excel in class.

Maybe I was brilliant, maybe I was lucky, it doesn’t matter. But this term, I was specifically thrilled about school; I was in primary three now, a big boy. And my main competitor for the number one position had most likely changed schools, he hadn’t come back.

I thought I was now unchallenged for the top slot, which meant I wouldn’t even have to bother reading for exams.

But, a surprise was in store for me. When we did a small test, to "reawaken our brains” after the holidays, someone beat me to the top spot. It was one of the new kids, a girl! She had rounded the test, getting 100%.

I was second to her with 89%. This, I did not like, especially with the way all the teachers suddenly turned their attention, my attention, to this new kid.

She was shy, she was quiet. She never raised her hand to answer questions in class, but, somehow she always knew the answers, all the answers, even the ones that defeated everyone else. Of course I hated her! I was supposed to be the star of my class, and here she was, taking away all my stardom!

One day, going for mid-morning break, I passed by her desk and passed her a piece of paper. On it I had written; "I like you”. Then I walked out and went to play. If you ask me, I don’t even know why I wrote that, because I clearly remember I hated her! When the bell for end of break rang, I rushed back to class wondering how she had reacted. Maybe she would write me a note too.But, there was no note.

After class, she went home without saying anything to me. I thought she had ignored the note, but the next day, I found out that she hadn’t ignored it at all; she had taken it very seriously, actually! At morning assembly, I was told to report to the headmaster’s office. It wasn’t my first time to be called there; I had been summoned before, usually at end of term, to be told about how excellent a student I was.

But this time, it was different. Dina was there, with a woman who looked like a grown up version of her. Obviously her mom! I didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what it was all about; the note. The silly girl had taken the note to her mom! I was caned, and told to stop being "stupid”.

Now I didn’t understand what that meant, and I was really scared by how furious the woman seemed to be!

That term, I worked hard in class so that that silly little girl couldn’t beat me. And everyone seemed to be watching, to see who was better. End of term came, and Dina was the first in my class! I was truly disappointed. I promised myself not to let it happen ever again. But, I was in for a good surprise; next term, Dina didn’t come back to my school. Either her parents had decided that students in that school were a bad influence on their daughter, or that she needed better competition. Whatever the case, I was happy to be back on top!

Ends