Summary: While grading a batch of exams, Mr. Schu notices something particular about a certain blonde's...surely it's just a coincidence, right?
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Glee, nor any of the characters.
Warnings: none really. For now this is a one-shot drabble, but I'm leaving it open for a possible continuation. Probably wouldn't be very long if I decide to do that, though, but you never know. I like seeing secretly smart Brittany...but that's just me, I guess.
With a rub to his temples, William Schuester put the completed exam in the pile with the rest, picking up the next paper.
Brittany S. Pierce
Lips thinning he brought his grade book forward, marking down the previous grade before looking at what he had recorded for the blonde's most recent marks.
76, 75, 73, 72, 74, 77.
He sighed. She was nothing if not consistent - while Brittany's grades were not fantastic, at least she always passed, if just barely in some instances. That was more than he could say for some of his other students.
He turned his attention back to the paper at hand, answer sheet right next to it. Rather unsurprisingly, to him, Brittany was the type of girl who colored in various closed off letters on her papers. The directions, the questions, even the name and date at the top of the page, though he also noticed that she never colored in any of the words in the answers. With a wry grin of amusement, seeing this no different from any other test of hers, he got to work, reluctantly liberal with his red pen.
How can she not know this yet, he wondered, correcting yet another question with a circle around the right letter. He was about to move down the line before he paused, studying the question intently.
She had drawn a heart around the 'a'. Looking closer, however, Will noted that the curve of the 'c', the letter that he had just circled with red as the correct one, was lightly filled in, despite it not being a closed letter.
He hummed to himself before moving to the next question. Correct. Correct. Wrong. He circled the correct answer, 'b', before pausing once again. Though Brittany had once again marked her answer with a heart, the 'b' had been shaded in lightly. He adjusted the desk lamp that he was working with, aiming the bulb directly over the paper.
No, he wasn't imagining it.
He double checked the previous ones he had corrected.
Both letters were lightly filled in, despite having two other answers chosen.
Surely she was just filling in the bubbles, wasn't she? He looked at the correct answers she had gotten. Each letter that a heart around it was also filled in. Almost hesitantly he finished grading the exam, noting the same results on each wrong answer. He tallied up the total.
76.
With a frown, the curly haired teacher got out his folder of papers, searching for all with Brittany's name on it. He was a few weeks behind on handing back assignments, so he had a pop quiz, another test, and three homework sheets, all graded. All were multiple choice.
All of the correct answers were filled in, while only some were circled. The rest had wrong answers circled.
He stared at the papers, mouth agape as his mind churned.
Was Brittany marking answers wrong on purpose? Why would anyone do that to themselves? He wondered.
No, it's Brittany.
He immediately felt bad for having thought it.
But still, he considered. She's probably just trying to take up time after finishing - she was generally one of the first few to be done. And that was more likely than the, rather slow, he thought with shame, blonde knowing all the answers.
Marking her new grade, he shuffled her papers into a pile, newest exam going with the rest of the graded tests. About to put the papers back into the folder, he paused, finger brushing the top corner of one sheet. It was the other test that they had had two weeks ago.
It seemed something had been erased. Tilting the paper at a slight angle.
0.73 x 30 = 21.9
The 21.9 had had a strike through, a 22 had been written next to it, before the whole thing had been erased, near perfectly if not for the slight indent in the paper still.
Blinking, Will double checked the test. Eight wrong. Twenty-two correct.
He double checked the answers she had marked wrong. Each of the correct ones had been colored in, despite not having been circled.
He once again stared at the paper, forced to face the evidence that was clearly laid out in front of him. Brittany was calculating how many questions she needed to get correct to get a specific passing grade.
"This can't be real," he finally muttered to himself. He checked her pop quiz, and then her most recent test again. Both had previously had some sort of math equation up in the corner.
Both had been erased.
Surely she wasn't doing this consciously, he thought, an uncomfortable feeling settling in his stomach.
There had to be some explanation, and he made a silent promise that he would solve the mystery that Brittany S. Pierce had suddenly become.