The Reading of the Grades

Aunt Cass had made a fantastic meal. Steak and baked potatoes and green beans and a fresh fruit salad and hot rolls and butter and strawberry jelly. There was a white tablecloth and lace place mats and tall green candles and the best silverware. Even cloth napkins.

We always had great food on report card day. No meatloaf. No macaroni and cheese. No tuna-noodle casserole. Not on report card day.

Then came dessert, also wonderful. Apple crisp made with fresh apples from the orchard over in town. Plus vanilla ice cream.

But I wasn't that hungry. It reminded me of the last meal they serve to a prisoner before an execution.

After the dessert dishes were cleared away, we were all sitting at the table, and Aunt Cass said, "All right, who wants to be first to read a report card tonight?"

It was a pointless question. The Reading of the Grades was a well-established ritual. It followed a definite pattern. Tadashi always read his grades first, then me.

Tadashi said, "I'll go first."

It was Tadashi's Senior year in high school. Tadashi had been elected senior-class president. He had been the youngest member two years ago in the Math Decathlon, and the team placed first in the state competition. Tadashi was taking four Advanced Placement courses and one honors class. He wanted to get a scholarship to San Fransokyo Institute of Technology and study robotics.

Aunt Cass smiled and said, "All right, Tadashi. Let's hear how you did."

Tadashi unfolded his computer-printed grade sheet. I knew what was coming. All three of us knew what was coming.

Tadashi began reading. "Honors Chemistry, A plus. A.P. English, A. A.P World History, A. A.P. Physics, A plus. A.P. Spanish, A. Phys Ed, A plus. And an A minus in Mixed Chorus but that's not really my thing. And it won't count in my class rank."

"That's terrific, Tadashi." Aunt Cass smiled hugely. She said, "Not much room for improvement, and that's the way it should be. Great. Just great! You should be very proud of yourself. All your hard work is really paying off."

And then all eyes swung to me.

My cheeks felt hot. I hadn't planed well for this part. I had thought reading my grades out loud wouldn't be a problem. But it was.

Before Aunt Cass could ask, I said, "I don't want to read them. Don't try to tell me that my fifth-grade grades are important, because I know for a fact that they aren't. And they're all based on a bunch of stupid information that anybody with half a brain can memorize. Tests and grades and all of it, it's all...just stupid."

Shocked silence.

Then in a calm voice my aunt said, "Please read your grades to us, Hiro."

I shook my head. "You can look at them if you want to. But I'm not going to read them. My grades are my business, and nobody else's.

Aunt Cass sighed and said, "Hiro, I know this may be hard for you, but it's important. You're in fifth grade now. You have to get used to the fact that grades do matter. They matter a lot. So please, read your grades. I know that everybody's different, and not everyone's going to do as well as everyone else. I'm not comparing you to Tadashi or anybody. I just want to be able to talk about school and how your doing, talk about it as a family."

I didn't budge. "There's nothing to talk about. May I please be excused?"

That was too much for Aunt Cass. "No!" she said. "You may not be excused! You're not leaving this table until you have read your grades out loud to us!"

I put my sealed report card on the middle of my place mat. "Fine," I said. "Sit here as long as you like. But I'm not reading my grades."

A long three minutes passed in silence. Then I folded my arms and put my head down on the table.

Tadashi cleared his throat and said, "Aunt Cass, Johnny's going to be here in ten minutes. We're going to the movies and I've got to get ready. So may I be excused? Please? And could I have my allowance?"

Five minutes after that I was alone at the table.

Around nine-thirty I pulled three chairs together so I could lie down. I kicked my shoes off, moved a bunch of things out of the way, and slid the table cloth toward me so I could use it as a blanket.

I'd been asleep, so I'm not sure what time it was. But it was later and I heard Aunt Cass say, "Could you carry him up to bed, Tadashi? He's won this round and I should admit it."

I keep my eyes shut.

Tadashi said, "Yup. He's a tough one. He'd make a great lawyer, though I supposed he'd have to get into a law school somewhere first."

I heard the sound of ripping paper. And I knew what it was. Aunt Cass was opening my report card.

I heard her pull in a sharp breath and then say, "My goodness. No wonder Hiro wouldn't read this! Look, Tadashi, all Ds! Everything but math, and that's a C!"

"Gosh." That was Tadashi. "How did this happen?"

"Well, we could wake him up and ask him," Aunt Cass says, but then, "Poor child, think how ashamed he must feel about such terrible marks. Just take him upstairs, Tadashi. I'll talk to him about them tomorrow."

I felt the tablecloth slip off my back and legs, and then Tadashi's strong arms lifted me up.

It had been a long time since Tadashi had carried me up to bed in our shared bedroom.

I heard Aunt Cass behind us on the stairs. "Careful you don't bang his head on anything."

And Tadashi joked, "With grades like these, it probably wouldn't hurt."

Aunt Cass said, "That's not funny."

I was glad they didn't try to get me into my pajamas because I'm sure it would have tickled. Aunt Cass just peeled off my socks, tucked my blanket under my chin, kissed me softly on the forehead, and then closed the door. Tadashi followed her.

I opened my eyes and stared into the darkness.

I wondered if I had done enough thinking about my plan. Because first I had tried to think about what I wanted to accomplish, and then I had tried to think of all the steps I had to take, and how my steps would lead to the steps other people would take. I had done a lot of thinking, and that's something I've gotten good at.

But had I thought of every single thing that could go wrong at every single step, and had I thought of enough ways to get around each possible problem?

Lying there in the dark, I faced a fact: I wouldn't know if my plan would work until it did. Or didn't.

Review Replies:

firelass19 - ...the world is fudging cruel. I realized a long time ago that school was competitive, but to think that this principle had been instilled within us since 4th grade... sorry, I'm just a little mondblown. God, I hate the system... - Gosh, I know, right. I remember, competing in fifth grade for the top grade and I always wanted to have the best grade because it was just ingrained in me that I had to get all A's. And our teacher would hang class grade sheets in the back so everyone could see everyone's grades. It's just the worst. I hate the system, too.

Okay, so I have two more chapters ready, and I'll upload them at a good pace. I was also thinking of a sequel to this story that is my own original idea because I really want to write my own idea with this, but that won't be for a while because there are at least twenty-two chapters in this. So, what do you guys think?

Review!