She's smarter than you think, Rei

By Bashfulglowfly

"You're so stupid!" snapped Rei with a sneer and a roll of her eyes.

Usagi's lips began to quiver and her eyes filled with tears.

"Shut. Up."

All eyes turned to the normally quiet and polite blue-haired girl who was currently glaring at the priestess.

"You need to stop. Now."

"She got a 30! That's a failing grade. So, she's stupid!" shot back the raven-haired girl.

Ami's eyes blazed with blue fire. But her voice was ice cold. "Really? For your information, that is NOT 30 out of 100. It's 30 out of 60. AND it's graded on a curve. Usagi and I are in the same class. I usually get the best scores in our class and so the others are graded based off my score. So, Usagi suffers."

"She got lousy grades before you showed up!" Rei hotly replied.

"Umino." Was Ami's chilly retort.

"Uh, guys…" Makoto tried to interrupt.

Ami held up an imperious hand and Makoto closed her mouth. "No, Rei needs to realize some things." She raised her chin and stared into the violet eyes of the girl sitting across from her. "Did you know that Juuban is the best school in the district?"

Rei's jaw dropped.

Ami nodded. "And Shiba Koen is the second-best school in the district."

Rei turned shocked eyes to Minako who fluttered her lashes and smiled sweetly.

Ami continued. "Do you know where YOUR school falls in the district?

Rei swallowed. "No." came her quiet response.

"Eighth."

"Oh."

"Did you really think that someone such as I, or Umino or Urawa would settle for a mediocre school? That our parents would settle for a mediocre school?"

"No." Rei's reply was nearly a whisper.

"If Usagi attended YOUR school, she's most likely be getting A's and B's."

"Really?!" Usagi's teary face looked hopefully at her friend.

Ami smiled gently at her first friend and princess. She brushed away the blonde's tears. "Really." She shook her head and laughed softly. "You're just the victim of circumstances. Too many overly smart people in the school!"

Makoto patted Ami on her shoulder. "You're perfect just the way you are."

"Thank you." Ami tugged gently on Makoto's and Usagi's hair. "But just because there's a lot of smart people, doesn't mean the two of you can't try harder."

Usagi and Makoto gave her sheepish grins.

Minako eyed the subdued priestess. "This will be the last time you say anything like that. Won't. It."

"Yes."

Usagi looked at her friends and knew that she loved them all but the chill in the room was too much for her.

Rei gasped for breath as she was tackled and tickled by her surprisingly heavy princess. "Stop! Stttopp!"

"Nope! Not until you smile for me!"

"Oh, Gods above! Fine! I'll smile! I'll smile!" She wrapped her arms around her friend and whispered quietly in her ear. "I do love you; you know."

Usagi's answering smile lit up the room. "I love you too, you hot-tempered brat!"

Author's Note: Based off the Tuxedounmasked article "Is Usagi much smarter than the series implies?" (published 2016-2-11)