Chapter 20
With so many school leaders watching, Nathan’s speech couldn’t be anything unconventional. It was mostly just formal and polite words. Apart from Lily, the rest of the students were bored.
However, the school leaders, especially Timothy seemed to enjoy it.
Nathan’s speech was well organized, and he didn’t seem nervous at all. For a moment, he didn’t even seem like a student. Instead, he looked like a successful former student who had made a generous donation to the school.
Nathan was speaking without a script, yet he was so fluent and smooth. That was a key highlight of his performance.
Even Timothy felt he couldn’t do that himself.
People from different age groups and social classes saw the same event from different perspectives.
-The students found Nathan’s speech as dull and tedious as a grandmother’s endless rambling
While Timothy and other school leaders saw his composure and poise.
Plenty of so–called top students couldn’t even read from a script without messing up.
But people like Nathan, who were naturally comfortable with the spotlight, were often the ones who achieved great things in the real world
Nathan’s grades were impressive as well. He ranked seventh in the semester exams, putting him close to the admission cutoff for Northsdale University.
“Mr. Uddin, have we finalized the list of students for the Provincial Outstanding Student Award?” Timothy asked Bentley beside him.
Back in 2009, there were several ways to earn extra points for the college entrance exams. The Provincial Outstanding Student Award was one of them, adding ten points to the total score.
“Yes, Mr. Thompson. We have three students on the list,” Bentley replied, listing the names.
After some thought, Timothy instructed, “Remove Justin Larson from the list and replace him
with Nathan Frank.”
At this moment, Nathan had no idea that just by giving a simple speech to a bunch of students, he had impressed the principal. This earned him a place on the Provincial Outstanding Student Award list, giving him a ten–point advantage on the college entrance
exams.
And it was Justin, the unlucky one, who got bumped off the list.
Nathan didn’t drag his speech on.
Chapter 20
In fact, after just five minutes, many students were already glancing at their wrists, pretending to check the time.
He wrapped it up quickly and ended with a bow before stepping down.
Nathan had fulfilled the task assigned by Layla, and she kept her end of the bargain.
While Nathan was speaking, Layla had already made her way over to Greg, the homeroom
teacher of Class One.
After Nathan stepped down, Layla smiled and said, “Mr. Sawyer, don’t you think that Nathan, the student from my class, is actually quite impressive?”
Greg frowned, his expression clearly asking what Layla was trying to imply.
“As teachers, we really shouldn’t make a big deal out of certain things. You see, Lily’s grade. didn’t drop in the exams. In fact, she performed even better, improving from seventh to third in the Roudeclaus ranking. So, there’s no need to bring up those baseless rumors anymore.”
If this had been earlier, Layla wouldn’t have dared to say such a thing.
After all, Nathan was an average student barely reaching the top–tier university admission cutoff. How could he be involved in rumors with a Class One top student who was already on her way to Northsdale University?
Whether the rumors were true or not, if Greg had brought them to the school leaders, they would have likely played it safe and sent Nathan home to focus on his studies.
But things had changed.
Nathan’s result in the recent exams gave Layla all the confidence she needed.
For sure, Lily from Class One was aiming for Northsdale University, but Nathan from Class Six
wasn’t far behind either.
Greg thought for a moment and nodded, accepting Layla’s suggestion.
After the motivational assembly, the senior students were dismissed on the spot, each. heading home.
As usual, Nathan and Oscar planned to unwind at the arcade to play video games for a while. It was the only escape from the otherwise monotonous life of a senior student.
Today was no exception.
However, the difference this time was that they brought Lily along.
As soon as she entered the arcade, her facial expression turned cool and serious. She grabbed Nathan and headed straight to the Punch King 1997 machine.
Chapter 20
Nathan was a bit surprised. “Uh… You want to battle me?”
Lily nodded eagerly.
Nathan couldn’t help but smile.
She had such a strong competitive spirit.
He had no choice but to go along with it.
Considering how he had relentlessly beaten her last time, to the point where Lily almost lost her confidence, Nathan decided to go easy this time and let her win a few rounds.
But Lily wasn’t happy. She pouted, asking, “Nathan, can you not go easy on me?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I mean it.”
Nathan had no choice but to go all out, beating Lily with a score of ten to zero.
His favorite character was Magnus Doyle, while Lily preferred Seraphina Caldera. Throughout the match, Magnus repeatedly unleashed his Mountain Storm move on Seraphina, causing her to cry out in pain and frustration with every hit.
However, Nathan could tell that Lily had made noticeable progress since their last match.
Although she couldn’t beat him, a seasoned Punch King veteran, she wasn’t entirely defenseless this time.
After ten rounds, Lily stopped playing. Instead, she took out a notebook from her backpack and started scribbling things down.
Nathan was confused. “What are you doing?”
While writing, Lily replied, “Taking notes. I’m figuring out why I lost and analyzing your
move patterns.”
Nathan was left speechless.
Since the school day had ended late, the three of them didn’t spend much time at the arcade. They left at around 6:30 pm.
Chapter 21
