After the Finals: The Smiling Valedictorian and the Crying Slacker

Right after the final AP exams, a local news reporter interviewed the first student to walk out of the testing center.

While the schools top student smiled at the camera and said this years questions weren't too hard, I walked out right behind him, my face pale, clutching my stomach, and wiping away tears.

This starkly contrasting image was screenshotted by netizens and became the internets newest viral meme for exam season: "The Smiling Valedictorian and the Crying Slacker."

The comments section was ruthless: "The smiling nerd in the front is so handsome, and the crying slacker in the back really knows how to put on a tragic show."

Me: Gee, thanks a lot. Y'all are so sweet for complimenting my crying skills.

01

During the two days of our final exams, my period hit me like a truck.

After the very last subject, my classmates couldn't wait to throw a massive senior wrap party.

Because I was in agonizing pain, I skipped it.

As a result, a rumor spread like wildfire that I had bombed the exams so badly I had a mental breakdown and couldn't even show my face at the party.

02

I slept like the dead at home all night, completely oblivious to the drama.

The next morning, I went to school for yearbook signing and senior photos, only to find everyone looking at me with weird, pitying eyes.

I didn't care much, though, because I had something far more important to do today.

I was eagerly looking for Ethan Cole.

We had made a promise that once finals were over, we would officially start dating.

But when I finally found him, he was tucked away in a corner of the hallway, kissing my desk-mate, Hailey Morgan.

Their eyelashes fluttered, their cheeks were flushed, and the kiss looked incredibly tender and sweet.

Seeing this, my brain instantly short-circuited.

After all, just two days ago, Ethan had texted me.

He wrote: "Riley, just thinking about you becoming my girlfriend in two days keeps me up at night! I won't let you down. Let's meet at the top!"

Had the world really spun off its axis in just forty-eight hours?

03

I stood frozen in place. For a second, I didn't know if I should march up and slap him, or just turn around and walk away.

If I slapped him, I didn't entirely have the moral high ground.

Even though the whole senior class knew Ethan and I liked each other, technically, we weren't officially together yet.

But just walking away made my blood boil.

While I was hesitating, Ethan spotted me. He instinctively shoved Hailey away and sprinted over to me, looking panicked. "Riley, listen to me, I can explain."

I crossed my arms and sneered. "Go ahead. I'm listening."

How could he possibly spin this into something acceptable?

Ethan opened his mouth, seeming to realize how absurd his next words were going to sound.

But he said them anyway.

"At the wrap party yesterday, you didn't show up, and Hailey confessed her feelings to me."

I replied that I didn't go yesterday, and he didn't even bother to text me once. Turns out, he was busy getting confessed to.

I clenched my fists. "And then you two got together?"

"No, I didn't say yes," Ethan said in a low voice. "She got drunk yesterday and kissed me. Today, she asked me to return that kiss to her so she could have closure, which is why I..."

I was dumbfounded.

I stared at Ethan. "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Ethan shook his head, offering a bitter smile. "No, I'm telling the truth. Honestly, my head is a total mess right now."

"You don't need to be conflicted," Hailey suddenly spoke up from the side.

She walked up to me, her voice hoarse. "I was drunk and out of line yesterday when I kissed Ethan. Today, I practically begged him to return the kiss. None of this is his fault. He's just too much of a gentleman. Don't blame him."

I was utterly speechless.

After delivering her lines, Hailey wiped the tears from her face and smiled tragically at Ethan. "Thank you for letting me leave high school with no regrets. My crush on you ends here. I wish you happiness, Ethan."

With that, Hailey choked back a sob and walked away.

Ethan looked at me, then looked at Hailey's retreating, weeping figure. He gritted his teeth and said, "I'm sorry, Riley. Wait for me, I'll explain everything properly later."

Then he actually chased after Hailey, leaving me standing alone in the wind.

04

By the time my best friend Savannah Mitchell ran over, I was still standing there like a statue.

She practically tackled me, almost knocking me to the floor.

Savannah grabbed my shoulders, shaking me back and forth, sobbing loudly. "Riley, you idiot, what happened?! How could you drop the ball at the most critical moment of your life? Waaaah!"

I looked at Savannah in confusion. She was genuinely bawling, massive tears rolling down her cheeks and splashing onto the floor.

"I know you're hurting the most right now, and I should be comforting you, but I just can't hold it in! I'm so sad! Riley, you jerk, you're usually so arrogant and confident! How could you bomb the finals? You total failure, waaaah!"

In no time, Savannah had soaked the shoulder of my shirt with her tears.

I looked at her scrunched-up, crying face.

"Sav, stop howling. Who told you I bombed the exams? I did perfectly fine."

I pulled out a tissue and wiped her face.

Savannah pouted. "Really? Then why didn't you answer any of my calls last night?!"

"I was exhausted after the tests. I went home, skipped dinner, and crashed. I didn't hear my phone."

Savannah looked at me with red eyes. "Then... did you actually finish the AP Calculus section? Did you write real answers?"

I nodded. "I finished the whole thing. I answered everything seriously and even had thirty minutes left over to check my work."

Savannah's lips curled up into a wobbly smile, but then she frowned again. "But last night, Hailey said you looked awful after the math exam. She said you told her the test was incredibly hard, that you only knew the multiple-choice, and you guessed on all the free-response questions."

"Hailey said that?"

Savannah nodded. "She announced it in front of the whole class at the party! Also, you haven't been on social media since yesterday, right? A news crew caught you on camera. You went viral."

I was completely lost. "What are you talking about?"

I only missed one party.

How did a whole season of television drama happen in one night?

Seeing my blank face, Savannah pulled out her phone and showed me a video.

In the video, a reporter was interviewing the first student out of the testing center.

I knew the guyCarter Hayes from Class 2, the genius who was constantly battling me for the #1 rank in our grade.

Because Carter was incredibly good-looking, the video had blown up online.

While Carter was smiling at the camera saying the exam wasn't that difficult, I walked out in the background, my face pale, clutching my stomach, and wiping away tears.

Someone took a screenshot of this dramatic contrast, creating the ultimate meme: "The Smiling Valedictorian and the Crying Slacker."

The comments were wild: "The smiling nerd in the front is so handsome, and the crying slacker in the back really knows how to put on a tragic show."

Me: Gee, thanks a lot. Y'all are so sweet for complimenting my crying skills.