Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

For Nona, who had always consistently held the top position in class, Harper's results shocked her. For scoring 250 points on the exam, Harper performed really poorly. No wonder her uncle grounded Harper. Such scores might as well prevent her from reaching the doors of a university.

Although her aunt had four sons, she didn't want to see Harper score so low. After all, he was an elder sibling and should have set an example. Nona thought to herself, munching on a strawberry tart filled with ice cream, savoring its delightful taste.

In the next moment, all the girls looked towards Cyril. They were ready for some gossip. Even Ruby was interested. Their eyes were fixed on Cyril, and smiles lingered at the corners of their mouths.

When people shared embarrassing stories about others, they often spoke animatedly, making it quite engaging. And that was exactly how Cyril appeared at this moment. He felt like he was delivering an award-winning speech on a stage.

Cyril smiled and said, "At that time, Harper's teacher was completely flustered. She looked angry. Then, she banged on the table and asked Harper, "Tell me about your feelings after the exam. Do you have any thoughts about being at the bottom now? Do you feel your grades are especially stable, always at the bottom? Do you take pride that you have such a consistent performance?" Upon hearing this, all of them laughed. Olivia praised, "This teacher turns even her anger into humor. | love it." Cyril continued to share. "Then Harper started reflecting on himself. After that, he said, ‘Miss, | feel my grades are quite stable.

You said we shouldn't deteriorate. In my case, | have no room for a decline. It's just that the total score in this exam doesn't look appealing and might mislead people's perceptions of me. I'll pay more attention to managing my scores next time." As Cyril finished recounting Harper's reflection, the few of them laughed so hard that their shoulders trembled non-stop. Ruby pinched the space between her eyebrows. She was genuinely concerned about Harper. He was so rebellious, but she couldn't stop laughing at his funny moments.

After all of them had their laugh, Cyril continued, "Then the teacher got exasperated and slammed the paper on the table, pointing at it, "You got 25 points in Arillion, and you're talking about managing scores? Are you planning to keep it within 20 points next time? Also, you didn't write a single word in the essay. How do you plan to manage your scores there?" When Harper responded to the teacher about leaving the essay blank, Cyril was holding back laughter so hard it felt like an internal injury. He kept his head down, fearing his teacher would notice.

Cyril added, "Do you know how Harper responded to the teacher about leaving the essay blank? The essay topic was about the space of teenagers. Harper said his perspective was too vast, his inner space immeasurable, so he didn't know where the boundaries were for what to write. He was afraid that if he started writing, he wouldn't be able to stop, and if he didn't finish it on time, he would waste inspiration.” Cyril held back his laughter and continued, "At that moment, the teacher flew into a rage, and her face contorted in anger. | was worried that the teacher would lose her composure because of Harper. Thankfully, that teacher kept her composure and let Harper go. After Harper left, his teacher called my uncle. That's when Harper got grounded, and Ruby became his tutor.” Cyril shook his head. "Harper not only caused trouble for himself but also got Jayden and Fynn grounded. Aunt Leia arranged tutors for Jayden and Fynn to prevent situations like Harper's. Aunt Stella watched over them every day. It's a pity. The adult world is too exhausting. I'm glad my parents have never demanded that | be the best in my studies.” Cyril sighed. Nona didn't expose her brother because their parents were already planning something. Soon enough, his brother might also be grounded.

Jasper always picked up on different points. He turned around and asked, "Why were you called to the office and listened to the whole conversation? Were you there to be praised by your teacher?" Everyone continued to be intrigued, eager to know why Cyril was called to the office.

Finally, Cyril lied, claiming he was scolded for daydreaming in class when, in reality, he was called to the office because he ranked second to last in the class during the midterm exams.

Jasper wasn't easily fooled. After hearing Cyril's words, he directly asked, "What was your total score for the midterms?" Cyril avoided eye contact and silently signaled to his sister. He took a sip of his drink and replied, "It's not too bad, around 400." Olivia nodded. "There's a difference of over 300 points between you and your sister. Keep working hard." Cyril nodded obediently, fearing further interrogation from the others. "Yeah, okay." Nona thought that his elder brother's midterm score was just 301. It was significantly more challenging for him to score 400 points. He barely reached 300 points, falling short by 99 points from 400 points.

Among all the children, the ones with the best grades were Jasper, Ruby, George, Olivia, and Nona. They had consistently achieved excellence from elementary school to the present, securing the top spot in their grades every year.

Kade, Vincent, and Dalton. Lastly, at the bottom were Cyril

other three children, their grades were neither poor nor excellent, which largely

Nona replied obediently, [Got it, Dad. We're getting ready to come back now.] Frank responded, [Stay safe on the way. Don't rush. Mom and | will be waiting at the door for you.] Nona replied, [Okay, Dad.] The Blackwell family and the Wilson family weren't as strict with their children. One reason was that Ruby was already of legal age, and there were

Ruby drove herself, but in the evenings, Hackett arranged a driver

had people watching out for them in the background, providing a lot

all of them were bidding farewell to each

time." Cyril teased, "Jasper, why are you acting like Sophia heading to military school? Okay, okay, I'll report in, alright?" Nona bid a soft farewell to everyone. "Goodbye, guys. See you all next time." Olivia waved to them and said, "Until next time. Study hard, okay?" Then, she looked at Liam and said, "If you keep shaking your leg, I'll seriously do something about it next time." Liam retorted, "Do you have a problem? It's a rare

but simply nodded. After everyone's cars had left, he helped his sister put on a helmet and did the same for himself. Starting up their mom's motorcycle, Olivia sat behind and held

stream of cars, they could hear ear- splitting DJ music from some

take in the scenery. If Olivia

why do you

voice came low from the front. "Well, she had her own thoughts.” Olivia kept asking, "Did Ruby not tell you the reason? | find the sudden change a bit surprising too. After all, Ruby really loved playing the piano and dancing. When we used to practice together as kids, she was so dedicated. It's a shame

the engine. He took his sister's helmet. He held two helmets in

Similarly, Sophia had a set too. Trevon had splurged on a similar motorcycle matching the set. However, Sophia was rarely home and left the

go out for a gathering in the

Trevon. She said, "See, Jasper said the same. Right now, | cherish the time Jasper can spend with me. Once he finds a girlfriend in the future, he'll surely take his girlfriend instead. | probably won't have a chance

Blackwell family cemetery tomorrow?" Jasper paused his steps for a few seconds before slowly replying, "I'l ask Liam." "You spent the whole

walking. "Yeah, | only heard about the 250, and | forgot to ask more." Before Trevon could ask anything further, his son had already gone upstairs. Natalie said, "Why do you keep criticizing our son? Olivia, what does your brother mean by 250?" Natalie diverted the conversation. She thought that Trevon was strict with their

to study. He thinks he has three younger brothers to rely on." Trevon replied, "Edward has set family rules requiring all his four sons to inherit the family business. None of them can escape that." Trevon thought it was fortunate that he didn't have four sons, or it would've been a disaster. If they were all like Harper, Trevon feared he wouldn't live long. He thought of something and said, "Cyril will probably have another parent-teacher meeting next month, and he'll come looking for you again.”

only place