That evening, just as I was settling in to relax after a long, eventful day, my phone suddenly rang. Leonard's name flashed on the screen. I barely had time to say hello before he screamed through the speaker, his voice bursting with excitement, "1600!!! DUDE!!!"
"What?!" I blurted out, almost dropping my phone, even though I already had a hunch about what he was talking about.
"We both got a perfect score on the SATs!" Leonard shouted, his enthusiasm practically vibrating through the phone. I could hear him jumping around on the other end, probably grinning from ear to ear.
"Heck yes!" I replied, trying to sound calm, but inside I was honestly just as excited. I knew I'd done well on the test—every question had felt almost easy, thanks to all the practice and, of course, my Gamer skills. But a perfect 1600? I hadn't dared to hope for that. While Leonard was still celebrating, I quickly logged into my own account to check. There it was, staring back at me: 1600. A wave of satisfaction and pride washed over me. All those late nights, all the effort—it had paid off.
In the background, I heard Leonard's mom's voice, sharp and a little annoyed. "Leonard, you are not a monkey. Behave like a human!" She must have been startled by his screaming.
"Mom, I got a perfect score!" Leonard replied, hoping she'd share in his happiness.
Her reply came, flat and robotic, "Ok."
Leonard's excitement faltered for a moment. "Are you not happy?" he asked, his voice suddenly small and a little hurt.
"Why would I get happy from your accomplishments?" she said, completely missing the point. Her words hung in the air, awkward and cold. I could hear Leonard's disappointment through the phone, and it stung even me.
"I'll talk to you later, Lucas," Leonard said quietly, before hanging up. I could tell he was going to keep trying to get through to her, to make her act like a normal, supportive mom. But she was just… different. Maybe she cared in her own way, but it wasn't what Leonard needed right now.
I sat there for a moment, feeling a mix of happiness for our achievement and frustration for Leonard. I promised myself I'd take him somewhere fun soon, just to celebrate properly. No matter what, he deserved to feel proud. I thought back to the time when everything used to be hard for me but now I scored a perfect score.
There's also the personal satisfaction of seeing my time spent studying pay off. I mean, who doesn't like seeing the fruits of their labor? There's something undeniably rewarding about looking back at those endless nights—books open, highlighters everywhere, coffee cups piling up—and realizing that it all actually led somewhere. It's not just about the score, either. It's about knowing I set a goal, stuck with it, and achieved something that, a year ago, felt almost out of reach. It's a quiet kind of pride, the kind that makes you sit back and just breathe for a second, feeling like you did something real.
And then, of course, there's the XP gain. In the grand scheme of things, it might seem relatively minor, but come on—who am I kidding? Only like THREE THOUSAND POINTS! That's the number three followed by THREE zero's! It's hard not to get a little giddy about that. Just over a month ago, I remember feeling like a king when I got five hundred points for making it onto the basketball team. Back then, that felt like a windfall, like I'd hit the jackpot. But this? This takes the cake. It's literally six times that number. Even when my game hit ten million downloads, the achievement only netted me around 1,100 XP, which was huge at the time, but this… this is on a whole other level.
Watching that XP bar shoot up, pushing me almost halfway to the next level, was the cherry on top. It's a reminder that sometimes, the biggest rewards come from the things that require the most discipline and intelligence. I couldn't help but think that it was the right decision not to hold myself back, not to limit myself to only the things that seemed "believable" or "realistic for the sake of hiding my abilities" Sometimes you've just got to go for it and not think much.
That night, I decided to celebrate a little. I ordered pizza for everyone—extra cheese, pepperoni, the works. It had been a while since we'd all sat down together for pizza. When both my parents were seated at the dinner table, I tried to play it cool, but the excitement was bubbling up inside me. Before I could even get the words out, my mom raised an eyebrow and asked, "So what are you so happy about? Another game or something?"
My dad just looked at me, his eyes shining with that quiet pride I'd started to notice more and more lately. Their faces were different these days, more relaxed, relieved, and genuinely happy. I think seeing me succeed, and finding my way made them feel like maybe they'd done something right. Whenever I talked with my dad, he always had that "I'm proud of you" kind of smile, the one that made me want to work even harder.
I took a breath, ready to drop the bomb. "I got a 1600 on the SAT," I said, trying to sound casual but failing completely.
My mom blinked, confused for a second. "Sixteen hundred? Wait, what's the most you can get again?"
I held up my phone, the score glowing on the screen. "Sixteen hundred," I repeated, a little flatly, but with a grin I couldn't hide.
Her jaw dropped. "What!! Really?"
I nodded, turning the screen so they could both see. Their eyes widened, and suddenly they were both on their feet, pulling me into a tight, heartfelt hug. They stayed like that praising me and making me feel special like always.
"You did study a lot. I am so proud of you," Mom said, her voice thick with emotion. I could tell she was the most surprised, probably because she'd spent so much time worrying that I was wasting time on basketball or music or my games. I'd always told her I was studying, but I don't think she ever quite believed me—until now.
My dad just ruffled my hair, grinning. "Knew you had it in you, kid."
The rest of the night was filled with warm laughter, the sounds of laughter and of course pizza.
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The next morning, I did something I hadn't done in ages: I let myself sleep in. Even though my Gamer's Body had me waking up at my usual time, I consciously ignored it and rolled over, pulling the covers tighter around me. For once, I didn't care about discipline or routines—I just wanted to enjoy the simple luxury of sleeping a little longer. It felt oddly rebellious, and I savored every second of it.
When I finally got up, I took my time with breakfast, eating slowly and deliberately, stretching out the morning as much as I could. Mom noticed, of course.
"Lucas, you're going to get late for school," she called from the kitchen, a hint of worry in her voice.
"I won't," I replied with a lazy grin, confident in my ability to make up the time. After all, I could always drive a little faster if I needed to.
I grabbed my bag and got into my Mustang, feeling like I had everything under control. But, as fate would have it, I jinxed myself. Not even five minutes into the drive, I heard a weird thumping noise and then pulled the car to one side. I pulled over to the shoulder and saw it—a completely flat tire. I must have run over something sharp, and now my morning was officially derailed.
With no time to spare, I locked the car and started sprinting down the street, determined not to let a flat tire ruin my streak. I ran the whole way to school, my backpack bouncing against my shoulders, and made it just in time for AP Calculus, my first class of the day. I slipped in right behind the teacher as he walked in.
"Almost missed it, Mr. Reed," the teacher remarked, raising an eyebrow.
"Good morning, sir," I replied, trying to catch my breath as I made my way to my seat beside Alex. She was already there, looking anxious. I hadn't picked up her call while I was running, and I could see the relief on her face when she spotted me.
Seeing her smile—the most radiant, genuine smile—made all my fatigue vanish. I slid into my seat and whispered, "Flat tire."
She nodded, sighing with sympathy, and class began. As usual, calculus was a snooze for me, but I had something important to share. Leaning closer, I whispered, "I have good news."
Alex, ever the focused student, shot me a look. "What?" she whispered back, clearly torn between curiosity and her need to pay attention.
I grinned, savoring the moment. "I got 1600 on my SAT," I whispered. I didn't tell her yesterday because I wanted to see her reaction with my own eyes and what a reaction it was.
Her reaction was instant and explosive. "WHAT!!!" she shrieked, her eyes wide with shock. The entire class turned to stare, and I flinched at the sudden attention. I knew Alex would be surprised—she was always so driven, always studying for that perfect score herself—but I hadn't expected her to lose her cool like this.
The teacher paused, looking over his glasses. "What's wrong, Miss Dunphy?" he asked.
Still flustered, Alex blurted out, "Lucas got a perfect score on the SAT!"
Now every eye in the room was on me. I was already a hot topic because of the basketball match, and now this just added fuel to the fire. The teacher paused the lesson, turning to me. "Is that true, Mr. Reed?"
I nodded, feeling a mix of pride and embarrassment as the class erupted in whispers and congratulations
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