"Rejected?"
Hazel patted her son on his back. "It's not the end of the world, Harrison."
"It might as well be!" Each grade on his report card branded him a freak, a failure. He didn't want to stay in fifteenth grade forever! "How'm I supposed to graduate with...with these!" Harrison counted the subjects out on his fingers. "Biology, A. Algebra? A-minus. History. B-plus."
"B-plus?" his father piped in. "That means you're trying, right? Hazel, doesn't that mean he's trying? Least it's not an A."
"It was the highest grade in his class, George. The highest."
"It's okay, sport," his dad said, smiling mildly. "Try harder next year."
Try harder? How could he try harder when nobody's supposed to even try? People were equal now, weren't they? He shouldn't have to 'try' anything!
A firm shock buzzed through his brain, like some angry stranger grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him hard. It was definitely uncomfortable, but wasn't enough to stop him from thinking.
It was never enough.
"Let's get my band adjusted again, okay? Maybe...maybe then I won't be as smart?" Harrison had his doubts, and his brain got buzzed again.
He hated being smart. It hurt too much.