Effortless

"You both have worked very hard, and it is so impressive that you've made it this far." Mrs. Montgomery said with pride.

It was the beginning of May, and we were four weeks away from graduation. Javi and I had still not been told which one of us was going to be valedictorian and who was going to be salutatorian.

The both of us had been working hard to keep our grades up to ensure that no one else swooped in at the last minute to take our spots while also simultaneously trying to beat each other. We came to an agreement that we wouldn't compare each other's GPAs so that the surprise of who came out on top would be greater and more impactful.

Now we were in the principal's office to find out who had the best GPA out of our entire senior class. But of course our principal had to give us a speech before she revealed it.

"You'll both have to give a speech in front of the school, though I'm sure you already knew that. You represent our school. You represent what all students are capable of. We're all extremely proud of both of you and your classmates are too." She paused for dramatic effect. "Your GPAs are close, but there is a distinct winner. In the end, it always comes down to hundredths of points."

My leg was bouncing with nervousness, the anticipation was killing me. I looked at my boyfriend who was waiting calmly, but he was biting his lip, which told me the anticipation was hard for him too.

"Javier, you've earned the title of valedictorian. Congratulations." Principal Montgomery gave a satisfied smile before turning to me. "Elias, you're our salutatorian. Congratulations to you as well."

"Holy shit." Javier mumbled to himself with a scoff of shock.

"Elias, as salutatorian, you'll give the opening speech to start our ceremony." She handed each of us an envelope. "Javier, being valedictorian and class president means that you get to give the closing speech. Inside of that envelope you will find all of the details that you need while you develop your speeches."

I opened the envelope and took a quick look at the papers. It was basic things like the length of our speech, when they needed it to be done, and other things that I would look at later.

"You boys should be very proud of your accomplishments. Many would love to be in the position that you are in now. Congrats again, you can go back to class." She said with a firm nod.

Our principal shooed us out of her office so that we could hurry back to class to not miss any more of it. The moment the door to the office shut behind us, I hugged Javier in the empty hallway.

"Congrats, Javi." I rested my head on his shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

"I'm proud of you too, Eli." He rubbed my back gently as he spoke. "I know you worked really hard to get the number one spot. I'm sorry that it didn't work out, you deserve this spot just as much as I do."

I had tried my best. I did everything I could to better my chances of achieving the title of valedictorian. In the end, it didn't work. Javier's grades were better than mine, it was as simple as that.

I could not say that I was not disappointed. When you're that close to being at the top, losing it by a little did not feel great. Though, it didn't feel like that overwhelming feeling of failure that I was used to feeling when I lost. This felt different, and I think that was because of the pride I had for the guy standing next to me.

I scoffed as I stepped away with him so that I could see his face. "Babe, are you kidding? You worked just as hard as I did. And guess what? I get to say that my boyfriend is valedictorian. I get to say that my boyfriend is smarter than every single other person in the entire school."