Real Intellect
Eleanor walked throughg the main entrance, marking the official beginning of her junior year in high school. This was a big year. An important year. She had to keep up good grades and maintain a top class rank in order to get into the schools she wanted and earn high scholarships. She was a driven student. No. Not just a driven student. An intensly ambitious student.
Ranked right beneath her was Mayan. Mayan was undeniably intelligent, by she was also undeniably unpleasant. She was the type of girl to make everyone feel bad about their academic performace, regardless of where they stood. Eleanor despised Mayan.
As she headed to first period, she glimpsed Mayan standing by her locker. It was a well-decorated locker, complete with a mirror and photos of friends and family. But rather than take books or other supplies, Mayan pulled out a pill bottle and shook something from it into her hand. It was a bright blue capsule, seemingly innocuous save for its color.
Mayan jumped a little when she saw Eleanor.
"It's a supplement," she explained, seeming somewhat nervous.
Eleanor, not wanting Mayan to think she was about to start acting friendly toward her, nodded and stalked off to class.
..............
It was the semester mark. The competitive students and Clementine High School were all compulsively checking their student portals to see if their class ranks had been updated. At last, at 4:32 pm, the elusive notifications were sent. Eleanor anxiously opened hers to find... the number 2. She was no longer ranked first in her class. She sat back in her rolling chair and sighed. Her phone promptly started buzzing with dozens notifications. Each one of her friends was inquiring about everyone else's new ranks. As she scrolled through the messages, her heart started sinking. Noah was 4, Abdul was 8, Priti was 5, Gail was 3...
Which meant number one was...
Suddenly a message from an unknown number. They had a screenshot of the student portal, with words "Class Rank: 1/699" highlighted. Above it, the name: MAYAN BLOOM.
..............
The next morning, Eleanor anxiously awaited her 3rd period class - physics. All of her grades were 99s and 100s - except for a 97 in physics. She impatiently sat through the class lecture, barely taking any notes. When the bell rang to dismiss them, Eleanor stayed after class to talk to Mr. Shukil.
"Sir - I - I lost my position as valedictorian. This class was my lowest grade. I need to know, how can I bring it up?"
Mr. Shukil sighed and looked up at her.
"Eleanor, you already attend tutorials all the time and do all of the extra practice assignments I give you. You score really highly on tests, especially compared to your peers. Truly, there is nothing I can recommend."
Eleanor pursed her lips, feeling defeated. She knew what she needed to do.
That afternoon, after her last class of the day (English), she hurried over to Ms. Sedwin the chemistry teacher's class. She waited outside the door until Mayan walked out, then reached for her arm and said in a hushed voice,
"Hey, can I, um, talk to you?"
Mayan looked irritated, but nodded curtly. Eleanor led her to the nook under the stairwell so they wouldn't be overheard. She took a breath, and everything she was thinking came spilling out.
"I... how did you take my rank? I literally work night and day for school. It's my entire life. I've been top of our class since we stepped into this school as freshman. You're smart but, no offense, you don't have this academic game mastered the way I do. I study for 6 hours before every single test, 4 for every quiz."
Mayan waited impatiently for her to finish, then huffed and said,
"You think you're some star student because you've centered you're life around academics. Meanwhile, I don't have to push myself nearly as hard and I'm still surpassing you. I hate to break it to you, but you seriously need to rethink your priorities."
Eleanor was taken aback. Furious, she stormed out from under the stairwell and headed to the parking lot. But before she could exit the hall, someone tapped her shoulder.
It was Noah Anderson, ranked 4th in their class. He was a nice kid, never caused any trouble, and Eleanor liked him well enough. He fell into step beside her, and proceeded to mutter quietly,
"Look, everyone is confused how Mayan took your spot as top of the class. I don't think anyone else knows... besides me."
"Knows what?" Eleanor whispered back, alarmed.
"Mayan didn't just magically become smarter than you. She's been taking this supplement."
Eleanor thought back to the strange blue pill from the beginning of the year. For some reason, that encounter was burned in her memory.
"The pill - it's called NeuLearner - costs $12,600 for 200 pills. It gets the brain's juices going like crazy - boosts neural activity, creativity, focus, and even allows people to get higher scores on IQ tests. Like, 50 points higher, or more. It was released last year. I know about it because my cousin started taking it, and suddenly started acing his premed courses."
Eleanor just stared, mouth agape.
"So... you're telling me... that Mayan Bloom has some magic pill that makes her smarter?"
Noah shook his head.
"It's not magic at all. It's science, and it's fascinating. The supplement uses ultra-concentrated doses of certain ingredients to boost brain activity like mad.
As the information started to really sink in, Eleanor felt her jaw clench. So all this time, Mayan hadn't really been working harder than her. She didn't really deserve that top rank. She was cheating, using an unfair advantage, and Eleanor was going to destroy her for it.
"Thank you for letting me know. I really appreciate it," she said to Noah as she rushed off.
That night, Eleanor began some deep research into the NeuLearner pill. It had been developed by Brazilian scientists for over 4 years. It was safe to use, and artificially boosted a person's intellect. In every way, it seemed like magic.
Eleanor sat back in her chair and smirked. Tomorrow she was going to fight for her position at the top of the Clementine junior year class.
The next day, Eleanor entered the school building and headed straight for the principal's office. Ms. Rivera was drinking coffee and typing something on her laptop, but looked up and smiled when Eleanor walked in.
"Good morning, how can I help you?"
"Good morning, Ms. Rivera. I would like to report Mayan Bloom for using an unfair aid to get ahead in school. She's been taking a brain-boosting supplement that allows her to excel academically without putting in more effort."
Ms. Rivera smiled.
"I am aware that Mayan has been taking the NeuLearner pill. She had it appoved by the school board for her to bring this pill to school with her and use it to make her the best student she can be."
Eleanor opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. She was stunned.
"You... approved of this? Ma'am this is... it's a form of cheating. It's significantly improving her ability to do well on-"
"Yes. I am aware. I am also aware that being middle class, like yourself, greatly improves your chances of being successful in school as opposed to students in low-income families. I am aware that receiving an education from one of the best public schools in the state, like you have, greatly improves your chances of going to college than receiving one from a bare minimum institution. People that have these opportunities have the right to make use of them."
"Eleanor felt her throat close up. She turned around and walked out of the office, cursing Ms. Rivera under her breath.
..............
For the rest of the year and the year after that, Eleanor remained second in her class. Mayan, apart from just excelling in academics, seemed to become more popular as well. She ran for class president and won. She was nominated for prom queen. When she spoke at graduation, everyone cheered. Meanwhile, Eleanor fell into a depression. She stopped eating or sleeping properly, and focused all of her attention on school. But the more she tried, the farther she seemed from what Mayan had acheived.
In the end, she was no match for that little blue pill.