The Enemy Hypothesis: A Brazos High Novella

app. Only it can’t be fixed.
I am in last place.
At the front of the class, my teacher is telling everyone that this is only two weeks’ worth of data, and it’s only from the teachers. He says they’re expecting everyone’s ranking to change a lot over the month, and it should be a fun challenge.
Fun challenge? I am in last place! There’s nothing fun about this at all.
Granted, I’m tied with forty-nine other students for last place. I don’t know how this could have happened. Maybe my teachers just forgot about me when they were giving out kudos.
Within minutes, everyone’s ranks start changing as students start using the app. I don’t give anyone a kudos or demerit because I’m kind of stuck here in shock after seeing how poorly I rank compared to the rest of the school. My teacher attempts to go over the test review for the remainder of the class period, but most people aren’t paying attention.
By the time the bell rings for lunch, not much has changed. The entire school is alive with excitement over the new app. Everyone wants to win the car. People are obsessed with checking the scoreboard and no one is paying attention in class. I walk the hallways with shame and frustration because I can’t believe I’m in last place.
I sit with a few friends at lunch and they’re all talking about the stupid app.
“I went from 117 to 93 today,” Blake says with his mouth full of pizza. “That car will be mine in no time.”
“How’d you pull that off?” I ask.
Blake shrugs. “I’m giving every girl I see a compliment.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me. “They can’t help but give me a kudos after that.”
I roll my eyes. Something tells me that giving out fake compliments isn’t a way to stop bullying. What did this stupid app think would happen? No one is genuine. They all just want a car.
“What’s your rank?” Blake asks.
I shrug. “I haven’t bothered checking.”
“Psh, everyone is checking!” he says, calling my bluff. “I’m guessing homeboy’s Lexus makes him too good to try to win a car.”
The guys at my lunch table all agree, giving me crap for being too rich to care. I decide to play into it. Better to let them think I don’t care than to let them see how embarrassed I am for being in last place.
“Duuude,” Oliver says from way down the lunch table. He leans forward and holds up his phone as if he’s just discovered something amazing. “No wonder Mark doesn’t care. He’s in last place!”
Everyone turns to look at me. Thankfully I’m pretty tan or else I’d be worried everyone could see the heat pooling in my cheeks right about now. I shrug. “So what. The app is rigged.”
Oliver snorts. “Nah, I think it’s just you.”
My defenses shoot up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, let’s see…” he says, pretending to think about it a moment. I am totally aware that all eyes at the lunch table are on this conversation. “These last few months you’ve been a total a-hole, if you know what I mean.” He glances to his right to where his girlfriend Lanie is sitting. She doesn’t allow him to curse. She doesn’t allow any of us to curse, actually.
“Whatever, man.” I let it go and soon enough, everyone goes back to their talks about the stupid app. But deep down it’s bothering me. Why am I in last place? I’m not a bad guy. Sure, I flirt a lot but that’s not a bad thing. It’s not like I have a girlfriend and shouldn’t be flirting with anyone else.
As soon as the bell rings I jump up and toss my trash and then head toward my fifth period class. I’m still reeling over what Oliver said and I guess I’m too annoyed to pay attention. I end up shoulder-checking my buddy Jake Morgan without realizing it.
“Sorry,” I say, hoping he doesn’t decide to give me a demerit on the app for not seeing him. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“No worries,” Jake says. “I’ve had a ton of people run into me today, but they’ve all been on their phones.”
I hold up my empty hands. “I’m so sick of that app.”
“Same,” he says, eyeing me curiously. “Must be hard to be way down on the list.”
I shrug. It’s such a simple, casual gesture and it’s the total opposite of what I feel inside. “I don’t really care. Not sure why I’m in last place.”
Jake bites his lip as we walk. I can tell he wants to say something, but he doesn’t.
“Go on,” I say, prodding him. “What is it?”
He shifts his backpack on his shoulders. “I mean… ever since last year when your gran died… you’ve been…”
I close my eyes and then nod once. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Gran was the glue that held my family together. She was the best cook in the family, and that’s saying something because we’re all pretty good cooks. She was always bailing my parents out when they needed money, and when she died suddenly last year, my parents were devastated to learn she’d left all her money to charity instead of them. With all the drama at home, I guess it did make me change a little. I ditched the Small Business Club I was president of, dropped out of the soccer team that Jake is on, and quit seeing my friends as much.
“It’s only the first day,” Jake says. “I’m sure you’ll raise in the ranks.” He takes out his phone and pulls up my name, then gives me a thumbs up on the app. “There ya go.”
“Thanks,” I say, feeling somehow more annoyed that he thinks I’m a charity case. We part ways for our next class and I head to accounting which is my favorite class of the day. It’s an elective and everyone takes it as an easy blow off class, but I try to learn as much as I can since I want