“A, A, A, A, A, A,” Nathan said, reading off my results. “No shocker there,” Alex said. “You never know,” I told him. “Freshman year I got an A minus in my history class because my teacher said my final paper was too long. That was horrible.” Alex rolled his eyes. “Heaven forbid,” he said, but it didn’t bother me.”

“A, A, A, A, A, A,” Nathan said, reading off my results. “No shocker there,” Alex said. “You never know,” I told him. “Freshman year I got an A minus in my history class because my teacher said my final paper was too long. That was horrible.” Alex rolled his eyes. “Heaven forbid,” he said, but it didn’t bother me.”

— Ali Novak